Orfeh | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Orfeh Or [1] March 28, 1971 [2] New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, actress |
| Spouse | |
| Website | www |
Orfeh (born March 28, 1971 [2] as Orfeh Or [1] ) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Orfeh and her husband, Andy Karl, performed at the Lincoln Center's American Songbook Series in 2016, [3] and in the Broadway musicals Saturday Night Fever , Legally Blonde , and Pretty Woman .
Orfeh was born and raised in New York City. [4] She attended the LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts and received a record deal shortly after graduation. [5] Her first release was Life in the Movies, [6] which she released as a part of the group Genevha with her musical partner Mike More in 1987. After the release, the duo formed the group Or-N-More and signed with EMI Records. [7]
In 1991, the duo released a self-titled album, their single "Everyotherday" reached number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was awarded gold status, but shortly after the album's success, the duo found out their business manager had mis-managed their finances. [8] She has been quoted about the situation, "My recording career went wrong. Really, really wrong. We had the business manager that stole all the money, the hit record that was about to become a mega-hit record and suddenly the rug was pulled out from under us. After being on the road for years and devoting my life to recording, I found myself at home saying, 'What do I do now?'" [9]
After Or-N-More disbanded, Orfeh signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music and continued to write and produce songs for other artists. [5] She also remains a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which gives her nominating and voting privileges for the Grammy Awards. She also co-wrote the song "Wishing On You," which appears on the soundtrack of the Disney film Model Behavior that was released in 2000. [10]
Orfeh made her Broadway debut in 1998 as a swing in Footloose . [5] In early 1999, Orfeh joined the ten-member company of The Gershwins 'Fascinating Rhythm' with Adriane Lenox, Sara Ramirez and Patrick Wilson. [11] [12] She then starred in the Original Broadway Company of London musical of Saturday Night Fever as Annette, and in addition to winning positive reviews, Orfeh met her husband, Andy Karl, while playing the role. [13] In 1999, she appeared on The Rosie O'Donnell Show to promote the musical and perform her solo from the show, If I Can't Have You. [14]
After Saturday Night Fever closed, Orfeh starred in Me and Mrs. Jones and Bright Lights, Big City at the Prince Theatre in Philadelphia. In 2001, she played Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway show, Love, Janis . In 2005, she starred in the off-Broadway musical The Great American Trailer Park Musical as Pippi, a stripper from the wrong side of the tracks. [15]
In 2007, Orfeh was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the Legally Blonde musical. She played the role of Paulette, a down on her luck hairdresser who helps Elle on her journey, while finding love of her own. She also received Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk nominations for her performance. [16] [17] [18] Her husband, Andy Karl, starred opposite her as her UPS man, Kyle. Orfeh stayed with the show until it closed on October 19, 2008. [19] From July 20, 2018, through August 18, 2019, she played the role of Kit De Luca in Pretty Woman on Broadway. [20] In February 2020, she played in an Off-Broadway 50th anniversary concert version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as Potiphar's Wife, playing opposite her husband Andy Karl who played Potiphar. [21]
Orfeh has guest starred in several television shows, appearing in episodes of Gossip Girl, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Sex and the City. [22] In addition to television appearances, she is a frequently used voiceover artist and has voiced characters for the video games Max Payne 2 , Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and The Warriors . [4] She also has done voiceover work for Wachovia bank. [9]
Orfeh released her first solo album, What Do You Want from Me , on September 30, 2008. [23] In 2014, Orfeh recorded a song for Michael Mott's album, "Where The Sky Ends" which was later released as a dance mix. [24] In 2015, she released the Christmas-themed single Baby Please Come Home. [25] In 2016, Orfeh and her husband performed at the Lincoln Center's American Songbook series. [3] That same year, she was featured on the single What the World Needs Now is Love with other Broadway artists and released the solo single, Forget My Name. [26]
In 2017, Orfeh and her husband, Andy Karl released a live concert album recorded at 54 Below titled, Legally Bound: Live at Feinstein's/54 Below. [27] She also released a mash-up single of Yesterday/Time After Time/Shallow with Karl and American singer/songwriter, Andrew Logan in 2021. [28] Most recently, she released a cover single of the Eagles' song, Hotel California, on October 20, 2023. [29]
In 2001, Orfeh married actor Andy Karl, a three-time Tony-nominated actor whom she met during her time in Saturday Night Fever, and who played opposite her as Paulette's UPS man, Kyle, in the original cast of Legally Blonde. [30] Andy and Orfeh performed together in Me and Mrs. Jones, Nights on Broadway II, Bright Lights, Big City, Legally Blonde, Pretty Woman: The Musical, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. In May 2024, they announced they had separated after 23 years of marriage. [31]
Releases
| Artist/album | Date | Label | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genevha with Mike More/Life in the Movies | (1987) | CBS Associated Records | Vocals [32] |
| Or-N-More/Or-N-More | (1991) | EMI America | Vocals/writing [33] |
| The O'Jays/Emotionally Yours | (1991) | EMI America | Vocals [34] |
| Freedom Williams/Freedom | (1993) | Columbia Records | Vocals [35] |
| Various Artists/Model Behavior Soundtrack | (2000) | Disney | Writer [36] |
| Deborah Gibson/ M.Y.O.B | (2001) | Golden Egg Records | Vocals [37] |
| Actors Fund of America/Dreamgirls | (2002) | Nonesuch Records | Vocals, photography [38] |
| Actors Fund of America/Hair (Benefit recording) | (2004) | Ghostlight Records | Vocals [39] |
| The Great American Trailer Park Musical/ Cast Recording | (2005) | Ghostlight Records | Vocals [40] |
| Various Artists/Carols For a Cure Volume 7 | (2005) | Rock-it Science Records | Vocals |
| Legally Blonde/Cast Recording | (2007) | Ghostlight Records | Vocals [41] |
| Various artists/Carols For a Cure Volume 9 | (2007) | Rock-it Science Records | Vocals |
| Orfeh/What Do You Want From Me | (2008) | Ghostlight Records | Vocals, executive producer [42] |
| Various artists/Carols For a Cure 14 | (2012) | Rock-it Science Records | Vocals [43] |
| Michael Mott/Where The Sky Ends | (2014) | Broadway Records | Writing |
| Michael Mott/Where the Sky Ends:The Dance Remixes | (2014) | Broadway Records | Vocals, writing [24] |
| Orfeh/Baby Please Come Home | (2015) | Self-released | Vocals [44] |
| Broadway for Orlando/What the World Needs Now is Love | (2016) | Broadway Records | Vocals [45] |
| Orfeh/Forget My Name | (2016) | Self-released | Vocals [46] |
| Orfeh/Forever I Do | (2023) | Self-released | Vocals [47] |
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly; their first collaboration, The Likes of Us, written in 1965, was not performed until 2005. Its family-friendly retelling of Joseph, familiar themes, and catchy music have resulted in numerous stagings. According to the owner of the copyright, the Really Useful Group, by 2008 more than 20,000 schools and amateur theatre groups had staged productions.
Diana Nicole DeGarmo is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She rose to fame in 2004 as the runner-up of the third season of American Idol, releasing her debut studio album, Blue Skies, later that year. The following year, DeGarmo ventured into a career in musical theatre. She has starred in two Broadway, one off-Broadway and three national tours. She made her television acting debut in a six-month arc as Angelina Veneziano on The Young and the Restless. DeGarmo has since released two extended plays, Unplugged in Nashville (2009) and Live to Love (2012). She is married to fifth season American Idol finalist Ace Young.
Sheridan Smith OBE is an English actress, singer, and television personality. Smith came to prominence after playing a variety of characters on sitcoms such as The Royle Family (1999–2000), Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (2001–2009), Gavin & Stacey (2008–2010), and Benidorm (2009). She co-starred as Joey Ross in the drama series Jonathan Creek between 2009 and 2013, and went on to receive acclaim for starring in a succession of television dramas, such as Mrs Biggs (2012), Cilla (2014), The C Word (2015), Black Work (2015), The Moorside (2017), Cleaning Up (2019), and Four Lives (2022). Her film credits include Tower Block (2012), Quartet (2012), The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016), and The Railway Children Return (2022).
Stephanie Janette Block is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on the Broadway stage.
Maria Friedman is a British actress and director, best known for her work in musical theatre.
Legally Blonde is a 2007 musical with music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and a book by Heather Hach. It is based on the novel Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film of the same name.
Laura Ashley Bell Bundy–Hinkle is an American actress and singer. Her career started as a child, when her mother entered her in beauty pageants, where she would sing as a talent. After recognizing her singing ability, her mother took her to New York City, where she found success as a child actress and model, signing with Ford Modeling Agency in 1986. She was cast as the lead in Ruthless! at age 9 in 1991.
Andy Karl is an American actor and singer, best known for performing in musical theatre.
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer is an American musical theatre actress and singer. She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in the Broadway revival of Spamalot.
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).
Richard H. Blake is an American actor and singer best known for his work in musical theatre.
Legally Blonde: The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods is an MTV program created in order to cast an actress to replace Laura Bell Bundy in the role of Elle Woods in the Broadway production of Legally Blonde: The Musical. The show debuted on June 2, 2008.
Rebecca Lynn Gulsvig is an American stage actress.
Bailey Noel Hanks Weidman is an American singer, actress, and dancer best known for winning MTV's Legally Blonde: The Musical – The Search for Elle Woods. She performed on Broadway as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde: The Musical in 2008.
Nikki Snelson is an American actress, who works mainly in stage musicals.
Taylor Elizabeth Louderman is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She is best known for originating the role of Regina George in the Broadway musical Mean Girls, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2018.
Legally Blonde is an American media franchise created by Amanda Brown. It consists of American comedy films, a Broadway musical, a reality television series, and a upcoming television series. The films include two theatrical releases, one musical television film, one straight-to-home video release, and a third theatrical film in development. The installments follow the comical adventures of Elle Woods, portrayed by actress Reese Witherspoon in the films, a blonde California University of Los Angeles sorority president, who enrolls in law school.
Pretty Woman is a musical with music and lyrics by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, and a book by Garry Marshall and J. F. Lawton. The musical is based on the 1990 film of the same name written by Lawton and directed by Marshall. It centers on the relationship that develops between Vivian Ward, a free spirited Hollywood prostitute, and Edward Lewis, a wealthy businessman who hires her for a week to be his escort for several business and social functions.
Kate Rockwell is an American actor, dancer, and singer. She is known for her work on Broadway and for originating the roles of Skylar in Bring It On: The Musical in 2011 and of Karen Smith in the 2018 musical Mean Girls, for the latter of which she received Drama Desk Award and Helen Hayes Award nominations.
Nell Benjamin is a lyricist, writer, and composer noted for her work in musical theatre. With her husband and frequent collaborator Laurence O'Keefe, she won the Laurence Olivier Award for writing Legally Blonde in 2011. And in 2007, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Original Score for Legally Blonde, and then again in 2018 for her lyrics for Mean Girls.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
