|
Judy Kaye
was cast as Agnes the Maid and understudy to leading lady Madeline Kahn
in Hal Prince's original Broadway production of On the Twentieth
Century in 1978. Kahn missed so many performances early in
the run, that Kaye was eventually asked to take over the lead role
permanently, and a star was born. She went on to appear in
the memorable flop Oh, Brother! (1981) and starred opposite
Nathan Lane in the off-Broadway musical Love. An
extremely versatile vocalist, Kaye is as much at home in opera as she is
on Broadway, and notable operatic triumphs include performances in
Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti, Offenbach's Orpheus
in the Underworld, Puccini's La bohčme, John Gay's The
Beggar’s Opera, Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins,
Lehár's The Merry Widow, Edward Thomas's Desire
Under the Elms, and also premiered Arias and Barcarolles
(Bernstein’s final work) as part of the New York Festival of Song.
Kaye is a recipient of the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured
Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Carlotta in Hal Prince's
production of The Phantom of the Opera (1988), and was
nominated again for playing Rosie in Mamma Mia! (2002).
She also created the role of Emma Goldman in the Broadway production of Ragtime
(1998), after winning an Ovation Award for her performance in the Los
Angeles company. Recent successful concert appearances included a return
to the role of Mrs. Lovett in Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, opposite
Len Cariou, at London's Royal Festival Hall, and as Nettie Fowler
in Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel with Hugh Jackman and Audra
McDonald. Most recently, she appeared off-Broadway as the infamous
tone-deaf opera singer Florence Foster Jenkins in a "fantasia"
called Souvenir, and plans are now underway for a Broadway
transfer. |
