Kim Criswell

Last updated
Kim Criswell
Born (1957-07-19) July 19, 1957 (age 66)
Hampton, Virginia, United States
NationalityAmerican
Education University of Cincinnati
Occupation(s)musical entertainer and actress
Known forsoloist at The Proms
Notable workone-woman show Doin What Comes Naturally

Kim Criswell (born July 19, 1957) is an American musical entertainer and actress.

Contents

Life and career

Criswell was born in Hampton, Virginia, United States, [1] and grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After she graduated from Hixson High School [2] in suburban Chattanooga, she studied musical theatre at the University of Cincinnati's College Conservatory of Music. She then moved to New York City where she landed a role in the touring company of Annie . She made her Broadway debut in The First in 1981. [1] She has been in numerous musicals and has appeared with some of America's leading symphony orchestras as the featured soloist. She won the Helen Hayes Award in 1989 for her 1988 performance in Side By Side By Sondheim at the Olney Theatre in Washington. [3]

In September 1991, she presented her one-woman show Doin What Comes Naturally, at the Shaw Theatre in London. [1] She has lived in London since 1992, when she was invited to play Annie Oakley in Irving Berlin's musical Annie Get Your Gun . [4]

On August 1, 2009, she was a featured soloist in the "BBC Proms 2009: a Celebration of Classic MGM Film Musicals" at the Royal Albert Hall. On that evening she performed a number of songs including: "The Trolley Song", "Over the Rainbow" and "Get Happy" all originally made famous by Judy Garland. She additionally performed the songs "I Got Rhythm" (also in Garland's repertoire) and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" in a duet with Seth MacFarlane. On October 4, 2009, she was a featured artist at the Broadway to West End Gala in the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. [5] She repeated her Proms Concert success when she appeared in a Rodgers and Hammerstein evening, once again with the John Wilson Orchestra at The Royal Albert Hall with opera singer Rod Gilfry in August 2010.

In January 2012, she performed at Vienna's Volksoper, starring in Bernstein's Candide .

Musicals

Films

Recordings

TitleCharacter
Side By Side (1988)Soloist
Side By Side By SondheimSoloist (won the Helen Hayes Award!)
AnnieStar to be / Ensemble
Annie Get Your Gun (1992)Annie Oakley
Anything Goes (studio recording) Reno Sweeney
Baby (Dec 4, 1983)Narrator, 6th woman, people in town
Dames At Sea (1996)Ruby
Dubarry Was A Lady
Elegies For Punks And Raging Queens (1993)Soloist
The First (1981)Girl at bat/Dodger wife/Hilda Chester
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (May 1991)Dorothy Shaw
Girl CrazyKate (?)
Glory Of EasterVirgin Mary (Mary Magdalene for 1 performance)
Guys And DollsMiss Adelaide
The History Of The Musical by Richard Fawkes (Naxos Audiobooks)Narrator
Kiss Me KateLois Lane/Bianca
Lady Be Good (2000)
Let Em Eat Cake (March 21, 1994)Mary Turner
Man Of La Mancha (2000 Covent Garden Festival)Aldonza / Dulcinea
NineFrancesca, (U/S Claudia, Carla,)
Of Thee I Sing (June 27, 1998)Diana Devereaux
On The TownHildy the taxi driver
One Touch Of Venus
Sitting Pretty
Slow Drag (1997)June Wedding
Strike Up The Band
Trouble in Tahiti (12 October 2008, BR Klassik 403571900300)Dinah
Wonderful Town (1999)Ruth

"Dearest Enemy" (2012)

Mary Murray

Solo albums

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Colin Larkin, ed. (2003). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 133/4. ISBN   1-85227-969-9.
  2. "Lung Association of Tennessee to honor Kim Criswell". Timesfreepress.com. 19 April 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  3. "Helen Hayes Awards Nominees and Recipients". Theatrewashington.org. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  4. "Broadway and West End Artists and Composers". JAY Records. Archived from the original on 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  5. "Kim Criswell, Daniel Evans, Gareth Gates, et al. Set for Broadway to West End Gala". Theatermania.com. 2009-08-18. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  6. "Olney Theatre Center - Play History". Olneytheatre.org. Archived from the original on 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  7. "Archived copy of Olney Theatre Centre Play History". 2010-11-26. Archived from the original on October 3, 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  8. Harvey, Dennis (2011-09-13). "Variety Reviews - Hysteria". Variety.com. Retrieved 2012-01-31.