Adina Verson (born c. 1983) is an American actor who may be best known for their television role of Poppy White, assistant of Tina Fey's character Cinda Canning, in Only Murders in the Building. Primarily a stage actor, their Broadway debut was in Indecent, which ran for two years starting in 2017.
Verson grew up in the Midwest in a reform Jewish home.[1][2][3] They graduated from the Chicago Academy for the Arts in 2001, which inspired them to pursue a BFA in musical theater from the Boston Conservatory.[4][1][5][6] They then received their MFA in acting from the Yale School of Drama.[7][5][8] In 2017, Verson appeared in Indecent on Broadway, playing Madje, Reine, and Virginia during the show's two-year run.[9][10][8][1] They played Ali Pfefferman in the A Transparent Musical, based on the Amazon Prime show Transparent, which premiered in May 2023 at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. The show is planned to open on Broadway in 2024.[11][2][1] They were one of the co-founders of the Old Sound Room theater company, which is made up of Yale School of Drama alumni.[12]
Verson auditioned for the role Cinda Canning on Hulu's Only Murders in the Building, a character written for Tina Fey, during the COVID-19 pandemic. When Fey confirmed she was available to play Cinda, the role of Poppy White was written for Verson.[13] Verson has also worked as an audiobook narrator for Penguin Random House.[7]
Though Verson's gender identity had been developing prior to joining the cast of Indecent, the play helped them "realize that [they] don't identify with being a woman, and [they] don't identify with being a lesbian."[1] They are married to Michael McQuilken; the couple has one child.[14][15][2] Their pronouns are they/she.[2][1]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Old Sound Room Lear | With the Old Sound Room company | [12] | |
| 2014 | As You Like It | Celia | With the Shakespeare Theatre Company | [16] |
| 2018 | Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties | Betty 2 | MCC Theater | [5] |
| The Lucky Ones | Emma | Ars Nova | [17][18] | |
| 2017–2019 | Indecent | Madje, Reine, and Virginia | Broadway debut | [9][8] |
| 2019 | Wives | Wife 2 | Playwrights Horizons | [19] |
| 2023 | A Transparent Musical | Ali Pfefferman | Center Theater Group | [2][1][11] |
| 2025 | Liberation | Susan | Roundabout Theatre Company | [20] |
| Year | Title | Role | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Deadbeat | Waitress | [21] |
| 2014–2015 | The Strain | Miriam Setrakian | [21][22] |
| 2017 | Wormwood | Cocktail waitress | [23][22] |
| 2016–2018 | Mozart in the Jungle | Maria Anna Mozart | [24][22] |
| 2020 | New Amsterdam | Dr. Tabitha Park | [22] |
| 2021–2022 | Only Murders in the Building | Poppy White | [3][13] |
| 2023 | And Just Like That... | Laurel | [25] |
