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Amanda Balon (born 1997) is an American child actress, vocalist and dancer, best known for playing the title role in the nationwide Broadway tour of the musical Annie. Amanda initially joined the 30th anniversary cast (directed by Broadway director and script lyricist, Martin Charnin) as the youngest orphan, Molly. At age ten, she was given the lead role of Little Orphan Annie. She remained with the production company NETworks Presentations for 3 years.
Amanda Balon was born in Kansas City, Kansas and was raised in Zimbabwe along with her twin brother and older sister. She has been performing since the age of three. Amanda entered the Daystar Academy of the Performing Arts as their youngest student. She is also a member of the Senior competition travel team.[ citation needed ]
Amanda Balon is part of the all-star cast on the 30th anniversary recording of the Broadway musical released by Time Life Records. Balon sings the never-before-recorded solos from Annie 2. She joins Carol Burnett, Sally Struthers, Kathie Lee Gifford, Andrea McArdle, John Schuck, Harve Presnell, Gary Beach, Marissa O'Donnell and other members from the original cast on the double CD which was produced by Robert Sher and released in June 2008.[ citation needed ]
Carolyn Laurie Kane is an American actress. She became known in the 1970s and 1980s in films such as Hester Street, Dog Day Afternoon, Annie Hall, The Princess Bride and Scrooged.
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tells the story of farm girl Laurey Williams and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain and the sinister and frightening farmhand Jud Fry. A secondary romance concerns cowboy Will Parker and his flirtatious fiancée, Ado Annie.
Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga, known professionally as Lea Salonga, is a Filipina singer, actress, producer, and columnist. Dubbed the "Pride of the Philippines," she is best known for her roles in musical theatre, for supplying the singing voices of two Disney Princesses, and as a recording artist and television performer. Throughout her career, she has achieved numerous accolades and honors, becoming an internationally-recognized figure in music and entertainment.
Annie is a musical with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and a book by Thomas Meehan. It is based on the 1924 comic strip Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years, setting a record for the Alvin Theatre. It spawned numerous productions in many countries, as well as national tours, and won seven Tony Awards, including for Best Musical. The musical's songs "Tomorrow" and "It's the Hard Knock Life" are among its most popular musical numbers.
Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero Anderson; born January 23, 1933), professionally known as Chita Rivera, is an American actress, singer and dancer best known for originating roles in Broadway musicals including Anita in West Side Story, Velma Kelly in Chicago, and the title role in Kiss of the Spider Woman. She is a ten-time Tony Award nominee and a three-time Tony Award recipient, including one for Lifetime Achievement. She is the first Latina and the first Latino American to receive a Kennedy Center Honor and is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her autobiography, Chita: A Memoir, was published in 2023.
Andrea McArdle is an American singer and actress best known for originating the role of Annie in the Broadway musical Annie.
Valentine Ruth Henshall, known professionally as Ruthie Henshall, is an English actress, singer and dancer, known for her work in musical theatre. She began her professional stage career in 1986, before making her West End debut in Cats in 1987. A five-time Olivier Award nominee, she won the 1995 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Amalia Balash in the London revival of She Loves Me (1994).
Natalie Casey is an English actress, presenter, narrator and singer. She portrayed Carol Groves in the television show Hollyoaks (1996–2000) and Donna Henshaw in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (2001–2011).
Ashley Brown is an American singer and actress who is best known for playing the titular character in the United States national tour and Broadway productions of Mary Poppins.
MacKenzie Grace Mauzy is an American actress. She played the role of Phoebe Forrester on CBS daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful from 2006 to 2008, and recurred as Abigail on the 2014 ABC television drama series Forever.
Nancy Carol Opel is an American singer and actress, known primarily for her work on Broadway. She was nominated for the 2002 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in the musical Urinetown.
Lillias White is an American actress and singer. She is particularly known for her performances in Broadway musicals. In 1989 she won an Obie Award for her performance in the Off-Broadway musical Romance in Hard Times. In 1997 she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for portraying Sonja in Cy Coleman's The Life. She was nominated for a Tony Award again in 2010 for her work as Funmilayo in Fela Kuti's Fela!.
Tessa Ludwick is a Korean-born American actress from Apollo Beach, Florida. She began acting at the age of 5, when she held a lead role in Allegra's Window, a Nick Jr. children's television program show taped at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. When filming on Allegra's Window ended in May 1996, 7-year-old Ludwick went from Allegra's Window to a lead role in Big Bag, a live action/puppetry preschool television program on Cartoon Network. At the age of 8, she landed the role of Kate, an orphan girl in the touring Broadway musical Annie, the 20th Anniversary. For the next eight months, she toured the United States and Canada with the musical, during which time Ludwick gave eight performances per week.
Linzi Hateley is an English stage actress. At the age of 21, in 1992, she became one of the youngest nominees for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as the Narrator in the West End revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Remy Zaken is an American stage and television actress best known for being one of the youngest cast members in the Original Broadway production of Spring Awakening at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, playing the role of Thea. Zaken received a BA in psychology from Columbia University, after having deferred for a year in order to perform in Spring Awakening.
Amanda Harrison is an Australian actress and singer, known for her roles in Wicked (Elphaba), We Will Rock You, and for originating the role of Paula Pokrifki in the world premiere of An Officer and a Gentleman. She has performed in cabaret several times, including her current production Up Close and Reasonably Personal which she is expected to perform at Melbourne Cabaret Festival in June 2014 and recently David Harris, Michael Ball, Lea Salonga and Marie Zamora for Enda Markey Presents Do You Hear The People Sing at Shanghai Grand Theatre. She voiced characters for Get Ace an animation series released in January 2014. She appeared with Mig Ayesa, Michael Falzon and Carly Thomas-Smith for three performances of The Music of Queen - Rock and Symphonic Spectacular. The concert series began on 7 February 2014, at Sydney Opera House supported by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra before three performances in Perth, Western Australia between 13–15 February.
Toni Ann Gisondi is a former child actress, best known for playing Molly—the youngest orphan—in the 1982 film version of the musical Annie.
Bianca Marroquín is a Mexican musical theatre and television actress known for being the first Mexican actress to have a starring role on Broadway. She has performed in the musical Chicago for over twenty years and is one of the few actress to play both female leads, Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly.
Jemma Rix is an Australian theatre performer, who has played the role of Elphaba in the Melbourne, Sydney, Australian and Asian touring companies of Wicked. Rix first performed the role in the shortened 30-minute version of the show at Universal Studios Japan. She was an original cast member of the Australian premiere production as the standby for Elphaba.
Desiree "Desi" Oakley,, is an American singer and actress, known for her work in musical theatre. She has performed in shows such as Waitress, Chicago, and Wicked.