Ashley Brown | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 3, 1982 Gulf Breeze, Florida, U.S. |
| Education | University of Cincinnati (BFA) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2004–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Ashley Brown (born February 3, 1982) 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 .
Brown was born February 3, 1982, in Gulf Breeze, Pensacola, Florida, the youngest of four children. She started singing when she was 6 years old and then started professional singing lessons when she was 14. She studied at Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. [1]
Brown initially caught the attention of casting director Tara Rubin not long after graduating from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. After a successful audition, she was cast in the Disney touring production On the Record . This in turn led to her Broadway debut on September 20, 2005, replacing Brooke Tansley as the lead character, Belle, in the Disney Theatrical production of Beauty and the Beast . [2] She departed the role on May 28, 2006, after eight months and she was succeeded by Sarah Litzsinger. [3]
On November 16, 2006, Mary Poppins opened on Broadway with Brown starring as the title character. [4] Brown left the Broadway company on October 5, 2008, after playing the role for two years and was replaced by Scarlett Strallen who previously played the role in the West End. [5]
In March 2007, Brown appeared on All My Children as herself. [6]
On March 11, 2009, Brown reprised the role of Mary Poppins in the US national tour. [7] She left the tour on February 7, 2010, and was succeeded by Caroline Sheen. [8]
On October 20, 2009, Brown performed the role of Snow White in the world symphonic premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – A Symphonic Retelling, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, conducted by John Mauceri. [9]
She has recorded her first solo album of American songbook standards, which was released in January 2010. [10]
Brown played Maria in The Muny production of The Sound of Music , which ran from July 26 to August 1, 2010. [11] For this role she won the Kevin Kline Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. [12]
Brown starred as Oona in the world-premiere of the new musical Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin , which ran at the La Jolla Playhouse from September 7 through October 17, 2010. [13]
Brown played the role of Mary Poppins again in the Broadway production from March 8 to July 17, 2011, while Laura Michelle Kelly was away filming a movie. [14]
Brown played Magnolia Hawks alongside Nathan Gunn as Gaylord Ravenal, Alyson Cambridge as Julie LaVerne, and Morris Robinson as Joe, in Francesca Zambello's production of Show Boat for the Lyric Opera of Chicago's, which ran from February 12 to March 17, 2012. [15] It was broadcast on NPR stations in June 2012, [16] the first time a complete performance of Show Boat has ever been broadcast on radio.[ citation needed ]
In 2013, Brown made her sold-out solo Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Pops [17] as well as having a minor role in the television broadcast The Sound of Music Live! , in which she played Ursula, one of the servants in the Von Trapp household.
In 2015, she sang "A Kiss Goodnight" by Richard M. Sherman, the exit song from Disneyland Forever , a production that commemorated Disneyland's 60th anniversary. [18]
Brown played the Mother Abbess in the national tour of The Sound of Music , which launched September 2015. [19] She then played Mrs. Juniper and Madame Calypso in the 2017 Encores! production of The Golden Apple , and returned to Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops in December 2018. [20] [21] She will return to Broadway in the 2024 revival of Elf the Musical playing the role of Emily Hobbs. [22]
Brown became engaged to actor Daniel Wisler on April 18, 2010; [23] they married November 5, 2011. [24] Brown gave birth to a baby girl on May 9, 2016.
| Year | Award | Category | Show | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Mary Poppins | Nominated |
| 2006 | Austin Critics Table Award | Distinguished Performance | Mary Poppins | Nominated |
| 2006 | Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Mary Poppins | Nominated |
| 2009 | PBS Telly Award | Film Video – TV Programs, Segments, or Promotional Pieces - Entertainment | Ashley Brown: Call Me Irresponsible | Won |
| 2010 | Kevin Kline Award | Best Actress in a Musical | Sound of Music | Won |
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Meet Me in St. Louis | Rose | The Muny | |
| 2005–2006 | Beauty and the Beast | Belle | Lunt-Fontanne Theatre | |
| 2006–2008 | Mary Poppins | Mary Poppins | New Amsterdam Theatre | Original Broadway cast member Nominated Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical Nominated Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance Nominated Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical |
| 2010 | The Sound of Music | Maria | The Muny | Winner Kevin Kline Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical |
| 2010 | Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin | Oona | La Jolla Playhouse | Out-of-town tryout for Chaplin: The Musical |
| 2011 | Mary Poppins | Mary Poppins | New Amsterdam Theatre | Return to role |
| 2012 | Show Boat | Magnolia Hawks | Lyric Opera of Chicago | |
| 2013 | Oklahoma! | Laurey Williams | Lyric Opera of Chicago | |
| 2013 | Hello Dolly! | Irene Molloy | Goodspeed Opera House | |
| 2015 | My Fair Lady | Eliza Doolittle | Cape Playhouse [25] | |
| 2017 | The Golden Apple | Mrs. Juniper/Madame Calypso | Encores! [26] | |
| 2019 | Cinderella | Marie/Fairy Godmother | The Muny [27] | |
| 2024–2025 | Elf the Musical | Emily Hobbs | Marquis Theatre [28] |
| Year | Tour title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2004–2005 | On the Record | Kristen |
| 2009–2010 | Mary Poppins | Mary Poppins |
| 2015–2016 | The Sound of Music | Mother Abbess |
| Year | Title | Other notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Disney's On the Record | |
| 2009 | Speak Low | |
| 2018 | The Secret of Christmas |
Richard Morton Sherman was an American songwriter who specialized in musical films with his brother Robert B. Sherman. According to the official Walt Disney Company website and independent fact checkers, "The Sherman Brothers were responsible for more motion picture musical song scores than any other songwriting team in film history."
Georgia Bright Engel was an American actress. She is best known for having played Georgette Franklin Baxter in the sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show from 1972 to 1977, Pat MacDougall on Everybody Loves Raymond from 2003 to 2005, and Mamie Sue on Hot in Cleveland from 2012 to 2015. She was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards and a BAFTA award.
Disney Theatrical Productions Limited (DTP), also known as Disney on Broadway, is the stageplay and musical production company of the Disney Theatrical Group, a subsidiary of Disney Entertainment, a major division and business unit of The Walt Disney Company.
Laura Michelle Kelly is an English actress and singer, best known for originating the roles of Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins in the West End, for which she received the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies in Finding Neverland on Broadway.
Mary Poppins is a musical with music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman and additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, and a book by Julian Fellowes. The musical is based on the similarly titled Mary Poppins children's books by P. L. Travers and the 1964 Disney film, and is a fusion of various elements from the two, including songs from the film.
On the Record is a jukebox musical revue featuring many classic songs from a variety of live action and animated films and television series produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Broadway musical plays produced by Walt Disney Theatrical, and even Disneyland attractions. This theatrical celebration of 75 years of Disney music tells the story of four singers recording a greatest hits album in a magical recording studio. After opening in Cleveland in 2004, the production toured for nine months, visiting 24 cities in the United States before closing in Denver in mid-2005.
Gavin Lee is an English actor who has appeared on the stage in musical theatre, notably as Bert in the musical Mary Poppins, in both the West End and on Broadway, and as Squidward Tentacles in the original Broadway cast of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical.
Sarah Litzsinger is an American actress and singer, best known for her career in musical theatre.
Mary Poppins is a fictional character and the eponymous protagonist of P. L. Travers' books of the same name along with all of their adaptations. A magical English nanny, she blows in on the east wind and arrives at the Banks home at Number 17 Cherry Tree Lane, London, where she is given charge of the Banks children and teaches them valuable lessons with a magical touch. Travers gives Poppins the accent and vocabulary of a real London nanny: cockney base notes overlaid with a strangled gentility.
Emily Skinner, also known as Emily Scott Skinner, is a Tony-nominated American actress and singer. She has played leading roles in 11 Broadway productions including New York, New York, Prince of Broadway, The Cher Show, Side Show, Jekyll & Hyde, James Joyce's The Dead, The Full Monty, Dinner at Eight, Billy Elliot, as well as the Actor's Fund Broadway concerts of Dreamgirls and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. She has sung on concert stages around the world and on numerous recordings.
Scarlett Aimee Vaigncourt-Strallen is an English stage actress, best known for her work in musical theatre productions in the West End and on Broadway. She has received two Olivier Award nominations, in 2006 for her portrayal of Josephine in an adaptation of H.M.S. Pinafore, performed at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and in 2012 for her role in Singin' in the Rain. Strallen is also a former voice actress.
Lisa Jane O'Hare is an English actress who has played Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady and the title character of Mary Poppins in the West End and UK stage. She more recently has appeared in several prime-time American television shows on TNT, ABC and NBC. She most recently starred on Broadway in the musical, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.
Lisa Brescia is an American musical theatre actress who has performed as lead and understudy in several Broadway shows. Raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she went on to pursue acting and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She taught Acting I and IV at Missouri State University and is now set to be the head of the Musical Theatre department at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri.
Ashley Marie Spencer is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Spencer was a contestant on the 2007 NBC show Grease: You're the One that I Want! She was the understudy for Barbie in the Barbie in Fairytopia tour, in which she sang and danced ballet.
Michael Hayden is an actor who has appeared both on the Broadway and West End stage, as well as on television. His best known role was Billy Bigelow in the stage musical, Carousel. He received both Laurence Olivier Award and Drama Desk Award nominations for his performance in the role.
Rob McClure is an American actor and singer, best known for his work on the Broadway stage.
Anthony Lyn is a Welsh theatrical director and actor, originally from Swansea in South Wales. During his early life, he performed in numerous shows at the Grand Theatre in Swansea. As an actor he appeared in London's West End and toured nationally.
Michael James Scott is an American actor and singer, known for his work on the Broadway stage. He is best known for playing the Genie in Disney's Aladdin musical in the Original Australian Cast, as well as in the West End, U.S. National Tour, and Broadway productions.
Sylphide Charity Vaigncourt-Strallen, known professionally as Zizi Strallen, is a British actress, singer and dancer best known for playing Mary Poppins in the Cameron Mackintosh theatrical production of Mary Poppins.
McKenzie Kurtz is an American stage actress, singer, and dancer. In her Broadway debut, she played the role of Anna in Frozen.
'Faculty, Resident Artists, and Alumni' ... Alumni continue to hold key positions in the performing and media arts. Numbered among them are ... musical theatre stars Faith Prince, Lee Roy Reams, Michele Pawk, Jason Graae, Jim Walton, Vicki Lewis, and Ashley Brown.
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