Broadway//West End//National Tours

Celia Mei Rubin has built a global career spanning over 20 years, from the Original London Cast of PARADE at the Donmar Warehouse to the Original Broadway Cast of MATILDA. She has shared the stage with leading artists including: Alex Newell, LaChanze, Bradley Whitford, Andrea Martin, Lesli Margherita, and Bertie Carvel. On Broadway, Celia was most recently part of the Original Broadway Cast of LIFE OF PI, as Richard Parker/Puppeteer, and understudying the role of Lulu Chen. Regionally, Celia most recently made her Kennedy Center debut in the new piece, SPELLS OF THE SEA.

Celia as Lulu Chen, David Shih as Okamoto, and Uma Paranjpe as Pi in the Broadway production of LIFE OF PI.

Celia would love to recount one of her most memorable experiences as a performer:

  • I worked on the Broadway production of NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812. The opening of Act 2 was staged to include members of the company passing out a “Love Letter” to people in the audience. One show, I was assigned to pass my letter to Mandy Patinkin. I am a huge fan of his work and couldn’t believe my luck. I wanted to create a moment that he would remember fondly, so my letter said: “Dear Mandy, meet me in the park on a Sunday. Bring vodka.” I went into the audience and passed my letter to him and sat in front of him with my back towards him. I heard him open up his letter, turned my head to watch him read it, as he chuckled and looked at me and nodded his head. I winked at him. Though my intent was to create a moment for him that he wouldn’t forget, it was, in fact, a moment my life that I will always remember.

“Eureka Day”

Celia played Meiko in EUREKA DAY at Asolo Repertory Theatre, directed by Bianca Laverne Jones. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune wrote, “the play turns a light on all of us, how we behave and how we respond to information when we can’t agree on basic facts. It gives us something to contemplate in an entertaining format.”

 

Celia has a distinct talent for conveying storytelling through movement. Whether working with text or with choreography, she is intuitive in her approach to inhabit the unique physical world of every piece.

SPELLS OF THE SEA at Kennedy Center, Washington DC

 

“When you get the chance to sit out or dance, I hope you dance.” — Maya Angelou