Theater Shortly after moving to
New York City in 2000, Bean was cast in the 2000
Off-Broadway revival of
Godspell at the
York Theatre at Saint Peter's Church in Midtown Manhattan. In 2001, Bean performed in the national tour of
Leader of the Pack. In 2002, Bean made her Broadway debut as an original cast member in the role of Shelley, Denizen of Baltimore, which she originated, in the
Tony Award-winning production of
Hairspray. She was also an understudy for the roles of Tracy Turnblad, Velma Von Tussle, and Prudy Pingleton. In 2004, Bean joined the Broadway production of the musical
Wicked as a replacement standby for
Elphaba Thropp, who was played by
Idina Menzel. On January 8, 2005, a day before Menzel's scheduled end of her run as Elphaba, Menzel fell through a trap door and cracked a lower rib. Bean went on to perform that show. On January 11, 2005, Bean took over as Elphaba full-time, where she performed opposite
Jennifer Laura Thompson and then
Megan Hilty as
Glinda Upland, until her last show on January 8, 2006. On January 10, she was replaced by
Eden Espinosa as Elphaba. In 2006, Bean reprised the role of Elphaba in the first national tour of
Wicked. Her limited engagement ended on December 31. In 2009, Bean joined the new production of
Peepshow in
Las Vegas in the role of Peep Diva alongside
Holly Madison. She replaced
Spice Girls singer
Mel B. In 2011, Bean wrote and starred in the musical
Dear John Mayer, with music and lyrics by Bean and book by fellow CCM graduate Eydie Faye. In 2015, Bean portrayed the role of CeeCee Bloom in the musical adaptation of the book and movie
Beaches at the
Drury Lane Theater in Chicago. In June 2016, Bean played
Fanny Brice in
North Shore Music Theatre's production of
Funny Girl. In 2018, Bean performed in the
New York City Center Encores! Off-Center production of
Songs for a New World. On March 18, 2019, Bean returned to Broadway in the role of Jenna Hunterson in the production of
Waitress for a limited engagement through May 2019. On May 13, 2019, it was announced that Bean's run was extended through July 21, 2019. Starting in March 2022, she returned to Broadway in
Mr. Saturday Night at the Nederlander Theatre starring
Billy Crystal. For her performance, she received nominations for the
Distinguished Performer Award at the
Drama League Awards, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical at the 71st
Outer Critics Circle Awards, and the
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical at the
75th Tony Awards. At the
65th Annual Grammy Awards Bean was nominated for
Best Musical Theater Album as a cast singer. Between October 2023 to January 2024 Bean starred as Jersey in
Alicia Keys' Off-Broadway
jukebox musical ''Hell's Kitchen'' at
The Public Theater. She was confirmed for the Broadway production at the
Shubert Theatre, which opened on April 20, 2024. For her performance on and Off-Broadway, she received nominations from the
Tony Awards (with her second nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical at the
77th Tony Awards),
Drama Desk Awards, Drama League Awards, and
Lucille Lortel Awards. In December 2025, it was announced that Bean would star as Lucy Emerson in a musical adaptation of
The Lost Boys, replacing
Caissie Levy after she left the production to spend more time with her family. The show would begin previews in March 2026 at the Palace Theatre, with opening night slated for April 26.
Singer On December 2, 2008, Bean released her debut solo album,
Superhero, on her own label Shotime Records. The record has been described as
pop rock. The record was produced by Bean and Jake Schaefer. It reached No. 1 on the iTunes Blues charts. She performed her single "Runaway Train" on
The Queen Latifah Show. Beginning in 2015, Bean has performed with
Scott Bradlee's
Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ), performing
Justin Bieber's
"Sorry" and
Backstreet Boys' “
I Want It That Way,” among others. In the spring of 2016, she joined the PMJ European Tour. In February 2018, Bean's third album,
Spectrum, was released. The songs are in the genre of rhythm and blues. Bean has said that inspirations for the record were the music of
Aretha Franklin,
Barbra Streisand, and
Frank Sinatra. Bean's music has been featured on
MTV's
The Hills, Mercy, ''
Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, Bad Girls Club'' and
Showtime's
The Big C, and she arranged the vocals for
Jennifer Lopez's performance of her 2014 song "
I Luh Ya Papi" on
American Idol. Bean has appeared on film soundtracks to
Hairspray,
Enchanted, the
Wayans Brothers'
Dance Flick, and the 2016 animated musical
Sing. Bean has performed around the world in cabarets and concerts. She has sung with artists such as
BeBe Winans,
Brian McKnight,
Ariana Grande,
David Foster,
Jason Robert Brown and
Michael Jackson, among others. == Theater credits ==