Ava Nicole Frances is a singer, actress, songwriter, and recording artist based in New York City. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, she has been performing professionally since the age of ten and has built a career spanning musical theatre, cabaret, television, and original music.
Ava is a two-time BroadwayWorld Cabaret Award winner, receiving Best Junior Performer in 2020 and Best Debut Show in 2022. She is also a two-time alumna and Ambassador of Michael Feinstein’s Songbook Academy, where she received the Spotlight Award, and was a Top Five finalist in BroadwayWorld’s Next on Stage competition.
In 2024, Ava was a finalist on American Idol Season 22, advancing to the Top 56 from over 70,000 contestants. That marked another milestone in her growing career.
As a cabaret performer, Ava has appeared in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, London, Puerto Vallarta, and some of New York City’s most celebrated venues, including 54 Below, Don’t Tell Mama, The Green Room 42, and The Laurie Beechman Theatre. Her solo concerts, including Here’s Looking at You, Kid and The Dream That I See, have been praised for their heartfelt storytelling, humor, and emotional honesty.
Alongside her work on stage, Ava has developed a strong voice as a songwriter. In 2025, she released her debut original album, I Can’t Play With Flowers, a collection of deeply personal songs exploring love, growth, grief, and finding your voice. That same year, her original song “little did i know” received a MAC Award nomination for Song. In 2026, her song “Missing A Screw” went on to win the MAC Award for Song, recognizing her continued growth as a writer and composer.
Ava’s musical theatre credits include Tracy Turnblad (Hairspray), Diana Morales (A Chorus Line), and Rona Lisa Peretti/Olive’s Mother (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), among many others. She originated the leading role of Olivia Ortiz in the new musical Olivia O, which was featured in several theater festivals in New York, Texas, and Toronto. Whether she’s performing a Broadway classic, an intimate cabaret set, or her own original music, she is known for combining powerful vocals with honest storytelling and genuine connection.
She studied Musical Theatre at NYU Tisch School of the Arts with a minor in Psychology and Creative Writing, where she developed as both a performer and creator while maintaining an active professional career.
At the heart of everything Ava does is a love for telling stories that make people feel seen. Whether through theatre, live performance, or songwriting, she hopes to create work that is authentic, vulnerable, and lasting.