One-woman show spotlights Sharon Lawrence

Emmy-nominated and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning actress Sharon Lawrence ’83 has graced the screen in shows such as “NYPD Blue,” “Shameless,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and more.

Lawrence, seen here on her Commencement day, was inspired by Carolina professors to pursue her singing and acting talents. (Submitted photo)

But before all that, she took the stage as a student at UNC-Chapel Hill.

This month, she returned to Carolina to portray one of the greats of journalism, influential Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham, in the one-woman play “The Shot.” The PlayMakers Repertory Theatre production ran through Jan. 12 at Kenan Theatre.

“At a Women in Film event I was hosting, I was asked by playwright Robin Gerber, who also writes on women’s leadership, to read her first-ever play. When she told me it was a solo piece about Katharine Graham’s early life struggles before she became the famed publisher of The Washington Post, I was intrigued,” Lawrence said.

Gerber’s play, “The Shot,” explores how Graham’s resilience as a wife who experienced abuse set the stage for her transformation into an emblem of power in the media world. As CEO of The Washington Post, Graham took a risk by publishing reports about the Pentagon Papers and encouraged investigating Watergate when few other media outlets were.

J-school beginnings

“The Shot” wasn’t Lawrence’s first brush with journalism. Growing up, she looked up to her father, a television reporter for WRAL, and admired Mary Richards, the spunky TV news producer portrayed by actress Mary Tyler Moore.

“‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ was a game changer for all women in my era, not only because she was a woman in (relative) power in the newsroom but because she was independent in many ways – single, no kids and enjoying a happy life with romance, reproductive freedom, great female friendships, a chic apartment and fantastic wardrobe,” Lawrence said.

At Carolina, Lawrence studied journalism and even performed in an advertising class.

“My advertising professor, the J-school legend John Sweeney, allowed me to sing my advertising pitch,” Lawrence said. “Not only did he and the class respond well to that creativity, but he recommended me to an advertising executive and colleague in Chicago to listen to my tape for potential voiceover and jingle singing.”

Sweeney’s encouragement is what gave Lawrence the confidence to pursue her budding talent professionally.

“I taught at UNC Hussman for decades and still can instantly remember Sharon’s singing,” Sweeney said. “It was that extraordinary.”

On stage and screen

Lawrence performed in productions with PlayMakers Repertory Company, the dramatic art department and the Carolina Union. Lawrence also volunteered for the on-campus sexual assault hotline that later became SafeWalk. Her experience inspired her to advocate for women throughout her personal and professional life.

She performed and toured in Broadway shows, including “Zorba,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Cabaret” and “Chicago,” before moving to California to pursue television. While in Los Angeles, Lawrence joined alumni groups to stay involved with Carolina. She has spoken to media and journalism students about intellectual property in Hollywood and supports UNC’s Hollywood Internship Program.

In 2024, Lawrence earned the University’s Distinguished Alumni Award, adding to her previous recognition as one of two Distinguished Young Alumni in 1998. Both awards celebrate alumni who have made outstanding contributions to humanity and whose achievements have brought credit to the University.

“I feel honored and humbled because these are recognitions from such an august institution as UNC-Chapel Hill, but also because I served on the Carolina Alumni Board of Directors as an elected representative from the west coast for years and am keenly aware that both awards are nominated and voted on by accomplished, devoted and generous Tar Heel peers,” Lawrence said.

Read more about Sharon Lawrence.