Mary Lou Shriber’s professional career spans stage, television, film and cabaret. She has performed as an actor, singer, reporter and television host.
Mary Lou is a Detroit native and a graduate of the University of Michigan in theatre and nursing. While at U of M, she played Marina in Shakespeare’s Pericles opposite Nicholas Pennell of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Canada. Mr. Pennell also directed Ms. Shriber in Oh! What a Lovely War. While at U of M, she studied under the Juilliard Faculty in Residence. After graduation, Mary Lou continued her studies at Neighborhood Playhouse in New York.
Ms. Shriber began her professional acting career in Boston where she appeared on stage in The All Night Strut! which was also performed in televised concert with the Boston Pops. She appeared in the Merchant/Ivory film, The Bostonians and Sidney Lumet’s, The Verdict. She also hosted and reported for the popular TV morning show, Good Day, for WCVB-TV. While in Boston, she was cast in the Broadway touring production of Man of LaMancha with Richard Kiley and Joan Diener, directed by Albert Marre.
Since moving to New York, Mary Lou has appeared as a principal on the Fox-TV show, Fringe, and has had a recurring role on Guiding Light. She has also originated the roles, Nell in The Play’s the Thing and Elizabeth Robinson in Swiss Family Robinson at Town Hall, both new musical adaptations. Off- Broadway, she has appeared as Lula in Dutchman, Linda English in Pal Joey and Paulina in The Winter’s Tale at Lincoln Center’s Clark Studio Theatre. She hosted the child development series, The Right Start Hour and for five years hosted a series for Lamaze about caring for your baby for the Newborn Channel. Mary Lou has appeared in numerous commercials and voice-overs. She has appeared regionally as Paquette in Candide and Mrs. Hobbs in Mr. Hobbs’ Vacation.
Mary Lou’s cabaret shows have been seen at Eighty-Eight’s and Danny’s Skylight Room in New York. She was a fellow at the O”Neill Cabaret Symposium where she stopped the show with her rendition of Maltby/Shire’s Good Guys. The holiday season finds her performing in the Christmas Cabaret at Xavier’s in New York.
During a brief timeout while she was living in Boston, Mary Lou worked as a medical/ oncology nurse at several Boston reaching hospitals. Her solo show, You Want Me To Do What?! is based on her experiences as a nurse. It was developed in Gretchen Cryer’s Solo Performance Writing Workshop in New York. The show has had staged readings at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York and the Vineyard Playhouse, Massachusetts. The show made its world premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2011. It was most recently presented at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York as part of the All For One Theatre Festival with original music, songs and lyrics by Ms. Shriber.