Kerstin Anderson | |
|---|---|
 Anderson in 2013 | |
| Born | Kerstin Bridget Anderson September 10, 1994 |
| Alma mater | Pace University |
| Years active | 2015–present |
Kerstin Bridget Anderson (born September 10, 1994) is an American stage actor and singer. She starred as Maria Von Trapp in the 2015 U.S. national tour of The Sound of Music , for which she received warm praise. [1] She made her Broadway debut as the alternate for Eliza Doolittle in the 2018 revival of My Fair Lady . [2]
Anderson was raised in South Burlington, Vermont, the daughter of Frederick G. "Ted" Anderson, a scientist with IBM, [3] [4] and Kathleen "Kathy" Kilcoyne, a college athletic director. [4] [5] She lived in Galway, Ireland, during her father's sabbatical year, and her interest in acting began when her sister appeared in a play there. She grew up singing but never took it seriously until high school. [6] While attending South Burlington High School, she played the title role in Peter Pan (2010) with the nearby Lyric Theatre Company, [7] and in high school productions, she played Asaka in Once on This Island (2011) [8] and Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (2012). [9] As a junior in high school, she directed the first musical, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (2011), given by a new community theatre company, Spotted Pup Productions. She then played Heidi in their production of [title of show] (2012). [10] She also competed on the high school's dance team, which won the state championship her junior year. [11] [12]
After graduating from high school in 2013, Anderson attended Pace University. During her two years there, she starred as Clara in the university's production of The Light in the Piazza , directed by Victoria Clark, and as Annie in The Visit . [13] During her summer break in 2014, Anderson played Shy in the Forestburgh Playhouse production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas . [14] Anderson interrupted her education after her second year when she was cast as Maria Von Trapp in the 2015–2017 national tour of The Sound of Music . [15] [16] She stated in an interview that she might return to Pace, after the tour finished, while continuing her career. [15]
The national tour began in September 2015. [17] [18] Anderson saw the 1965 film version of The Sound of Music as a child on VHS tape. [6] [19] She recalled visiting Stowe, Vermont as a child, where the real Maria Von Trapp and her family settled in the U.S. and built the Trapp Family Lodge. [6] [20]
Reviews of Anderson's performances as Maria were strongly positive. Jordan Riefe of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Her crisp, clear soprano voice isn’t the strongest in the cast, but Anderson makes a fine fit for the tricky role." [21] Margaret Gray of the Los Angeles Times commented, "Anderson takes charge with a spirit so joyful, a physicality so lithe and coltish, and a soprano so flawlessly soaring, that only Frau Schraeder ... could possibly resist her charm." [22] Tim Smith of The Baltimore Sun agreed: "She shines right from her first scene.... She is ... persuasive an actor, effortlessly connecting with the children and making Maria's spiritual struggle register. She is especially adept at conveying Maria's gradual falling in love with von Trapp". [23] In Variety , Bob Verini commented that Anderson has a "natural glow (though she ... seems to have no control over her hands)". [17]
Anderson made her Broadway debut as Eliza in the 2018 Broadway revival of My Fair Lady. Originally an understudy for the role, she became the alternate for Saturday matinée performances beginning on July 8, 2018, with Lauren Ambrose continuing on other nights. [2] By late October, Anderson switched to Tuesday nights, continuing as an alternate during Laura Benanti's term as Eliza. [24]
My Fair Lady is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on the 1938 film adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play Pygmalion, concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phonetician, so that she may pass as a lady. Despite his cynical nature and difficulty understanding women, Higgins grows attached to her.
The Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. Set in Austria on the eve of the Anschluss in 1938, the musical tells the story of Maria, who takes a job as governess to a large family while she decides whether to become a nun. She falls in love with the children, and eventually their widowed father, Captain von Trapp. He is ordered to accept a commission in the German navy, but he opposes the Nazis. He and Maria decide on a plan to flee Austria with the children. Many songs from the musical have become standards, including "Do-Re-Mi", "My Favorite Things", "Edelweiss", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", and the title song "The Sound of Music".
Georg Ludwig Ritter von Trapp was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Navy who became the patriarch of the Trapp Family Singers.
Margaret Nixon McEathron, known professionally as Marni Nixon, was an American soprano and ghost singer for featured actresses in musical films. She was the singing voice of leading actresses on the soundtracks of several musicals, including Deborah Kerr in The King and I, Natalie Wood in West Side Story, and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, although her roles were concealed from audiences when the films were released. Several of the songs she dubbed appeared on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs list.
Maria Augusta von Trapp DHS, often styled as “Baroness”, was the stepmother and matriarch of the Trapp Family Singers. She wrote The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, which was published in 1949 and was the inspiration for the 1956 West German film The Trapp Family, which in turn inspired the 1959 Broadway musical The Sound of Music and its 1965 film version.
The Trapp Family was a singing group formed from the family of former Austrian naval commander Georg von Trapp. The family achieved fame in their original singing career in their native Austria during the interwar period. They also performed in the United States before emigrating there permanently to escape the deteriorating situation in Austria leading up to World War II. In the United States, they became well known as the "Trapp Family Singers" until they ceased to perform as a unit in 1957. The family's story later served as the basis for a memoir, two German films, and the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical The Sound of Music. The last surviving of the original seven, Maria Franziska, died in 2014 at the age of 99. The youngest and last surviving member of the Trapp Family Singers is Johannes von Trapp.
The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical drama film produced and directed by Robert Wise from a screenplay written by Ernest Lehman, and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, with Richard Haydn, Peggy Wood, Charmian Carr, and Eleanor Parker. The film is an adaptation of the 1959 stage musical composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Lindsay and Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp and is set in Salzburg, Austria. It is a fictional retelling of her experiences as governess to seven children, her eventual marriage with their father Captain Georg von Trapp, and their escape during the Anschluss in 1938.
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.
"The Sound of Music" is the title song from the musical of the same name that premiered in 1959. It was composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II. The song introduces the character of Maria, a young novice in an Austrian abbey.
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers is a 1949 memoir written by Maria Augusta von Trapp, whose life was later fictionalized in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical The Sound of Music in 1959.
Laura Ilene Benanti is an American actress and singer.
"The Lonely Goatherd" is a popular show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.
Laura Ann Osnes is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has played starring roles in Grease as Sandy, South Pacific as Nellie Forbush, Anything Goes as Hope Harcourt, and Bonnie and Clyde as Bonnie Parker, for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She also starred in the title role of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway, for which she received a Drama Desk Award and her second Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.
Agathe Johanna Erwina Gobertina von Trapp was the eldest daughter of Georg von Trapp and his first wife, Agathe Whitehead von Trapp. She was also a member of the Trapp Family Singers, whose lives were the inspiration for the 1959 musical play and 1965 film The Sound of Music. She was portrayed as the character "Liesl".
Maria Agatha Franziska Gobertina von Trapp was the second-oldest daughter of Georg von Trapp and his first wife, Agathe Whitehead von Trapp. She was a member of the Trapp Family Singers, whose lives inspired the musical and film The Sound of Music. She was portrayed by Heather Menzies as the character "Louisa". She died at age 99, and was the last surviving sibling portrayed in the film.
South Burlington High School (SBHS) is a public secondary school in the suburban municipality of South Burlington, Vermont, United States. The school colors are blue and grey and the nickname is the Wolves. Enrollment in 2022 was 887.
Kerstin is a female German and Swedish given name; it is the European version of Christina.
The Sound of Music Live! is an American television special that was originally broadcast by NBC on December 5, 2013. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the special was an adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1959 Broadway musical The Sound of Music. The television special starred country singer and American Idol winner Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp, and was performed and televised live from Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York.
The Sound of Music Live is a television special that was originally broadcast by ITV on 20 December 2015. The special was an adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1959 Broadway musical The Sound of Music, starring Kara Tointon as Maria von Trapp, performed and televised live from 3 Mills Studios in London.
Jessica Vosk is an American singer and actress, known for her work in musical theater.