Film Cavanagh made her film debut in
Penny Marshall's
A League of Their Own (1992), co-starring with
Tom Hanks,
Geena Davis,
Madonna,
Rosie O'Donnell and
Lori Petty. Film critic Vincent Canby of
The New York Times praised the film, writing: "
A League of Their Own is one of the year's most cheerful, most relaxed, most easily enjoyable comedies. It's a serious film that's lighter than air, a very funny movie that manages to score a few points for feminism in passing." He went on to list Cavanagh as among "the excellent supporting players" of the movie, Following her silver screen debut, Cavanagh was cast in supporting roles in two
Mel Brooks comedies, as Broomhilde in
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) and as Essie in
Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995). Other films include supporting roles in
For Richer or Poorer (1997), starring
Tim Allen,
Kirstie Alley, and
Jay O. Sanders, and
Disney's
That Darn Cat (1997) starring
Christina Ricci and
Doug E. Doug. She voiced Judy Neutron and Sasha Vortex in the 2001 Oscar-nominated animated feature
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.
TV Cavanagh was featured in the short-lived second season of
Bob (1993), and appeared in the recurring role of Trudy McHale (from 1998 to 1999), who marries Al Borland in the series' finale of the sitcom
Home Improvement (1991–99) starring
Tim Allen,
Patricia Richardson and
Earl Hindman. Openly
lesbian, Cavanagh starred in
Exes and Ohs (2007), a lesbian comedy on
Logo TV. She reprised the role of Judy Neutron in
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius and several TV movies including
The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour,
Jimmy Neutron: Win, Lose and Kaboom,
The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 2: When Nerds Collide and
The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 3: The Jerkinators. She also voiced Slog in
Tak and the Power of Juju and Hilary Higgenbottom in
The Mighty B!. She appears in one episode of the American sitcom
Friends as Luisa the ex-classmate of Rachel (
Jennifer Aniston) and Monica (
Courteney Cox) who works for animal control. Cavanagh makes an appearance in the fourth episode of the third season of
Will & Grace ("Girl Trouble") as Terry.
Stage Cavanagh returned to the stage in 2004 as Earth Mother in
Menopause: The Musical. Theater critic Patricia Reardon wrote: "...you won't find a funnier, more satisfying way to spend an evening than with the four rollicking ladies of Menopause[:] The Musical." In 2009, Cavanagh portrayed the medium Madame Arcati in
High Spirits, a musical with book, lyrics, and music by
Hugh Martin and
Timothy Gray, based on the play
Blithe Spirit by
Noël Coward.
42nd Street Moon's production was staged at the
Eureka Theater (215 Jackson St.) in
San Francisco, which was well received. San Francisco theater critic Chad Jones wrote: "On Broadway, [Angela] Lansbury is said to be divine in the role, but 42nd Street Moon has a real secret weapon here: Megan Cavanagh...Cavanagh is hilarious and heartfelt."
Chicago theater group in 1995 Cavanagh was an original member (1984–1987) of the professional theatre troupe
New Age Vaudeville (formerly the Comedy Cabaret) founded by
Richard O'Donnell and
Amy McKenzie. An
Actor's Equity (AEA) theatre troupe, the Comedy Cabaret landed a summer residence at
Peninsula Players in
Fish Creek, Wisconsin, where it developed works for a predominantly tourist trade and then relocated to their winter home in Chicago at CrossCurrents. Throughout her tenure, Megan Cavanagh (who thus earned her Actors' Equity union card) starred in numerous productions including the cult-hits
An Evening with Elmore & Gwendolyn Putts - The Neighbors Next Door and
The TV Dinner Hour (the latter featured
IO Theater founder
Del Close). Rick Kogan of the
Chicago Tribune hailed both productions as "Among the most polished and clever productions of the season, a pair of devilishly inventive and challenging shows that won over critics and audiences". ==Filmography==