Kim Criswell (born July 19, 1957) is an American musical entertainer and actress.
Life and career
Criswell was born in
Hampton, Virginia, but grew up in
Chattanooga, Tennessee. After she graduated from high school, she studied musical theatre at the
University of Cincinnati's College Conservatory of Music. She then moved to
New York where she landed a role in the touring company of
Annie. She made her Broadway debut in
The First in 1981. In September, 1991 she presented her one-woman show
Doin What Comes Naturally, at the Shaw Theatre in London.
She has lived in
London since 1992 when she was invited to play
Annie Oakley in
Irving Berlin's musical
Annie Get Your Gun. She has been in numerous musicals and has appeared with some of America's leading symphony orchestras as the featured soloist. She won the
Helen Hayes Award for her performance in
Side By Side By Sondheim.
On August 1st 2009 she was a featured soloist in the "BBC Proms 2009: a Celebration of Classic MGM Film Musicals" at the Royal Albert Hall. On that evening she performed a number of songs including: "The Trolley Song", "Over the Rainbow" and "Get Happy" all originally made famous by Judy Garland. She additionally performed the songs "I Got Rhythm" (also in Garland's repertoire) and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" in a duet with, perhaps surprisingly, Seth MacFarlane.She repeated her Proms Concert success when she appeared in a Rodgers and Hammerstein evening, once again with the John Wilson Orchestra at The Royal Albert Hall with opera singer Rod Gilfry in August 2010
Musicals
The First (1981) as Hilda/ensemble
Nine (1982) as Francesca (also as Claudia-first replacement)
Baby (1983) as Narrator/Sixth Woman
Jesus Christ Superstar at Papermill Playhouse as Mary Magdalene
Cats (1985-1986 LA Production) as Grizabella
Stardust (1986) as Soloist
Three Musketeers (1983) as Queen Anne
The Threepenny Opera (1989) at Lunt Fontanne Theatre, Broadway as Lucy Brown
Annie Get Your Gun (1992) at Prince Of Wales Theatre, London as Annie Oakley
I Married an Angel at Theatre Off Park as Peggy
Dames at Sea (1996) as Mona Kent
The Slow Drag (1997) as June Wedding
Of Thee I Sing (1998) as Diana Deaveraux
Side By Side By Sondheim (1998)
''Hollywood and Broadway II -Herself, Bonnie Langford& Wayne Sleep- 1993
Anything Goes (2002)at Grange Park Opera as Reno Sweeney
Call Me Madam (2004) at Goodspeed Opera House as Mrs. Sally Adams
Into The Woods (2006) as The Witch
Candide (2006) at the Théâtre du Châtelet (Paris - France) as The Old Woman
The Sound of Music (2009) at the Théâtre du Châtelet (Paris - France) as The Mother Abbess
Recordings
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Title
! Character
|-
|
Annie
| Star to be / Ensemble
|-
|
Annie Get Your Gun (1992)
| Annie Oakley
|-
|
Anything Goes (Studio Recording)
| Reno Sweeney
|-
|
Baby (Dec 4, 1983)
| Narrator, 6th woman, people in town
|-
|
Dames At Sea (1996)
| Ruby
|-
|
Dubarry Was A Lady
|
|-
|
Elegies For Punks And Raging Queens (1993)
| Soloist
|-
|
The First (1981)
| Girl at bat/Dodger wife/Hilda Chester
|-
|
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (May 1991)
| Dorothy Shaw
|-
|
Girl Crazy
| Kate (?)
|-
|
Glory Of Easter
| Virgin Mary (Mary Magdalene for 1 performance)
|-
|
Guys And Dolls
| Miss Adelaide
|-
|
Kiss Me Kate
| Lois Lane/Bianca
|-
|
Lady Be Good (2000)
|
|-
|
Let Em Eat Cake (March 21, 1994)
| Mary Turner
|-
|
Man Of La Mancha (2000 Covent Garden Festival)
| Aldonza / Dulcinea
|-
|
Nine
| Francesca, (U/S Claudia, Carla,)
|-
|
Of Thee I Sing (June 27, 1998)
| Diana Devereaux
|-
|
On The Town
| Hildy the taxi driver
|-
|
One Touch Of Venus
|
|-
|
Side By Side (1998)
| Soloist
|-
|
Side By Side By Sondheim
| Soloist (won the Helen Hayes Award!)
|-
|
Sitting Pretty
|
|-
|
Slow Drag (1997)
| June Wedding
|-
|
Strike Up The Band
|
|-
|
Wonderful Town (1999)
| Ruth
|}
Solo albums
The Lorelei
The Human Cry
Back to Before
Something to Dance About
External links
Interview with Kim Criswell
Kim Criswell's IMDB entry
Category:1957 births
Category:Living people
Category:University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music alumni
