Eleanor Reissa is an American actress, singer, theatre director, playwright, librettist, choreographer, translator, and author based in New York City.
Reissa studied in the New York City public school system and received her Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Theatre at Brooklyn College, graduating cum laude.
[1] One of Reissa's earliest professional credits was as a member of the 1977 National Lampoon comedy stage revue That's Not Funny, That's Sick, which played short engagements in Washington, D.C., and New York City.
[5] In Yiddish, her New York directing credits include: Got Fun Nekome (God of Vengeance), Hershele Ostropolyer (adapted by Reissa), Zise Khaloymes (based on her English language play, Sweet Dreams), and Yoshke Muzikant: The Klezmer’s Tale.
[6] On Broadway, she was in the cast of Paula Vogel's 2015 play Indecent, and was nominated for a Tony Award as the director of the musical Those Were the Days (which she also choreographed and starred in).
[7] In April 2019, Reissa directed, co-created and featured as a vocalist in From Shtetl to Stage: A Celebration of Yiddish Music and Culture at Carnegie Hall.