Vorlage:No footnotes Vorlage:Infobox person
Merle Dandridge is an American actress who was born in Okinawa, Japan. Dandridge is primarily a stage actress, but has had several roles in television. She has gained a wider audience as the voice of Alyx Vance in the award-winning action game Half-Life 2 and its sequels, Episode One, Episode Two.
Early life
Her father was an African-American US serviceman from Memphis and her mother was a local Okinawan of Korean and Japanese descent. As well as Okinawa, Dandridge has lived in Sacramento, California, at Beale Air Force Base, and later at Offutt Air Force Base (home to the then-Strategic Air Command) in Bellevue, Nebraska, where she spent the majority of her childhood. She attended Papillion La Vista High School and participated in the play production class and theater department there.
She then attended the Theatre Conservatory at Roosevelt University (currently called the Chicago College of Performing Arts) with a scholarship that she earned at the International Thespian Festival.
Stage and screen appearances
Theatre
- Once on this Island, Performer, (Chicago, IL) 1994
- Robber Bridegroom, as Rosamund, Roosevelt University (Chicago, IL) 1994
- As You Like It, as Rosalind, Roosevelt University (Chicago, IL) 1994
- Balm in Gilead, as Ann, Gilead Theatre (Chicago, IL) 1997
- The Kentucky Cycle, Performer, Truman College (Chicago, IL) 1997
- Company, as Kathy, (Chicago, IL) 1997
- Sweet and Hot, Performer, Theatre Building (Chicago, IL) 1997
- Heart and Soul, as Andrea (Chicago, IL) 1998
- Richard II, Performer, Gilead Theatre Co. (Chicago, IL) 1998
- Ain't Misbehavin', Performer, European Tour 1998
- Smokey Joe's Cafe, Swing, National Tour 1998
- Jesus Christ Superstar, as Mary Magdalene (understudy), Ford Center for the Performing Arts (Broadway) 2000
- Aida, as Nehebka, National Tour 2001
- Aida, as Aida (Replacement), Palace Theatre (Broadway) 2002
- Rent, as Joanne Jefferson (Replacement), Nederlander Theatre (Broadway) 2002
- Showtune: Celebrating the Words & Music of Jerry Herman, as Woman 2, Pasadena Playhouse (Pasadena, CA) 2003
- Rent, as Joanne (Replacement), Nederlander Theatre (Broadway) 2003
- Tarzan, as Kala, Richard Rodgers Theatre (Broadway) 2006-2007
- Rent, as Joanne (Replacement), Nederlander Theatre (Broadway) 2008
- Monty Python's Spamalot, as The Lady of the Lake, Shubert Theatre (Broadway) 2008
- Rent, as Joanne, USA National Tour 2009-2010
Television
- Angel episode "Home", as Lacey, 2003
- NCIS episode "Sea Dog", as Marcy Carruthers, 2003
- Third Watch episode "Too Little, Too Late" as Nikki 2005
- 24 Season 8, Episode 9, 2010
- CSI: Miami episode "Sleepless In Miami" as Stacy Garrett, 2010
- Ringer episode "Shut Up and Eat Your Bologna" as Dr. Anabel Morris, 2011
- Sons of Anarchy, Seasons 4 and 5 as Rita Roosevelt, 2011-2012
- Chicago Fire , 2012
- Star-Crossed , 2014
Film
- Bentley and Max, 2008, in post-production
- Nothing But The Truth, 2008, in production
Video games
- Half-Life 2, as Alyx Vance (Voice), 2004
- Half-Life 2: Episode One, as Alyx Vance (Voice), 2006
- Half-Life 2: Episode Two, as Alyx Vance (Voice), 2007
- The Last of Us, as Marlene (Motion capture and voice), 2013
- Dota 2, as Legion Commander and Winter Wyvern (Voice), 2013