Heather Christian

Last updated
Heather Christian
Born New Orleans, Louisiana
Occupation(s)Composer, librettist, singer
Years active2004-present

Heather Christian is an American singer, playwright, and composer best known for 2017's Animal Wisdom at the Bushwick Starr and Oratorio for Living Things, which ran Off Broadway at Ars Nova in the spring of 2022. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life

Christian was born in New Orleans and raised in Natchez, Mississippi. Growing up, she was involved in children's choir and high school theater. She is a graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where she studied experimental theater. [2] [1]

Career

Theater

Christian served as the composer for the Folger Shakespeare Library production of As You Like It in 2017. [3] Later that year, she debuted Animal Wisdom, a autobiographical work based on supernatural encounters from her childhood in Natchez. The work's original run at the Bushwick Starr received several extensions and a new film version of the piece was released on Broadway on Demand in 2021. [4]

I am Sending You the Sacred Face, a drag opera about Mother Teresa composed by Christian and performed by Joshua William Gelb, was released online as part of the Theater in Quarantine series in December 2020. [5]

In spring 2022, the Ars Nova theater presented Christian's choral work Oratorio for Living Things as an Off-Broadway production directed by Lee Sunday Evans. [6]

In 2024, "Terce: A Practical Breviary" (the second of eight planned works in her Breviary Cycle [7] ) premiered as part of the Prototype Festival. [8] Co-Produced by HERE Arts Center and The Space at Irondale, the show ran from January 10th through February 2nd and received critical acclaim, including a New York Times Critic's Pick. [9] Christian received a special citation for Terce's composition from the New York Drama Critics' Circle. [10]

Soundtracks

Christian is a frequent collaborator of director Janicza Bravo, scoring her 2017 feature Lemon as well as many short films. In 2020, she provided music for The Craft: Legacy , directed by Zoe Lister-Jones. She also scored two Adult Swim television programs: The Shivering Truth and Teenage Euthanasia . [11]

Other work

In 2020, Christian contributed the episode "Prime: A Practical Breviary" to Soundstage, a podcast produced by theatrical group Playwrights Horizons. [12]

Christian fronts a band called Heather Christian and the Arbornauts. [1]

Personal life

Christian is based in New York City. She was raised Catholic and served as a musician for the Catholic Church until the age of 26. Although she no longer considers herself a member of the Church, she describes herself as spiritual. [4]

Awards and honors

Christian received an Obie Award for her composition of The World is Round, which ran at Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2014. [13]

Related Research Articles

Harriet Sansom Harris is an American actress known for her theater performances and for her portrayals of Bebe Glazer on Frasier and Felicia Tilman on Desperate Housewives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tonya Pinkins</span> American actress

Tonya Pinkins is an American actress and filmmaker. Her award-winning debut feature film Red Pill was an official selection at the 2021 Pan African Film Festival, won the Best Black Lives Matter Feature and Best First Feature at The Mykonos International Film Festival, Best First Feature at the Luléa Film Festival, and is nominated for awards in numerous festivals around the globe. Her web-series The Red Pilling of America can be heard on her podcast "You Can't Say That!" at BPN.fm/ycst

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Smith-Cameron</span> American actress (born 1957)

Jean Isabel Smith, credited professionally as J. Smith-Cameron, is an American actress. She gained prominence for her roles as Janet Talbot in the Sundance TV series Rectify (2013–2016) and Gerri Kellman in the HBO series Succession (2018–2023), the latter of which earned her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Liza Colón-Zayas is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for playing Tina Marrero on the comedy-drama series The Bear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annaleigh Ashford</span> American actress, singer, and dancer

Annaleigh Ashford is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her early roles on Broadway include in the musicals Wicked (2007), Legally Blonde (2007), and Hair (2010). She received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for playing Essie Carmichael in You Can't Take It With You (2014–2015). Her other Tony-nominated roles include Lauren in Kinky Boots (2013) and Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2023). She also starred in the Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park with George (2017).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jayne Houdyshell</span> American actress

Jayne Houdyshell is an American actress. Known for being a prolific character actor in theater, film, and television, Houdyshell has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award, two Obie Awards, and a Drama Desk Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tina Landau</span> American playwright and theatre director (born 1962)

Tina Landau is an American playwright and theatre director. Known for her large-scale, musical, and ensemble-driven work, Landau's productions have appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regionally, most extensively at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago where she is an ensemble member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sholeh Wolpé</span> American poet, playwright and literary translator

Sholeh Wolpé is an Iranian-born American poet, playwright, librettist and literary translator. She was born in Iran and grew up there until the age of 13. After that she lived in Trinidad and England during her teenage years before settling in the United States. She lives in Spain and California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Hernandez Park</span> Public park in Brooklyn, New York

Maria Hernandez Park is a municipal park in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City. It is located between Knickerbocker Avenue on the southwest to Irving Avenue on the northeast, and Starr Street on the northwest to Suydam Street on the southeast. The park is 6.87 acres (2.78 ha) and is near the Jefferson Street station of the New York City Subway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ars Nova (theater)</span> Off-Broadway theatre in New York City

Ars Nova is an Off-Broadway, non-profit theater in New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. Ars Nova develops and produces theater, comedy and music created by artists in the early stages of their careers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachael Hip-Flores</span> American actress

Rachael Lauren Hip-Flores is an American actress. Born and raised in Piscataway, New Jersey, she is known for her role in the web series Anyone But Me, for which she received the IAWTV, Streamy, and Indie Series Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She also played a lead role in the web series Producing Juliet for which she received nominations for Best Ensemble Cast and starred in a series called Good people in love, for this she was nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Drama. She also appeared as a leading actress in the two webseries, Shadow Free and Lucercia

<i>Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812</i> Musical adaptation of Leo Tolstoys War and Peace

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 is a sung-through musical adaptation of a 70-page segment from Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel War and Peace written by composer/lyricist Dave Malloy and directed by Rachel Chavkin. It is based on Part 8 of Tolstoy's novel, focusing on Natasha's romance with Anatole and Pierre's search for meaning in his life.

<i>Fun Home</i> (musical) Musical adapted by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori

Fun Home is a musical theatre adaptation of Alison Bechdel's 2006 graphic memoir of the same name, with music by Jeanine Tesori, and book and lyrics by Lisa Kron. The story concerns Bechdel's discovery of her own lesbian sexuality, her relationship with her closeted gay father, and her attempts to unlock the mysteries surrounding his life. It is told in a series of non-linear vignettes connected by narration provided by the adult Alison character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phillipa Soo</span> American actress

Phillipa Anne Soo is an American actress and singer. Known for her leading roles on Broadway primarily in musicals, she has received two Grammy Awards along with nominations for a Tony Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenn Colella</span> American singer (born 1974)

Jenn Colella is an American actress and singer. She began her career as a comedian and then branched out into musical theater. In her New York debut in Urban Cowboy, she earned a 2003 Outer Critics Circle Award nomination. More recently, she received a Tony Award nomination and won the Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and three regional theater awards for her portrayal of Annette/Beverley Bass in Come from Away. She received a Grammy Award in January 2018 for her role for the Dear Evan Hansen original cast album.

Eliza Bent is an American playwright, performer, and journalist. Her plays have been staged off-broadway at theaters across New York City including: Abrons Art Center, A.R.T., New York Theatre Workshop, The Bushwick Starr, and others. She is a founding member of the Brooklyn-based Half Straddle theater company and a graduate of the Brooklyn College MFA program in playwriting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy O. Harris</span> American playwright and actor (born 1989)

Jeremy O. Harris is an American playwright, actor, and philanthropist. Harris gained prominence for his 2018 Slave Play, which received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Play. Harris is also known for his work in film and television. He produced and co-wrote the A24 film Zola (2021), for which he received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay. He acted in the HBO Max series Gossip Girl (2021), the Netflix series Emily in Paris (2022), and in the film The Sweet East (2023).

The Bushwick Starr is a non-profit theater in the Brooklyn neighborhood of the same name that was founded in 2007 by Sue Kessler and Noel Allain who serve as the creative and artistic director, respectively. They were located on Starr Street until 2020 when their space was sold and they announced the purchase of and relocation to a former dairy plant at 419 Eldert Street.

<i>Kimberly Akimbo</i> (musical) 2021 musical by Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire

Kimberly Akimbo is a 2021 musical with music by Jeanine Tesori, and lyrics and book by David Lindsay-Abaire. It is based on Lindsay-Abaire's 2001 comedy of the same name.

Jeanna de Waal is a British stage actress and singer. She is known for playing the title role of Princess Diana in the 2021 Broadway show Diana: The Musical, which was also released on Netflix. The musical received negative reviews from critics and widespread notoriety, winning five Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Actress for de Waal. De Waal was also nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical for the same role.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Green, Adam (2017-12-06). "With Animal Wisdom, Heather Christian Stages a Powerful Southern Gothic Musical on Mortality" . Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  2. 1 2 Solís, Jose (2022-03-16). "Heather Christian's Choral Work Is a Study of Time. Patience, Too". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  3. ↑ n.a. "Heather Christian". Folger Shakespeare Library. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  4. 1 2 Tran, DIep. "Interview: Heather Christian on What Helped Her Navigate the Pandemic: Music and Faith". Theater Mania. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  5. ↑ Charron, Jennifer Ann. ""I Am Sending You the Sacred Face": A Tour de Force from East Village Closet—Streaming TiQ". Theatrius. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  6. ↑ Shaw, Helen (2022-03-30). "Heather Christian's Oratorio for Living Things Sings the Universe Electric" . Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  7. ↑ Green, Adam (January 22, 2024). "In Her New Show, Heather Christian Puts the Divine Feminine Onstage". Vogue.
  8. ↑ "Terce: A Practical Breviary - PROTOTYPE". July 24, 2023.
  9. ↑ Green, Jesse (January 19, 2024). "'Terce' Review: How the Other Half Prays, in a Reimagined Mass" – via NYTimes.com.
  10. ↑ "2023-2024 Awards". www.dramacritics.org.
  11. ↑ n.a. "Heather Christian". IMDb. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  12. ↑ Greene, Steve. "'Soundstage': Heather Christian Wrote a Stirring Anthem for Just Getting Through the Day". Indiewire. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  13. ↑ "Heather Christian" . Retrieved 2022-05-02.
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.