Biography
Melissa Momboisse
(she/her, fully vaccinated & up to date on boosters) is a San Francisco Bay Area based theatre artist known for her energetic stage presence. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Santa Clara University.
Favorite roles include Girl/Piano in Once (Tabard Theatre Company), Fanny Brice in Funny Girl (Throckmorton Theatre), Ariel in The Little Mermaid (Sol Treasures), Katherine Plumber in Newsies, Hope Harcourt in Anything Goes, and June in Gypsy (Hillbarn Theatre), Sophie Sheridan in Mamma Mia! (Tri-Valley Repertory Theatre), Portia in Something Rotten (WVLO Musical Theatre Company), Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors and Erma in Anything Goes (Pacific Coast Repertory Theatre), Penny Lou Pingleton in Hairspray (Bay Area Musicals, Pacific Coast Repertory Theatre, and Stage 1/Ohlone Summerfest), Sally Bowles in Cabaret (Chanticleers Theatre), Heather McNamara in Heathers (Pacifica Spindrift Players), Portia in Something Rotten (WVLO Musical Theatre), and Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime (Throckmorton Theatre and CMTSJ Marquee). She was also honored to appear alongside Tony Award winners Bill Irwin and Harriet Harris as Kim Ravenal in Showboat at San Francisco Opera.
In 2015, Melissa was diagnosed with Stage IV Hodgkin's Lymphoma. After a hard-fought battle, she is now cancer free and passionate about helping others understand the unique challenges that arise from battling cancer in your twenties.
When she’s not on stage, Melissa teaches fitness, builds websites for other Bay Area creatives, and works as the marketing associate at Palo Alto Players.
Featured Roles
Click to learn more:
Girl in ONCE
Fanny Brice in FUNNY GIRL
Ruby in
DAMES AT SEA
June in GYPSY
Sally Bowles in CABARET
Portia in SOMETHING ROTTEN
Heather McNamara in HEATHERS
Tina Denmark in RUTHLESS
Lucy in YOU’RE A…CHARLIE BROWN
Ariel in THE LITTLE MERMAID
Red Girl in SHOUT!
Penny in HAIRSPRAY
Her Story
Hi, I’m Melissa!
I’m a bay area native, born in Oakland and still located in the east bay. As a kid, I would dance around whenever music was playing. I also wouldn’t stop singing (just ask my family… as a child I thought if you sang in the bathroom no one else could ever hear you…especially during dinner).
My favorite class in school was always choir, and my parents loved taking me and my sister to local theatre. In 8th grade, my choir teacher announced she would be directing a musical at our school. Another opportunity to sing? I was IN! After being the most enthusiastic ensemble member any middle school production of Hello, Dolly! had ever seen, I was hooked!
Throughout high school I started performing in a local productions, studying voice, and becoming an all-around musical theatre junkie. Although I was incredibly introverted, theatre gave me a place to belong and a way to break the ice with the people around me.
After high school, I attended Santa Clara University and ended up as a Theatre Arts major. While I was there I took every dance class and voice lesson I could possibly squeeze into my schedule. Throughout college I also started performing in productions all over the Bay Area. Because I was so busy performing off-campus, I only ended up performing in one show on campus during college…but during that show I met my husband, so it was worth it!
A few years after graduation,
after having worked in corporate America to support my theatre habit since leaving college, I was tired about not being passionate about my day job. It was then that I found Pure Barre, a national fitness franchise, and fell in love with it. I decided to apply to open my own location in Walnut Creek, CA. One diligently researched business plan and a series of intense interviews later, and I was approved to open my own fitness studio. I got approved to open a studio a month before my wedding.
Right after my wedding, I started to notice that I didn’t look like myself anymore. I couldn’t figure out why until one day when a section of my neck was obviously protruding out and the area above my clavicle popped out. A few tests and one very scary phone call later I had to walk out in the middle of a rehearsal to get diagnosed with Stage IV Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
When I was diagnosed
my doctor, knowing I was a performer, told me that if I survived the cancer itself, the intensive chemotherapy I’d need to endure might have a permanent impact on my lung capacity rendering me unable to sing, and the impact it could have on my heart might render me unable to dance. I spent a months on my back worried that I might never perform again.
During treatment, I was also pressing forward with opening Pure Barre Walnut Creek. After a hard-fought battle (on both fronts), I finished my last chemotherapy treatment and then a few weeks later officially opened Pure Barre Walnut Creek.
While the business was taking off, I was physically and mentally struggling post-chemotherapy. I hadn’t taken time to process or recover from what had just happened to me due to the stress and pressure of launching the business.
Desperate to get back onstage
to prove my doctors wrong, I tried to find time to perform. About a year after my diagnosis, I did. Poetically, my first show back was with the very same company where I had to walk out of rehearsal to get diagnosed a year before. While my lung and heart capacity weren’t fully back, I wanted to push myself to get there. I played the mute in a gorgeous production of The Fantasticks at OMG! I Love That Show Productions. I was home again.
During the next year I did several shows as I continued to rebuild my lung and heart capacity. When I played Anybodys in West Side Story, dancing full out with the Jets every night, I knew I was fully back.
After running PBWC
on pure grit and adrenaline for about 3 years, while my body and mental state were breaking down due to the stress of running a very busy and physically demanding business, it became clear to me and my doctors that it was not a sustainable career for my new post-cancer brain and body. I sold the business to a wonderful new owner and continued to teach classes while finally allowing myself a chance to recover. It was absolutley the right decision, and I’m proud to say that even a few owners later, Pure Barre Walnut Creek is still open and thriving!
After selling the business, I was finally able to heal and emotionally process the weight of my cancer treatment. After 5 consecutive years being cancer free, in 2021 I officially became a cancer survivor. Alongside some incredible young adult cancer organizations, I am passionate about helping others understand the unique challenges that arise from battling cancer in your twenties. Spoiler alert…the movie 50/50 pretty much nailed it.
Now, I’m even more passionate about performing.
During cancer treatment, I became painfully aware of how short life is and that the ability to sing, act, or dance can be taken away at any moment, so I am thrilled whenever I get the chance to audition, rehearse, or perform.
When not on stage, I occasionally teach fitness, build websites for other creatives, and work as the marketing associate at Palo Alto Players. I am excited to continue to celebrate & support the Bay Area theatre community onstage and off for many years to come.
Let’s get social!
