Kerry Jane Ellis (pronounced /ˈkɛrɨ ˈɛlɪs/; born 6 May 1979) is an English stage actress and singer who is best known for her contributions to musical theatre. Born and raised in the Suffolk village of Haughley, Ellis began singing at an early age – developing a great interest in musicals.
After graduating from performing arts college Laine Theatre Arts, she marked her West End debut in the 2001 revival of My Fair Lady as Martine McCutcheon's understudy in the lead role of Eliza Doolitte. Later originating the role of Meat in We Will Rock You and playing a variety of main lead roles like Fantine, Elphaba and Nancy in musicals Les Misérables, Wicked and Oliver! respectively, Ellis has since become a well-recognised stage actress who has performed both in the West End and on Broadway.
Enhancing her repertoire as a solo artist, Ellis released her debut studio album Anthems (2010), a follow-up to her extended play Wicked in Rock (2008), which peaked at number fifteen on the UK Albums Chart and was produced by friend and mentor Brian May.
Early life
Kerry Jane Ellis was born on 6 May 1979 in Haughley, a small village near Stowmarket, Suffolk in England. She grew up with her parents and older brother, Andrew Ellis. Attending dance classes, she described herself as a "hyperactive" young girl who enjoyed performing at local shows and pantomimes as well as swimming and horse-riding.[1] She cites her early influences as Liza Minnelli and Barbra Streisand; their music she would sing much to the disturbance of her older brother.[2] She stated that she hadn't discovered her vocal talent "until [she] was at college and [...] started working."[3] Her first role on the stage was in an amateur production of The Wizard of Oz at the Wolsey Theatre.[1] She attended Stowmarket High School and at the age of 16, after having completed successful work experience the previous year,[4] left to rejoin the team of Starmakers, holiday village entertainers, at Potters Leisure Resort in Hopton-on-Sea, Norfolk. Appearing with the resort's professional theatre company during their 1995 and 1997 summer seasons, Ellis sang in cabaret-styled performances and appeared in many of their shows.[
Life and career [edit] 1997–2002: Career beginnings and My Fair Lady
Following numerous amateur productions, Ellis spent a year at Laine Theatre Arts,[6] an independent performing arts college, where she was formally stage trained. Upon graduation in 1998, she was credited as the first cover for Marti Webb in a UK concert tour of The Magic of the Musicals, where she was required on several occasions in Webb's absence. Gaining a different experience aside that she had in the theatre, however, Ellis worked on cruise ship MS Voyager of the Seas in 1999 – employed as a lead vocalist as part of the liner's entertainment schedule. She sailed around the Caribbean for nine months in between her time in the concert tour.[1] Before her subsequent move into West End theatre, her professional theatrical credits had included Mary in Merrily We Roll Along at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and lead female roles in pantomimes Dick Whittington, Aladdin and Cinderella across theatres in the UK. Additionally, she had also appeared in two workshop productions: Way Beyond Blue, a Trevor Nunn-directed and Imogen Stubbs-written piece where Ellis played Eva Cassidy,[7] and as the title role in Helen of Troy directed by Gary Griffin.
Her first television appearance was on Children in Need, BBC's annual charity appeal, in 1999, where she was involved in Pudsey the Musical. The same year, she produced a jingle for Capital FM.
Joining the original cast of Cameron Mackintosh's London revival of My Fair Lady, Ellis made her debut in West End theatre in late 2000.[8] She was appointed swing[8] and understudied various roles but most significantly, became second understudy to Martine McCutcheon in the role of Eliza Doolitte. The musical initally played at NT's Lyttelton Theatre but later transferred to Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.[9] Ellis, due to McCutcheon's untimely illness[10] during the production's run at both theatres, played Eliza Doolitte on five occasions[11] opposite Jonathan Pryce and Dennis Waterman. Upon reflection, she stated that it was "fantastic" to gain experience from the cast and creative team of My Fair Lady.[8] Ellis departed from the company in early 2002.
2002–2006: We Will Rock You, Brian May, Miss Saigon and Les Misérables
Ellis' first lead role in the West End came around when one of those performances of My Fair Lady where she played Doolittle was attended by Brian May and Ben Elton. They subsequently cast her, after one audition,[citation needed] in the debut of their jukebox musical We Will Rock You[12] where she created the role of Meat. She began performances in mid May 2002, and was also involved in television opportunities with the cast – including appearances on Parkinson, Party in the Park and the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations. She stated that working with May, Elton and Roger Taylor was "a great step forward" in her professional career; calling her journey "breath-taking".[8] Ellis, who ended her run as Meat in mid April 2004, is also featured on the original London cast recording of We Will Rock You.“ "From the moment I first heard Kerry sing, I was entranced, and felt the conviction that I would one day make an album for her. That conviction never left me."[13] – Brian May ”
Starting her musical career outside of the theatre, she collaborated with Brian May, with whom she has been heavily involved after he became interested in working with her. Her time in We Will Rock You allowed her to work with May musically and in 2002 the pair recorded an orchestral version of the song "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)".[3] This version was digitally released three years later but failed to chart on the UK Singles Chart.
After four years in the West End, she was cast as Ellen in a UK tour of Miss Saigon – again pairing up with producer Cameron Mackintosh.[14] Beginning rehearsals in the summer of 2004 at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in Islington, London, performances commenced in mid July 2004 at the Theatre Royal in Plymouth.[15] The company toured theatres across the UK, however, Ellis had to prematurely disembark from the production in early June 2005, shortly prior to the end of the tour's run, due to the rehearsal demand in her next musical role.
While still in the touring production of Miss Saigon, Ellis rehearsed for four weeks[8] in order to play her next lead role in London's West End – Fantine in Les Misérables. She began performing the role in late June 2005 at the Queen's Theatre and played Fantine for almost a year – ending her time with the company in late June 2006 in the pursuance of another role. [edit] 2006–2009: Wicked, Chess, Broadway and first extended play
Ellis (Elphaba) with Dianne Pilkington (Glinda) in Wicked
In mid 2006, Ellis joined the original London cast of the musical Wicked to play Elphaba – serving as a temporary standby to Idina Menzel, who originated the lead role on Broadway. Subsequently, she played Elphaba on nine occasions at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in Menzel's absence[16] before taking over the full-time position in the role after Menzel's pre-planned departure three months after the show had opened at the beginning of January 2007.[17] For this role, she won the award for Best Takeover in a Role at the 2008 Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Awards[18] and played alongside Helen Dallimore (and later Dianne Pilkington) as Glinda and Oliver Tompsett as Fiyero. Due to her time in Wicked, she was able to make numerous appearances at concerts where she sung songs from the musical. 2007 saw her debut at various London events – including West End Live in Leicester Square; Walk for Life in Hyde Park; Kids Week in Covent Garden; and the annual Gay Pride Festival in Trafalgar Square as well as on lunchtime chat-show Loose Women where she performed, as Elphaba, the Wicked song "The Wizard and I".
Ellis outside the Apollo Victoria Theatre in December 2008
Whilst still performing the role of Elphaba, Ellis appeared alongside Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal and Josh Groban, Clarke Peters, Marti Pellow and David Bedella in a two-day limited engagement of Chess in Concert, a musical by Tim Rice, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, at the Royal Albert Hall in May 2008. She played the role of Svetlana and upon reflection, stated that to star at the Royal Albert Hall, work with an "amazing" company and sing alongside those particular cast members "was a dream come true."[8] Although a relative unknown and in a small part, Ellis was met with positive reviews for her performance. Some critics labelled her stronger than Menzel – who attained the female lead – and argued that Ellis should have received it instead.[19]
She continued the role of Elphaba in London until early June 2008 when she temporarily departed from the Apollo Victoria Theatre, to be succeeded by Alexia Khadime,[20] and transferred to the Broadway production of Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre with performances starting in mid June of the same year.[21] She replaced stage actress Stephanie J. Block on Broadway; making her not only the first British actress to play the role of Elphaba on Broadway, but also the first to transfer from the West End to Broadway[22] – mirroring original Broadway cast member Idina Menzel who transferred from Broadway to London to open the production. She played alongside Kendra Kassebaum as Glinda and Aaron Tveit as Fiyero. For her five month run in the Broadway production, she won the 2009 Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Female Breakthrough Performance.[23] Ellis left the Broadway company in early November 2008 and was replaced by Marcie Dodd.[24] During her time in New York, Ellis recorded "Behind these Walls", a song for Scott Alan's album Keys,[25] and also performed at Broadway on Broadway, an annual musical theatre event, in Times Square. She refers to the transfer from West End to Broadway theatre as "a real honour [and] a joy"; adding that performing on Broadway was "a dream come true".[26]
During her time in the United States, her first extended play Wicked in Rock was released. Produced by Brian May and Steve Sidwell, the album – comprising three tracks: two are new orchestrations of songs from Wicked; the other is Queen song "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)" – was released in July 2008 and served as a teaser towards, what was then, Ellis' forthcoming debut studio album.
Returning to the West End production of Wicked at the start of December 2008,[27] Ellis spent a further five months in the role of Elphaba where ultimately, she would end her time with the musical. She played her last performance as Elphaba in early May 2009 and was once again succeeded by Alexia Khadime two days later.[28] Upon departure, Ellis had been billed as lead for a total of 116 weeks (omitting absence) in both the London and Broadway companies and therefore currently assumes the position of the longest-running British actress in the role of Elphaba. Her portrayal of Elphaba in Wicked has garnered her not only two awards, but also critical acclaim, worldwide praise and global success. Ellis even represented Wicked at the annual Royal Variety Performance in 2008 where she performed her rock version of the Wicked song "Defying Gravity" alongside Brian May.[29] She cited the role of Elphaba as the "most challenging [that she had] ever undertaken" stating that it was "a massive journey" to go on at every performance.[8] She also admits that Wicked "changed [her] life" in terms of boosting her recognition within the entertainment industry.[26] After her departure from Wicked, it was almost a year until Ellis returned to the West End stage – choosing to pursue a career in music in the gap; recording material for her debut album[3] and performing at various concerts.
2009–2010: Public performances and time in the studio
Soon after leaving Wicked – towards the end of June 2009, Ellis marked her first set of solo concerts by performing a musical showcase entitled The Great British Songbook at the Shaw Theatre on Euston Road in London.[30] She performed on four occasions with the inclusion of Brian May in the encore. Upon the subject of the concerts, she commented, "It's finally something that I can do as me, as opposed to being in a show as a character. It's lovely to be able to sing songs that I really want to sing or which I wouldn't normally get to sing."[26] The Great British Songbook paid tribute to some of Ellis' favourite British composers and lyricists – including Take That, Duffy, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Paul McCartney.
Ellis (centre) in a Champions of Rock concert
Lending her vocal talent on tours elsewhere, she has additionally performed on five occasions in 2009 at the Symphonic Queen Spectacular – a concert tour that commemorated the music of Queen – in Bournemouth, Weybridge, Romsey, Birmingham and Nottingham with fellow stage performers Mazz Murray, Mig Ayesa and Ricardo Afonso. Furthermore, she performed with John Barrowman at the 2009 Henley Festival (which was later broadcast on BBC Radio 2's Friday Night is Music Night); at the 2009 Edinburgh Festival and at Thank You for the Music – a special concert in Hyde Park that celebrated the music of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (of ABBA) – in September 2009. She also joined Peter Johansson in his Swedish concert tour, Champions of Rock, which went to Gothenburg, Helsingborg, Vänersborg, Stockholm, Örebro, Uppsala and Norrköping in October 2009. She also performed at the Royal Albert Hall in November of that year – alongside many other musicians at Women of Rock – a performance dedicated to breast cancer research.
Ellis also appeared as a featured artist on a version of "Somebody to Love" on Only Men Aloud!'s second studio album Band of Brothers, which was released in October 2009. She performed this song live with the choir at one of their concerts in December of that year at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
2010–present: Oliver! and Anthems
In December 2009, it was announced that Ellis would replace Jodie Prenger in the role of Nancy in Cameron Mackintosh's London revival of Oliver! at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane – Ellis' return to the stage for the first time in almost a year.[31] Opening in late March 2010 to positive reviews[32] and starring alongside both Griff Rhys Jones and Russ Abbot as Fagin and Steven Hartley as Bill Sikes, she was the second actress to play Nancy in the London revival, but also the final, and continued the role until the end of the show's run in early January 2011. Ellis was nominated for the 2010 BroadwayWorld.com UK Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical but lost to Sheridan Smith for her role in Legally Blonde and is also nominated for the 2011 Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Takeover in a Role – the result is to be announced.
As a mentor on one of BBC's talent shows in late March 2010, Ellis appeared in Over The Rainbow, a televised competition that searched for a Dorothy Gale for the 2011 London adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. The previous year, Ellis had appeared as a mentor in another of BBC's talent shows I'd Do Anything where ironically, she mentored potential Nancys (including Jodie Prenger) – a role she would eventually take – in the fore-running to the opening of the 2009 London revival of Oliver!.
Performing at the Royal Albert Hall once again, she lent her vocal talent at a performance dedicated to the charity Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research titled The Night of 1000 Voices in May 2010. In July, she performed "Somebody to Love" with Only Men Aloud! at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff at an event called A Weekend with the Stars while October saw an appearance at the Hackney Empire where she sang the Oliver! song "As Long as He Needs Me" at an event celebrating the eightieth anniversary of the birth of composer Lionel Bart. The last two performances were later broadcast in December on British television channel S4C and on BBC Radio 2 respectively.“ "I think [Anthems has] got a touch of camp to it, really. It’s very grand. [It has] big orchestras and big ballad-y vocals."[3] – Kerry Ellis ”
Released in mid September 2010, her debut studio album Anthems marked Ellis' comeuppance as a solo artist. The album, a follow-up to her extended play Wicked in Rock (2008), was one of the best-selling albums in the UK from a musical theatre performer and peaked at number fifteen on the UK Albums Chart. Recorded within the space of nine months and produced by guitarist Brian May, Ellis and he recorded the album at Abbey Road Studios and recorded with a 70-piece orchestra.[3] Referring to Anthems as an album that tries "to tap into all the different areas that [she has] been part of" in her career between the years 2000 and 2010. The album includes songs from musicals Wicked, Chess and Kristina; three Queen songs; covers of songs "Diamonds are Forever" (a cover of the Don Black song, who, especially adapted the song for Ellis) and "Love It When You Call" – new arrangements of personal favourites – as well as two original songs. Whilst promoting the album, Ellis appeared on many television shows including Tonight's the Night; The Michael Ball Show; and This Morning,[33] as well as performing live at the BBC Radio Theatre and later, London nightclub, G-A-Y. On all occasions she performed songs from the album with Brian May; with the exception of the latter, where May was not present. The weekend prior to the album's release, Ellis was accompanied by May on guitar at BBC's Proms in the Park[34] where she performed songs from Anthems as well as a medley of Queen songs. Joined by May once again, Ellis has most recently performed at The Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in the presence of the British Royal Family – including Queen Elizabeth II.[35]
As well as recording her own material, Ellis has lent her voice to a version of the song "Wind Beneath My Wings" that features the Central Band of the Royal Air Force on their album Reach for the Skies and appears on a version of the song "Come What May" with Alfie Boe on his album Bring Him Home.“ "...we've created together, a style that defines a new form of music – a kind of anthemic-orchestral-rock-musical-theatre fusion."[13] – Brian May ”
Marking her debut concert as a solo artist, Ellis will return to the Royal Albert Hall to perform Anthems: The Concert on 1 May 2011 in support of her debut studio album. The one-off concert, in aid of the charity Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, will see Ellis accompanied by Brian May, American actor and singer Adam Pascal, City of London Philharmonic, The Anthems Ensemble, and The West End Chorus.
Professional theatre creditsStart date End date Production Role(s) Venue(s) 6 March 2001 20 June 2001 My Fair Lady Swing, Eliza Doolite u/s National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre 21 July 2001 Early 2002 Theatre Royal, Drury Lane 14 May 2002 17 April 2004 We Will Rock You Meat Dominion Theatre 14 June 2004 9 June 2005 Miss Saigon Ellen Various across the UK 27 June 2005 24 June 2006 Les Misérables Fantine Queen's Theatre 7 September 2006 30 December 2006 Wicked Elphaba (standby) Apollo Victoria Theatre 1 January 2007 7 June 2008 Elphaba 12 May 2008 13 May 2008 Chess in Concert Svetlana Royal Albert Hall 17 June 2008 9 November 2008 Wicked Elphaba Gershwin Theatre 1 December 2008 9 May 2009 Apollo Victoria Theatre 29 March 2010 8 January 2011 Oliver! Nancy Theatre Royal, Drury LanePersonal life
Ellis resides in Brockley,[36] a district of London, with fiancé James Townsend.
Discography Main article: Kerry Ellis discography Wicked in Rock (2008) Anthems (2010)
Awards and nominations Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Kerry Ellis
