Nicola Hughes (actress)

Last updated

Nicola Hughes is an English dancer, singer and actress of Antiguan descent.

Contents

Career

Hughes’ first principal theatre role was in The Who's Tommy , playing the Acid Queen at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 1996. She followed this up by playing Donna Douglas in The Goodbye Girl at the Albery Theatre, and then Lola in Damn Yankees at the Adelphi Theatre, playing opposite Jerry Lewis.

From 1998 to 1999, Hughes starred as Velma Kelly in the West End revival of Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre, taking up the role from Ute Lemper. Hughes’ other leading roles in the West End include Zarita in Simply Heavenly [1] at the Trafalgar Studios and Fosse at the Prince of Wales Theatre, for which she received her first Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. [2]

Her most recent West End performance was playing Bess in Sir Trevor Nunn's The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess , [3] between November 2006 and June 2007, for which she was again nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. [4]

Other theatre roles have included Yum Yum in The Hot Mikado at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury; Bloody Mary in South Pacific at the Grange Park Opera; Follow My Leader , a satirical political revue written by Alistair Beaton, at the Birmingham Rep and the Hampstead Theatre; Zarita in Simply Heavenly at the Young Vic; The Lady in Blues In The Night at the Birmingham Rep; Ain't Misbehavin' at Derby Playhouse; Helene in Sweet Charity at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley and Notes Across a Small Pond at the Bridewell Theatre.

In the summer of 2014, Hughes again played the role of Bess in Porgy and Bess , this time at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London. [5] The production ran from 17 July to 23 August.

In 2015, Hughes joined the cast of the Sky1 show Mount Pleasant for Series 5, playing Jenna. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Porgy and Bess</i> Opera by George Gershwin

Porgy and Bess is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play Porgy, itself an adaptation of DuBose Heyward's 1925 novel of the same name.

Sir Trevor Robert Nunn is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas for the stage, like Macbeth, as well as opera and musicals, such as Cats (1981) and Les Misérables (1985).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Brown</span> American soprano

Anne Brown was an American soprano who created the role of "Bess" in the original production of George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess in 1935. She was also a radio and concert singer. She settled in Norway in 1948 and later became a Norwegian citizen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DuBose Heyward</span> American dramatist

Edwin DuBose Heyward was an American author best known for his 1925 novel Porgy. He and his wife Dorothy, a playwright, adapted it as a 1927 play of the same name. The couple worked with composer George Gershwin to adapt the work as the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. It was later adapted as a 1959 film of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audra McDonald</span> American actress and singer

Audra Ann McDonald is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win all four acting categories. She has performed in musicals, operas, and dramas such as A Moon for the Misbegotten, 110 in the Shade, Carousel, Ragtime, Master Class, and Porgy and Bess.

<i>Porgy and Bess</i> (film) 1959 American musical film

Porgy and Bess is a 1959 American musical drama film directed by Otto Preminger, and starring Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge in the titular roles. It is based on the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin, in turn based on Heyward's 1925 novel Porgy, as well as Heyward's subsequent 1927 non-musical stage adaptation, co-written with his wife Dorothy. The film's screenplay, which turned the operatic recitatives into spoken dialogue, was very closely based on the opera and was written by N. Richard Nash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon D. Clarke</span> British actress

Sharon Delores Clarke is an English actress and singer. She is a three-time Olivier award winner, and is best known to television audiences for her role as Lola Griffin in the medical drama Holby City, and as Grace O'Brien in Doctor Who. Clarke has also played lead roles in many West End musicals, and originated the roles of the Killer Queen in We Will Rock You and Oda Mae Brown in Ghost the Musical.

Tracie Bennett is an English stage and television actress. She trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in Clapham, London. She played the role of Sharon Gaskell in Coronation Street from 1982 to 1984, returning to the role in 1999 and again in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O-T Fagbenle</span> British actor

Olatunde Olateju Olaolorun "O-T" Fagbenle is an Emmy-nominated British actor, writer, and director. He has appeared in several films, stage, and television productions. Fagbenle is best known for his role as Luke in The Handmaid’s Tale (2017–2022) and his portrayal of Barack Obama in The First Lady (2022).

Douglas Hodge is an English actor, director, and musician who trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He is a member of the council of National Youth Theatre for which in 1989, he co-wrote Pacha Mama's Blessing about the Amazon rain forests staged at the Almeida Theatre.

Wilhelmenia Fernandez, sometimes billed as Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez, is an American soprano.

Gareth Valentine is a Welsh composer, arranger, conductor and musical director. He has worked extensively in London's West End on musical productions and also conducted orchestras worldwide including the BBC Concert Orchestra, Welsh National Opera Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Pasdeloup orchestra, RPO Concert Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, ENB Sinfonia, Orchestre de chambre de Paris and many others. After graduating from the Royal College of Music, London, he studied with Sir Peter Pears at Aldeburgh.

Bruce Hubbard was an American operatic baritone. A Drama Desk and Laurence Olivier Award nominee for Best Actor, he performed on Broadway, the Metropolitan Opera, BBC television, in concert and made several recordings. He is most famous for appearing as Joe in Show Boat, and as Jake, as well as Porgy, in Porgy and Bess on Broadway, the West End, and in several major opera houses and regional theatres. He graduated from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Diane Marie Paulus is an American theater and opera director who is currently the Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University. Paulus was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for her revivals of Hair and The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, and won the award in 2013 for her revival of Pippin.

Karla Burns was an American mezzo-soprano and actress who performed nationally and internationally in opera houses, theatres, and on television. Her first major success was as Queenie in the Houston Grand Opera's 1982 revival of Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern's 1927 musical Show Boat. This production premiered in Houston, and then toured nationally and on Broadway. For her portrayal of Queenie, Burns won a Drama Desk Award and received a nomination for the Tony Award. The role of Queenie became a pivotal part in Burn's career, and she portrayed the character in many productions internationally for two decades. For this part, she became the first black person, African-American or otherwise, to win the Laurence Olivier Award, Britain's most prestigious award for theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical</span>

The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976, and renamed in 1984 in honour of English actor and director Laurence Olivier.

Clamma Churita Dale is an American operatic soprano. She portrayed "Bess" in the highly successful 1976 Houston Grand Opera production of Porgy and Bess. The show was transferred from Houston to Broadway and Dale was awarded a 1977 Drama Desk Award for Best Actress in a musical and received a Tony Award nomination. She won a Grammy award in 1978 for Best Opera Recording of the Porgy & Bess soundtrack.

Samantha Spiro is an English actress. She is best known for portraying Barbara Windsor in the stage play Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick and the television films Cor, Blimey! and Babs, DI Vivien Friend in M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team, Melessa Tarly in the HBO series Game of Thrones and Maureen Groff in Sex Education. She has won two Laurence Olivier Awards.

The 2007 Laurence Olivier Awards were held in 2007 in London celebrating excellence in West End theatre by the Society of London Theatre.

<i>Simply Heavenly</i> Musical comedy

Simply Heavenly is a musical comedy with book and lyrics by Langston Hughes and music by David Martin, based on Hughes' novel Simple Takes A Wife and other Simple stories.

References

  1. Koenig, Rhoda (24 March 2003). "Theatre Review, Simply Heavenly". The Independent on Sunday. p. 1. Retrieved 24 March 2003.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. "Olivier Award Nominations, 2001". BBC website. 18 January 2001. p. 1. Retrieved 18 January 2001.
  3. De Jongh, Nicholas (10 November 2006). "Theatre Review, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess". The Evening Standard. This Is London Magazine. p. 1. Retrieved 10 November 2006.
  4. "Olivier Award Nominations, 2007". The London Metro. Associated Newspapers. 18 January 2007. p. 1. Retrieved 18 January 2007.
  5. Spencer, Charles (2014-07-30), "Porgy and Bess, Regent's Park, review: 'a knockout'", Daily Telegraph ,
  6. Fitzpatrick, Katie (2015-09-27), Meet the Millers – the new family on Mount Pleasant", Manchester Evening News .