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Savannah Stevenson | |
|---|---|
 Savannah Stevenson in 2016 | |
| Born | 1983 (age 40–41) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | The Guildford School of Acting |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, singer |
| Known for | Wicked |
Savannah Stevenson (born 1983) is an English singer and actress. She is best known for her work in the theatre.
Stevenson was raised in Derbyshire and began performing at a young age. At the age of fifteen, she was accepted into the prestigious National Youth Theatre, and in 2001 began attending the Guildford School of Acting, where she graduated in 2004 with first class honours.
Stevenson made her West End debut as part of the original cast of Mary Poppins . She was cast three months before her graduation from the Guildford School of Acting, and starred as part of the ensemble in the role of Fannie. Stevenson appeared in the show's out-of-town tryout at the Bristol Hippodrome in September 2004, and reprised the role when the show made its transfer to the West End's Prince Edward Theatre in December 2004. In addition, Stevenson served as an understudy to the roles of Winifred Banks and the title character Mary Poppins, and took part in the show's original cast recording.
In April 2008, she served as understudy to Jill Paice in the role of Scarlett O'Hara, in Sir Trevor Nunn's short-lived West End production of Gone with the Wind . After performing in the opening night of the production, Paice unexpectedly fell ill, resulting in Stevenson having to step into the role of Scarlett at the next day's matinee performance, despite having yet to take part in any formal rehearsals for the show. Despite the show receiving a poor critical response, Stevenson received positive reviews for her performance, and acclaim for successfully stepping into the lead role at such short notice. From July to September 2010, Stevenson was reunited with Trevor Nunn when she took part in his revival of Aspects of Love .
In May 2012, Stevenson took part in the Hampstead Theatre production of Chariots of Fire , playing the role of Sybil Evers. In June 2012, the play moved to the West End's Gielgud Theatre, where it remained until January 2013.
In July 2013, it was announced that Stevenson would join the West End production of Wicked , [1] replacing Gina Beck in the lead role of Glinda. She began performances on 18 November, starring opposite Willemijn Verkaik, and later Kerry Ellis, Jennifer DiNoia and Emma Hatton in the role of Elphaba. In March 2015, Stevenson was forced to take a break from Wicked while recovering from a broken foot, though returned to performances in May. She played her final show in the role of Glinda on 3 September 2016.
In addition, Stevenson has taken part in the 2011 national tour of Cowardly Custard , the tour of The Wings of the Dove as "Kate Croy", and she appeared at the Finborough Theatre's production of Our Miss Gibbs . She has also starred as "Martha Sowerby" at the West Yorkshire Playhouse's production of The Secret Garden , "Bet" in the Hampton Court Palace's production of She Stoops to Conquer , "Young Sally" in Follies at Northampton's Royal Theatre, and in addition, she originated the role of "Cinderella" in Simply Cinderella at the Leicester Curve. In 2018, she played Guenevere in the London Musical Theatre Orchestra production of Camelot at the London Palladium. She starred opposite David Thaxton and Charles Rice as Arthur and Lancelot. [2]
Stevenson has credits in multiple workshops - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown as "Paulina", Pride and Prejudice as "Caroline Bingley", The Loved One as "Aimee", The Count of Monte Cristo as "Haydee", Moonlanding as "Pat Collins" and ‘Seance’ as Theresa (William’s Dead Wife). She also performed on the original concept album of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies .
Following worldwide auditions, Stevenson was chosen to portray the role of Mary, mother of Jesus, in a series of videos distributed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, filmed on location in Goshen, Utah, and described the role as a 'spiritual experience'. [3] This footage was later used as part of a major viral Christmas campaign called "He is the Gift" which was viewed by over 11.2 Million people on YouTube and Facebook in December 2014. As part of this campaign, Stevenson's image was used on billboards in Times Square, NYC. [4] In 2024, she collaborated with the Latter-Day Saint a capella group BYU Vocal Point for a Wicked medley. [5]
She has made guest appearances in several television shows, including Casualty , Playing the Field , Peak Practice , and Doctors (2000 TV series) , and has also appeared in advertisements for T-Mobile and Ask.com.
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is a loose adaptation of the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which in turn is based on L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 film adaptation. The musical is told from the perspective of two witches, Elphaba and Galinda, before and after Dorothy's arrival in Oz. The story explores the complex friendship between Elphaba and Galinda. Their relationship is tested by their contrasting personalities, conflicting viewpoints, shared love interest, reactions to the corrupt rule of the Wonderful Wizard, and ultimately, Elphaba's tragic fall.
Kendra Kassebaum is an American theatre actress, who has performed in many different musicals, and is perhaps best remembered for playing the role of Glinda in the first national tour, Broadway, and San Francisco casts of the blockbuster musical Wicked.
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Kerry Jane Ellis is an English actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music. Born and raised in Suffolk, Ellis began performing at an early age before training at Laine Theatre Arts from the age of 16.
Scarlett Aimee Vaigncourt-Strallen is an English stage actress, best known for her work in musical theatre productions in the West End and on Broadway. She has received two Olivier Award nominations, in 2006 for her portrayal of Josephine in an adaptation of H.M.S. Pinafore, performed at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and in 2012 for her role in Singin' in the Rain. Strallen is also a former voice actress.
Lisa Jane O'Hare is an English actress who has played Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady and the title character of Mary Poppins in the West End and UK stage. She more recently has appeared in several prime-time American television shows on TNT, ABC and NBC. She most recently starred on Broadway in the musical, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.
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Jill Paice is an American actress best known for her musical theatre roles. She originated the roles of Laura Fairlie in the musical The Woman in White in the West End (2004) and on Broadway (2005); Niki in Curtains on Broadway (2006); Scarlett in London's Gone With The Wind (2008); and Grazia Off-Broadway in Death Takes a Holiday (2011). Among other roles, she appeared in the Broadway play The 39 Steps (2009).
Lucy Durack is an Australian actress, singer and television personality who played Glinda in the Australian production of Wicked, and Elle Woods in the Australian production of Legally Blonde: The Musical. She starred as Tugger in Australian television drama Doctor Doctor in 2016 and as Roxy Karibas in Sisters in 2017.
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Katie Rowley Jones is a British musical theatre actress, best known for originating the role of Nessarose in the West End production of Wicked.
Jemma Rix is an Australian theatre performer, who has played the role of Elphaba in the Melbourne, Sydney, Australian and Asian touring companies of Wicked. Rix first performed the role in the shortened 30-minute version of the show at Universal Studios Japan. She was an original cast member of the Australian premiere production as the standby for Elphaba.
Louise Dearman is a British actress and singer, perhaps best known for playing Glinda and Elphaba in the West End production of the musical Wicked. Notably, she is the only actress to have played both witches in any production of Wicked full-time. She has a number of other professional stage and television credits, such as Eva Perón in Evita, Sarah Brown and Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, and Daisy Hilton in Side Show. She released her solo albums, You and I, Here Comes the Sun and It's Time, in 2005, 2012 and 2013 respectively.
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Suzie Mathers is a Scottish-Australian actress and theatre performer best known for her role as Glinda the Good Witch in the Australian, Asian tour, and London productions of Wicked as well Sophie in the 10th Anniversary Australian tour of Mamma Mia! the Musical.
Emma Hatton is a British actress and singer, who played the role of Elphaba in the West End production of Wicked. She has also understudied the roles of Meat and Scaramouche in We Will Rock You and has a number of other professional stage and theatre credits, such as Donna in Dreamboats and Petticoats. In 2017 she took on the lead role in the Bill Kenwright touring production of Evita. In 2018 she toured as a featured vocalist with the vintage rotating music collective Postmodern Jukebox during their UK and European tour.
Jennifer "Jenny" DiNoia is an American singer and stage actress. She is best known for her work in musical theatre, especially Wicked, playing the lead role of Elphaba in various productions around the world.
Alice Fearn is a British stage actress. She is best known for playing captain Beverley Bass in Come from Away and Elphaba in Wicked in London's West End.