Ruby Rothner

Ruby Rothner, a trained powerhouse soprano who builds every character from psychology outward, has spent the past several years moving between AMDA's most demanding contemporary roles and her own original cabaret work, on stages from Manhattan to Sydney. At AMDA she led Hitler's Tasters as Hilda and David Mamet's Oleanna as Carol, and sang "They Just Keep Moving the Line" at AMDA's End of Year Showcase. Her scene work spans difficult, complicated women, from Sally Bowles, Rizzo, Tzeitel, Agnes in Agnes of God, and Norma Jean, to comedic turns as Lisa in The Black Suits and Olive Ostrovsky in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Each one built from the inside before a note is sung. She trained first in jazz and contemporary music at The New School in New York, before committing fully to musical theatre. She spent two years inside AMDA's conservatory across its New York and Los Angeles campuses, then returned to The New School to finish her BFA in Musical Theatre, graduating with a minor in Psychology. That psychology isn't a footnote. It's how she reads a character before she ever opens her mouth to sing. Alongside her stage work, Rothner performs as a jazz vocalist in her own right: Lead Vocalist for Villa Biscaya's Jazz Night series in Sydney, and in jazz clubs across New York, including Smalls. She has been producing and performing her own cabaret shows since 2019, most recently a solo performance at The New School in 2025. Her sound is soul and jazz at its core: full-voiced, unguarded, built for the big emotional swings. What Rothner brings into a room is warmth as much as range, an empathy for character that makes every performance feel lived-in rather than acted. She's a Level 1 certified skier, and she brings that same full commitment to everything she takes on, on stage or off. Every role gets pulled apart and rebuilt from the inside, examined and questioned, until it stops being a performance and becomes something true. It's a rare mix of skill and warmth, and it's why people remember her.

1. 2023

   Drama Night

   Carol (Oleana) · Moriah College, dir. Terry Karabelas

2. Enchanted

   Lead Vocalist · AMDA, dir. Eugenio Contenti

3. Hitlers Tasters

   Hilda · dir. Stacy Lynn Gould

4. Who Doesn't love a fucking Cabaret

   Vocalist performer · dir. Ruby Rothner/ Marlon Saunders