Elise McCann (born 28 July 1984) is an Australian actress and musical theatre performer most well known for originating the role of Miss Honey in the Australian production of Matilda the Musical[2] and as Lucille Ball in Everybody Loves Lucy.[3]
In 2010 McCann was cast in the world premiere production of Doctor Zhivago opening at the Lyric Theatre, Sydney on 19 February 2011. The production was directed by Des McAnuff[12] and ran from 19 February 2011 until 3 April 2011 in Sydney,[13] after which it travelled to Melbourne[14] and Brisbane, closing on 14 August 2011.[15]
In 2012 McCann was cast[16] in the Australian production of Bartlett Sher's revival of South Pacific,[17] opening at the Sydney Opera House in August 2012. South Pacific went on to tour to Melbourne and Brisbane followed by a Perth season in 2013 and a return Sydney season again at the Sydney Opera House. The 2012 Sydney Opera House production was filmed for DVD release[18] however was never officially released.
In 2015 McCann was nominated for her first Sydney Theatre Award for her performance in the role of Lucille Ball in the one-woman show Everybody Loves Lucy.[19] Produced by Luckiest Productions, Everybody Loves Lucy was co-written by McCann and Richard Carroll, directed by Helen Dallimore, choreographed by Christopher Horsey with musical direction by Nigel Ubrihien. Everybody Loves Lucy ran sold-out seasons in June–July 2014 after which it embarked on a six-week national Australian tour in February–March 2015.[6] McCann was simultaneously filming Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door for Shine/Network 7, so Australian actress Francine Cain was cast as the understudy and performed as Lucille at a number of performances.[20] In 2017 Everybody Loves Lucy embarked on a regional Australian tour with Jayde Westaby in the role of Miss Ball as McCann was performing around the country in Matilda the Musical.[2]
McCann is most well known for originating the role of Miss Honey in the Australian cast of The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) production of Matilda the Musical. McCann originally auditioned for the role of Mrs Wormword but was spotted by director Matthew Warchus and chosen to play the iconic role of Miss Honey, Matilda's kind school teacher.[2]
The production, produced by Louise Withers in conjunction with the RSC,[21] had preview performances from 28 July 2015 before opening at the Sydney Lyric theatre on 20 August 2015.[22][23] Alongside McCann, the adult principal cast included Marika Aubrey and Daniel Frederiksen as Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood, and James Millar as Miss Trunchbull.[23] The Sydney season ended on Sunday 29 February 2016 before transferring to Melbourne's Princess Theatre from 13 March. The Melbourne season was extended until 11 November, after which a new season was announced to start in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Auckland. The Matilda tour continued on to Brisbane from 25 November 2016 to 12 February 2017 at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) before moving on to perform at the Crown Theatre in Perth from 28 February until 7 May 2017.
McCann performed the role over 650 times in two years and chose to leave the show on 19 March 2017 midway through the Perth season. Lucy Maunder was cast to replace McCann.[24]
For her performance as Miss Honey, McCann won the 2016 Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting role in a Musical,[25] as well as the 2015 Sydney Theatre Award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical[26] and was nominated for the 2017 Green Room Award for her portrayal of Miss Honey.[27]
In 2019 McCann headlined The Ensemble Theatre company's 2019 season in the role of Cathy Hiatt in the Jason Robert Brown cult musical The Last Five Years.[30] In September 2019 McCann was the special guest singer at the Waislitz Global Citizen Awards in New York City as part of the 2019 Global Citizen Festival.
McCann was cast as Rita Hanson opposite Andy Karl in the Australian production of Groundhog Day, which premiered in Melbourne in January 2024 at the Princess Theatre.[33] This is the second time she has been cast in a musical written by Tim Minchin and directed by Matthew Warchus.
In 2018 McCann filmed the pilot for a new Australian comedy drama - Tumbling - about three Gen Y sisters. Directed by Hayley McFarlane, McCann played the eldest of the three sisters alongside Australian actors Melina Vidler and Sara West.[36]
Concerts and live performances
McCann has headlined Light the Night, Twisted Broadway, Hats Off!, the Mission Australia Charity Gala, Westmead Children's Hospital Charity Ball, The Awakening Concert, The Sydney Women's Fund Annual Charity Gala and the ACON Worlds AIDS Day Concert. She has guested at the Sydney Theatre Awards, Carols in the Domain, New Musicals Australia Launch, Australian Ethic Small Business Awards, the Australian Mo Awards, the Third Annual Cabaret Showcase at Bar Me, All Star Cabaret for the Sydney Theatre Company and Up Close and Musical for Kookaburra.
In 2014 Elise was part of the workshop cast of a Stephen Schwartz revue with the working title Popular. The revue was later renamed 'Defying Gravity: the songs of Stephen Schwartz' and premiered in Sydney at The Theatre Royal in February 2016.[39] McCann was performing in Matilda the Musical at the time, however she was invited to perform with Stephen Schwartz himself at a one off conversation series 'Stephen Schwartz in Conversation' curated by Leigh Sales.[40] McCann sang The Hardest Part of Love from Children of Eden accompanied by Schwartz on the piano.
On Monday 11 July 2016 McCann performed at the 'From Sydney with Love Concert' at Sydney Town Hall alongside Shoshana Bean, Magda Szubanski, Joel Creasey and Virginia Gay amongst others,[41][42] raising funds for the victims of the Orlando gun shootings. The Sydney concert was produced by Trevor Ashley, Catherine Alcorn and George Youakim in association with ACON and the City of Sydney[43] and raised over $70,000 for the Equality Florida Pulse Victims Fund.
In June 2018 McCann joined the West End company of Beyond the Barricade in a national Australian tour of the UK's popular Musical Theatre concert.[46] McCann stepped in with only 3 days notice replacing Katie Leeming who had to return to the UK due to ill health. McCann joined three past principal performers from London's longest-running musical Les Misérables, in the West End and on UK tour – Andy Reiss, David Fawcett and Poppy Tierney. The show performed across NSW, VIC, SA, QLD and WA in a sold out 6-week national tour.[47]
In April 2018 McCann performed 4 concerts of Dahlesque at the Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO).[52] Amos re-orchestrated the concert for a 40 piece orchestra and musically directed the 4 MSO concerts, with Brett Kelly as conductor.[49]
McCann recorded her debut album of Dahlesque with ABC Music in 2017. It features the nine piece orchestra arrangements of the numbers from the concert, and the physical edition of the album contains two bonus tracks – original compositions of 'Little Red Riding Hood & The Wolf' and 'The Three Little Pigs' from Dahl's Revolting Rhymes. The online and streaming services across Australia and New Zealand do not offer these two additional songs, which were composed by Stephen Amos. The album was released nationally on 23 June 2017 under ABC Music and received rave reviews.[53] It is distributed by Universal Music.
Producing
McCann is also an emerging producer under her production company Oriel Entertainment Group. To date she has produced multiple seasons of the one man play I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright starring Ben Gerrard and directed by Shaun Rennie. The first production opened in Sydney in 2015 and since has toured to Melbourne (2017) and Brisbane (2017 & 2018). As well as developing the original new theatre piece Carmen, Live or Dead in Melbourne in 2017 and its subsequent premiere season at the Hayes Theatre, Sydney in 2018; and her own concert show Dahlesque.[54][55]
Recordings
Dahlesque (2017); album by Elise McCann and ABC Music. Musical Director Stephen Amos. Produced by James Kempster & Stephen Amos. Distributed by Universal Music.
Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman.
Anthony Warlow is an Australian musical theatre performer, noted for his character acting and considerable vocal range. He is a classically trained lyric baritone and made his debut with the Australian Opera in 1980.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, also known as Sweeney Todd is a 1979 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. It is based on the 1970 play Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond. The character of Sweeney Todd first appeared in a Victorian penny dreadful titled The String of Pearls.
Enda Markey is an Irish-born, Sydney-based, theatrical producer and former singer and actor. He is the producer of the stage productions Side by Side by Sondheim and the international tour of Boublil and Schonberg's Do You Hear The People Sing?, and the Australian revival of Willy Russell's Blood Brothers.
Marina Prior is an Australian soprano and actress with a career mainly in musical theatre. From 1990 to 1993, she starred as the original Christine Daaé in the Australian premiere of The Phantom of the Opera, opposite Anthony Warlow and later Rob Guest.
Side by Side by Sondheim is a musical revue featuring the songs of composer Stephen Sondheim. Its title is derived from the song "Side by Side by Side" from Company.
James Millar is an Australian actor, singer and writer. He wrote the musical drama The Hatpin, the song cycle LOVEBiTES and co-wrote the semi-autobiographical musical A Little Touch of Chaos.
Caroline Ann O'Connor is an Anglo-Australian singer, dancer, and actress. For her theatre work she has won three Helpmann Awards: Best Female Actor in a Play for Edith Piaf in Piaf in 2001; in the same category for Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow in 2006; and Best Female Actor in a Musical for Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes in 2015.
Lucy Durack is an Australian actress, singer and television personality who played Glinda in the Australian production of Wicked, and Elle Woods in the Australian production of Legally Blonde: The Musical. She starred as Tugger in Australian television drama Doctor Doctor in 2016 and as Roxy Karibas in Sisters in 2017.
Magnormos is an independent musical theatre production company based in Melbourne, Australia, that specialises in musicals written by Australian writers and lesser-known international works. Its productions have included the Australian premiere of [title of show] in 2010, and the 2011 world premiere of flowerchildren – the mamas and papas story which transferred to Melbourne's Comedy Theatre in 2013. Magnormos has been aligned with Theatre Works since 2003. It received a special Green Room Award certificate for Outstanding Support for New Australian Musical Theatre in 2012.
Roald Dahl's Matilda, also known simply as Matilda and Matilda the Musical, is a musical with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin and a book by Dennis Kelly. It is based on the 1988 novel Matilda by Roald Dahl. The musical's narrative centres on Matilda Wormwood, a precocious five-year-old girl with the gift of telekinesis, who loves reading, overcomes obstacles caused by her family and school, and helps her teacher to reclaim her life. After a twelve-week trial run staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) at Stratford-upon-Avon from November 2010 to January 2011, it received its West End premiere on 24 November 2011 at the Cambridge Theatre and its Broadway premiere on 11 April 2013 at the Shubert Theatre.
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.
David Harris is an Australian actor and singer. In Australia, he is best known for his performances as Chris in Miss Saigon, Fiyero in Wicked and Emmett in Legally Blonde having received Helpmann Award nominations for all three leading roles. Harris also starred as the Baker in Victorian Opera's production of Into the Woods and, in America, as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables opposite Terrence Mann in 2015. He has released two solo albums. Since early 2023, he has played the role of The Duke of Monroth in the Broadway theater production of Moulin Rouge! The Musical.
Christopher Scalzo is an Australian-born actor, singer and musical theater performer. He has been part of many major National and International musicals.
Stephen Mahy is an Australian born tenor from Sydney, NSW, best known for originating the role of Bob Gaudio in the Australian production of Jersey Boys. After graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2006, Stephen toured the country in Miss Saigon, covering the lead role of Chris and playing the role to every audience in the country. Mahy toured nationally in Grease, playing the role of Kenickie alongside notable cast members Rob Mills, Gretel Scarlett, Anthony Callea, Lucy Maunder, Todd McKenney and Bert Newton as Vince Fontaine. In 2015, Stephen joined the cast of The Rocky Horror Show, playing the role of Brad Majors alongside Craig McLachlan, Amy Lehpamer, Jayde Westaby, Bert Newton and Richard O'Brien, just to name a few. He featured in "Stephen Schwartz in Conversation" at Sydney's Theatre Royal, where he performed on stage for the noted composer.
Lucy Maunder is an Australian cabaret and theatre performer. She originated the role of Lara in the Australian premiere of Doctor Zhivago in 2011 opposite Anthony Warlow, and toured with her own cabaret Songs in the Key of Black in 2013, releasing an album with the same name. Also in 2013, Maunder toured with the national touring company of Grease playing the role of Rizzo. In 2021-22, she starred as the adult Alison Bechdel in the Sydney Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company's co-production of Fun Home.
Suzie Mathers is a Scottish-Australian actress and theatre performer best known for her role as Glinda the Good Witch in the Australian, Asian tour, and London productions of Wicked as well Sophie in the 10th Anniversary Australian tour of Mamma Mia! the Musical.
Rowan Witt is an Australian film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for starring in The Book of Mormon, Hamilton, Totally Completely Fine, She Loves Me,Dogfight, Gloria, Into The Woods, South Pacific, Home and Away, and The Matrix.
Anna O'Byrne is an Australian actress and soprano singer best known for her portrayal of Christine Daaé in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera and the original Australian production of Lloyd Webber's sequel, Love Never Dies, for which she was nominated for a Green Room Award.
Alex Rathgeber is an Australian actor and singer, perhaps best known for his Helpmann Award-winning performance as Billy Crocker in Anything Goes. More recently he appeared as the Tin Man in Andrew Lloyd Webber's revival of The Wizard of Oz.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
