AJ Bridel

Amanda Jeannette Bridel (born March 26, 1994), known as AJ Bridel, is a Canadian actress and singer. She first rose to prominence as a finalist on Over the Rainbow, where she finished in third-place.^[2] Since then, Bridel originated the role of Lauren in the Canadian premiere of Kinky Boots at the Royal Alexandra Theatre and has appeared in several regional productions across Ontario. In 2022, Bridel started voicing the main character Pipp Petals in the My Little Pony series.^[3]

AJ Bridel
Born	Amanda Jeanette Bridel[1] (1994-03-26) 26 March 1994 (age 30) Calgary, Alberta, Canada[1]
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer
Years active	2010–present

Early life and education

Bridel was born in Calgary, but raised in Kitchener, Ontario.^[1] Bridel was first drawn to musical theatre after listening to the music for Les Misérables from a CD owned by her parents.^[1] As a teenager, Bridel was a member of the Kitchener Waterloo Musical Productions, a non-profit community theatre organization.^[4][5] She performed in the organization's productions of Fiddler on the Roof, Annie, Footloose, and 13.^[5]

Bridel attended Eastwood Collegiate Institute, in Kitchener.^[6] An honours student in high school, Bridel enrolled in the musical theatre program at Sheridan College but withdrew to appear on Over the Rainbow.^[5] Bridel has since completed courses through Queen's University.^[7]

Career

In 2011, at the age of 18, Bridel was cast in her first professional production as Mary in The Little Years, a play by John Mighton.^[8] The play was performed at the Stratford Festival between July 13 and September 24, 2011.^[9]

In 2012, Bridel auditioned for Over the Rainbow, a Canadian reality competition based on the 2010 BBC series of the same name. The winner of the series would star in the role of Dorothy in a new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's new stage musical of The Wizard of Oz at the Ed Mirvish Theatre. Following a boot camp held by Lloyd Webber, Bridel was chosen as one of the ten contestants.^[10][5] During the competition, Lloyd Webber commented that "there are probably several roles that I would cast her in right away."^[11] On November 4, 2012, Bridel was eliminated in third place.^[2]

Bridel was cast as Dorothy Gale in a production of The Wizard of Oz that was produced by Drayton Entertainment in March 2015.^[12]

In 2015, Bridel was cast as Lauren in the Canadian production of Kinky Boots, which played at the Royal Alexandra Theatre between June 2015 and May 2016.^[13] Bridel appeared on Canada AM, where she performed The History of Wrong Guys, a song her character performs in the show.^[14] For her performance as Lauren, Bridel received a nomination for Outstanding Female Performance in a Musical at the 2016 Dora Awards.^[15] She also was nominated for and won a 2016 Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical.^[16]

Between 2016 and 2020, Bridel appeared in four Ross Petty Christmas pantomimes. In 2016, Bridel appeared in her first Ross Petty pantomime, where she starred as Sleeping Beauty in Sleeping Beauty.^[17] She also appeared in the 2017 production as Jane in A Christmas Carol, which was also filmed and aired on Family Channel and CBC across Canada.^[18] Bridel then starred as Maid Marion in the 2019 Ross Petty production of Lil' Red Robin Hood.^[19] In 2020, she appeared in There’s No Place Like Home For The Holidays, which was performed as an online revue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[20]

In 2017, Bridel was named the new Anne in the Charlottetown Festival's production of Anne of Green Gables: The Musical, the longest running annual musical theatre production.^[21][22] Bridel reprised her role of Anne in the 2018 production.^[23]

In April 2022, Bridel began starring in the main voice role of Pipp Petals in My Little Pony, replacing Sofia Carson.^[3][24] She currently voices the character in the made-for-YouTube 2D animated series My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale and in the Netflix animated series My Little Pony: Make Your Mark. Bridel also reprised her voice role in the 2022 Netflix animated specials, My Little Pony: Make Your Mark and My Little Pony: Winter Wishday. She also lent her voice to the video game My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure.^[25]

In 2023, Bridel starred as Sherrie in a Canadian production of Rock of Ages that played at the Elgin Theatre between February 23 and May 20, 2023.^[26] At the 2023 Dora Awards, Bridel was nominated for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role.^[27] Later that same year, Bridel starred as Claire in the world premiere of Chris Mrs. The musical ran between December 5 and 31, 2023 at the Winter Garden Theatre.^[28]

Personal life

In 2018 Bridel was nearly involved in the 2018 Toronto van attack, having been about 5 minutes away when it occurred.^[23]

Theatre credits

Year	Production	Role	Theatre	Category	Ref.
2011	The Little Years	Mary	Studio Theatre	Regional / Stratford Festival	[8]
2015	The Wizard of Oz	Dorothy Gale	Dunfield Theatre	Regional / Drayton Entertainment	[29]
2015–2016	Kinky Boots	Lauren	Royal Alexandra Theatre	Toronto / Mirvish Productions	[13]
2016	Mamma Mia!	Sophie Sheridan	Capitol Theatre	Regional	[30]
	Sleeping Beauty	Sleeping Beauty	Elgin Theatre	Regional / Ross Petty Productions	[17]
2017	Anne of Green Gables: The Musical	Anne Shirley	Regional / Charlottetown Festival		[21]
	A Christmas Carol	Jane	Elgin Theatre	Regional / Ross Petty Productions	[31]
2018	Anne of Green Gables: The Musical	Anne Shirley	Regional / Charlottetown Festival		[23]
2019	You'll Get Used To It...The War Show	Woman 1, Various characters	St. Jacobs Country Playhouse	Regional / Drayton Entertainment	[32]
	Lil' Red Robin Hood	Maid Marion	Winter Garden Theatre	Regional / Ross Petty Productions	[33]
2020	Kinky Boots	Lauren	Hamilton Family Theatre	Regional / Drayton Entertainment	[34]
	There’s No Place Like Home For The Holidays	Holiday Spirit	Virtual revue	Regional / Ross Petty Productions	[20]
2022	Mamma Mia!	Sophie Sheridan	St. Jacobs Country Playhouse	Regional / Drayton Entertainment	[35]
2023	Rock of Ages	Sherrie	Elgin Theatre	Regional / More Entertainment Group	[36]
	Chris Mrs.	Claire Chris	Winter Garden Theatre	Toronto: World premiere	[37]
2024	Rosamund	Princess Rosamund	Jeanne Lamon Hall	Toronto: Fringe Festival	[38]

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Over the Rainbow	Herself	Third-place finalist
2018	A Christmas Carol	Jane	Television special
2020	Odd Squad	Sister Sally #2	2 episodes
	Private Eyes	Tiffany	Episode: "Tappa Kegga Daily"
2021	Glowbies	Sixty	Main role (voice)
2022	Murdoch Mysteries	Susan Halliday	Episode: "There's Something About Mary"
2022–2023	My Little Pony: Make Your Mark	Pipp Petals	Main role (voice)
2022–2024	My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale		Main role (voice)
2022	My Little Pony: Make Your Mark		Netflix animated special
	My Little Pony: Winter Wishday		Netflix animated special
2023	My Little Pony: Bridlewoodstock		Netflix animated special
	Accused	Female Supporter #3	Episode S1.E7: "Brenda's Story"

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2014	Shelby	Chloe

Audiobooks

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2019	Out of the Shadows	Narrator		[39]
2021	The Dollhouse: A Ghost Story			[40]
2022	Prague			[41]
	Every Summer After			[42]

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2022	My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure	Pipp Petals		[43]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2015	BroadwayWorld Award	Best Leading Actress in a Musical	Kinky Boots	Won	[44]
2016	Dora Awards	Outstanding Female Performance in a Musical		Nominated	[45]
	Toronto Theatre Critics Award	Best Supporting Actress in a Musical		Won	[46]
2023	Dora Awards	Outstanding Leading Performance in a Musical	Rock of Ages	Nominated	[27]
2023	ACTRA Toronto Award	Outstanding Performance: Gender Non-Conforming or Female Voice	My Little Pony: Make Your Mark	Nominated	[47]

References

1. Ouzounaian, Richard. "Young Kinky Boots star AJ Bridel brims with big-city confidence". The Star. Archived from the original on 20 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
2. Ouzounian, Richard (5 November 2012). "Over the Rainbow: Danielle Wade is Dorothy". Toronto Star. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
3. "New 'My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale' Series to Debut on YouTube". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
4. Hill, Valerie (16 October 2018). "K-W Musical Productions marks 70th anniversary with ambitious show". The Record. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
5. Rubinoff, Joel (27 June 2012). "A.J. Bridel is Over The Rainbow". The Record. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
6. Tomasek, Keith (23 February 2015). "AJ Bridel on playing Dorothy & more". Stratford Festival Reviews. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
7. Hobbs, Anna (19 August 2017). "Anne of Green Gables actor falls for PEI". Vacay. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
8. Walker, Angela. "Newest Anne already a big fan". CBC. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
9. Hoile, Christopher (24 July 2011). "The Little Years". Stage-Door. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
10. "Canada's Top 10 Dorothy's Revealed for CBC's Over The Rainbow!". CBC Media Centre. 17 September 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
11. "CBC Over the Rainbow Performance #7 - AJ Bridel - All That Jazz". YouTube. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
12. Hill, Valerie (9 March 2015). "Stunning Wizard of Oz launches Cambridge's 2015 theatre season". Peterborough Examiner. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
13. Ouzounian, Richard (22 April 2015). "Toronto's Kinky Boots has its Lola and other cast". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
14. "Canada AM: AJ Bridel performs". Canada AM. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
15. "Announcement: 2016 Dora Mavor Moore Award Nominees". Mooney on Theatre. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
16. Fisher, Steve; Morrow, Martin (27 May 2016). "The Winners from the 2016 Toronto Theatre Critics Awards". Torontoist. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
17. Fricker, Karen (4 December 2016). "Ross Petty's Sleeping Beauty keeps all ages entertained: review". Toronto Star. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
18. Yeo, Debra (28 December 2017). "Ross Petty Christmas Carol panto gets two extra shows". Toronto Star. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
19. Dunn, Bryen (28 November 2019). "Ross Petty Productions presents "Lil' Red Robin Hood" – on stage until Jan 4, 2020". Buzz Mag. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
20. Simmons, Galen (18 December 2020). "Dan Chameroy to bring Plumbum back for annual Ross Petty holiday show this weekend". Stratford Beacon Herald. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
21. Hobbs, Anna (19 August 2017). "Anne of Green Gables actor falls for PEI". Vacay.ca. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
22. "Anne of Green Gables musical hits world record". CBC. Archived from the original on 2014-03-09.
23. Ross, Shane (26 April 2018). "Anne of Green Gables actress misses Toronto van attack by minutes". CBC. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
24. My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale | NEW SERIES | Trailer, retrieved 2022-05-27
25. "My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure (2022)". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
26. Nestruck, J. Kelly (1 March 2023). "Rock of Ages is back on stage rocking Toronto - more schlocky than ever, for better or worse". The Globe & Mail. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
27. Crowley, Helene (28 June 2023). "Announcing the 2023 Dora Mavor Moore Award Winners". Intermission Magazine. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
28. Murphy, Aisling (2 December 2023). "A musical inspired by holiday Hallmark movies is coming to Toronto. Here's what to expect from the show". CP24. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
29. Hill, Valerie (9 March 2015). "Stunning Wizard of Oz launches Cambridge's 2015 theatre season". Peterborough Examiner. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
30. McEwen, Todd (26 July 2016). "Port Hope's Capitol Theatre welcomes smash hit musical 'Mamma Mia!'". MyKawartha.com. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
31. Dunn, Bryen (24 November 2017). "Ross Petty's "A Christmas Carol" onstage Nov 24 to Dec 31, 2017". The Buzz Mag. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
32. Myslik, Jaime (13 June 2019). "You'll Get Used to It … The War Show offers poignant tribute to Second World War". The Wellington Advertiser. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
33. Dunn, Bryen (28 November 2019). "Ross Petty Productions presents "Lil' Red Robin Hood" – on stage until Jan 4, 2020". Buzz Mag. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
34. Rubinoff, Joel (29 February 2020). "Former Kitchener reality star enjoys career resurgence in drag queen musical". The Record. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
35. "Smash hit ABBA Musical Mamma Mia! extended by popular demand before the show even opens". Wellington Advertiser. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
36. "Iconic Broadway Show Rock of Ages Roars Onto The Toronto Stage This Winter". Newswire. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
37. Wild, Stephi (4 October 2023). "Liam Tobin, Danielle Wade, and Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane Join World Premiere Of Chris, Mrs in Toronto". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
38. "Rosamund - A New Musical in Toronto at Jeanne Lamon Hall 2024". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
39. "Out of the Shadows". Audible. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
40. "The Dollhouse: A Ghost Story". Audible. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
41. "Prague". Audible. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
42. "Every Summer After". Audible. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
43. "My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure (2022)". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
44. Henry, Alan (18 January 2016). "015 BroadwayWorld Toronto Award Winners Announced". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
45. "Announcement: 2016 Dora Mavor Moore Award Nominees". Mooney on Theatre. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
46. Fisher, Steve; Morrow, Martin (27 May 2016). "The Winners from the 2016 Toronto Theatre Critics Awards". Torontoist. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
47. Dirie, Ahmed (3 April 2023). "ACTRA Toronto reveals noms for 21st annual awards". Playback. Retrieved 12 July 2024.

External links

• AJ Bridel at IMDb