Liz Robertson
Liz Robertson | |
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 Liz Robertson as Madame Giry Phantom of the Opera 25th anniversary at the Royal Albert Hall | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 4 May 1954 Ilford,Essex, England |
| Genres | Musical theatre |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, singer |
Liz Robertson(born 4 May 1954) is an English actress and singer and the widow of playwright and lyricistAlan Jay Lerner.She is especially well known for her performances asMadame Giry,having played the role in the original cast ofLove Never Diesat theAdelphi Theatre,inThe Phantom of the OperaatHer Majesty's Theatreand inThe Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall.
Early life
[edit]Born inIlford,Essex, Robertson began training at the Finch Stage School at the age of three.
Career
[edit]Robertson's first professional employment was as acabaretdancer at London'sSavoy Hotelat the age of 16. Shortly afterward, she joined a dance group called The Go-Jo's, and a year later she became the lead singer and dancer ofBBC Two'sThe Young Generation.
Robertson'sWest Endcareer began withA Little Night Music,directed byHal Prince,and therevueSide By Side By Sondheim,which she subsequently took toTorontowithGeorgia Brown.Other London theatre credits includeI Love My Wife,My Fair Lady,Jerome Kern Goes to Hollywood,Song and Dance,The Phantom of the Opera,Love Never Dies,andThe Music Man.
Robertson made herBroadwaydebut inDance a Little Closer,the disastrous 1983 musical adaptation ofIdiot's DelightbyCharles Strouseand her husband,Alan Jay Lerner,that closed on opening night.[1]In 1986 she returned to Broadway with the Kern revue, which ran for 24 performances and proved to be her last Broadway appearance to date.[2]She starred in an extensive US tour ofThe King and Iand performed at theKennedy CenterbeforePresidentRonald Reaganand his wife, Nancy.
She presented her one-woman show,Just Liz,at theChichester Festival Theatreand theDuke of York's Theatrein London. It later was taped and broadcast byTelevision South.She is also a regular performer and part of the original cast of the touring playSeven Deadly Sins Four Deadly Sinners.She starred in the musicalHairsprayat theShaftesbury Theatre,performing the role of 'Velma Von Tussle'.[3]She played the Wicked Queen in theBristol HippodromePantomime,Snow White from 11 December 2009, and the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella at the same for the Christmas 2013 run.
She appeared as ‘Miss Smythe/Miss Andrew’ in the second London revival ofMary Poppinsat thePrince Edward Theatre.The production reopened on the 7th of August 2021 after being closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, until its final show on 8 January 2023.
Charity work
[edit]She is a trustee of The Theatrical Guild, the charity supporting backstage and front of house, and was chairperson from 2005 to 2009.[4]
Personal life
[edit]She marriedAlan Jay Lernerin August 1981 in Billingshurst, England. The couple met when he directed her in a revival ofMy Fair Lady.[5]
Notes
[edit]- ^Dance a Little CloserPlaybill.Retrieved 21 June 2019
- ^"Liz Robertson Broadway"Playbill.Retrieved 21 June 2019
- ^"Cast List".Hairspray.Retrieved5 June2009.
- ^"Executive Committee - Liz Robertson".Archived fromthe originalon 8 December 2015.Retrieved30 May2013.
- ^"Lerner Weds Actress He Directed as Eliza".The New York Times.19 August 1981.Retrieved30 August2024.
References
[edit]- Jablonski, Edward (1996).Alan Jay Lerner: A Biography.Henry Holt & Co.ISBN0-8050-4076-5
- Citron, David (1995).The Wordsmiths: Oscar Hammerstein 2nd and Alan Jay Lerner.Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-508386-5
- Lees, Gene (2005).The Musical Worlds of Lerner and Loewe.University of Nebraska Press.ISBN0-8032-8040-8
External links
[edit]- Liz RobertsonatIMDb
- Liz Robertsonat theInternet Broadway Database
- Really Useful bio
- Preview of The Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary Concert
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