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Melanie La Barrie (born 1974[citation needed]) is a Trinidad-born actress and singer, best known for originating the role of Angélique/Nurse in & Juliet in London's West End and on Broadway.[2][3] Since February 2024, she has been appearing as Hermes in the West End production of Hadestown.[4]
Melanie La Barrie | |
|---|---|
 La Barrie in 2023 | |
| Born | Melanie Hudson[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, singer |
| Years active | 2003–present |
Born in Trinidad and Tobago, La Barrie aspired to be an actor from a young age. Encouraged by her school teachers to compete in junior calypso music competitions, by the age of eight she was regularly performing on stage.[5]
In 2000, she and a select group of actors were chosen to perform the Trinidadian play Clear Water in London. While in the UK, she was offered representation and secured her first role in a musical, Ragtime.[5]
Musical theatre
La Barrie made her West End debut in the ensemble of Ragtime in 2003.[6]
She was cast as Ma Rainey[7] in August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at the Liverpool Playhouse in 2004.[8]
In 2004–2005, she was part of the original cast of the musical Mary Poppins, playing the role of Mrs Corry. The cast included Laura Michelle Kelly as Mary Poppins, Gavin Lee as Bert, David Haig as Mr Banks, Linzi Hateley as Winifred Banks and a young Carrie Hope Fletcher as Jane Banks. The show was directed by Richard Eyre, and choreographed and co-directed by Matthew Bourne.[9]
She played Pearl in the musical Daddy Cool in 2007, followed by Mme Thenardier in Les Misérables in 2008.
In 2010, La Barrie took part in the Royal Shakespeare Company's workshops for the musical Matilda in the role of Mrs Phelps, performing the role in Stratford-upon-Avon and when the show transferred to the Cambridge Theatre in London.[10]
In 2018, La Barrie took over the role of Madame Morrible in Wicked, in the show's 12th year, starring alongside Alice Fearn (Elphaba), Sophie Evans (Glinda) and Bradley Jaden (Fiyero).[11]
In 2019, it was announced that La Barrie would star as Angelique, the Nurse, having previously workshopped the role, in the Max Martin jukebox musical & Juliet.[2][12] The musical premiered at the Manchester Opera House, where it played between 10 September and 12 October 2019. La Barrie continued in the role when the musical transferred to the Shaftesbury Theatre on the West End.[13] The musical opened on 2 November 2019, in previews, ahead of an official opening on 20 November 2019. After the show was suspended in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, La Barrie returned to the role when performances resumed on 24 September 2021.[14] On 26 March 2022, La Barrie departed the show.[15]
In February 2022, La Barrie appeared in the role of Mama Rose in a special one-night-only concert performance of Gypsy at the Alexandra Palace in London.[16] She shared the role with six other actresses, Tracie Bennett, Keala Settle, Nichola Hughes, Rebecca Lock, Samantha Spiro and Sally Ann Triplett.
La Barrie reprised her role of Angelique in the North American premiere of & Juliet, where it played at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto between 22 June 2022 and 14 August 2022.[17] She continued with the role when the musical transferred to Broadway, marking La Barrie's Broadway debut.[3][18] The musical opened on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on 28 October 2022,[19] ahead of an official opening on 17 November 2022.[20][21]
Since 10 February 2024, La Barrie has played the role of Hermes in the West End cast of Hadestown.[4]
Music
Under her birth name, Melanie Hudson, she has released two calypso LP records, which were produced and released in Trinidad. The first of these, Comin' Out,[22] featured as its lead single "I Will Always Be There For You", which became a major hit in Trinidad.[3]
Her second LP, Melanie, was released in 1992.[23]
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| Year | Production | Role | Location | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Ragtime | Ensemble | Piccadilly Theatre | West End |
| 2004 | Ma Rainey's Black Bottom | Ma Rainey | Liverpool Playhouse | Regional |
| 2004 | Mary Poppins | Mrs Corry | Bristol Hippodrome | World premiere |
| 2004-2006 | Prince Edward Theatre | West End | ||
| 2006-2007 | Daddy Cool | Pearl | Shaftesbury Theatre | West End - world premiere |
| 2008 | Rue Magique | Desdemona | King's Head Theatre | Off-West End |
| 2007-2008 | Les Misérables | Madame Thénardier | Queen's Theatre | West End |
| 2009 | Once on This Island | Mama Euralie | Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse, Hackney Empire | Regional |
| 2009-2010 | A Christmas Carol | Mrs Old Joe | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | Regional |
| 2010 | Smokey Joe's Cafe | — | Landor Theatre | London |
| 2010-2011 | Matilda the Musical | Mrs Phelps | Royal Shakespeare Company (Courtyard Theatre) | World premiere |
| 2011-2013 | Cambridge Theatre | West End | ||
| 2011 | The Wiz | Addaperle/Aunt Em | New Alexandra Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse | Regional |
| 2014 | Guys and Dolls | General Matilda B. Cartwright | Chichester Festival Theatre | Regional |
| 2014-2015 | White Christmas | Martha Watson | West Yorkshire Playhouse | Regional |
| 2015 | Play Mas | Miss Gookool | Orange Tree Theatre | Off-West End |
| 2015 | Bakkhai | Chorus | Almeida Theatre | Off-West End |
| 2015-2016 | The Lorax | Various | The Old Vic | World premiere |
| 2016 | Breakfast at Tiffany's | Madame Spanella | Curve Theatre, UK tour, Theatre Royal Haymarket | Regional, West End |
| 2017 | Fiddler on the Roof, The Story Giant, Romeo and Juliet, The Sum | Various (repertory company) | Everyman Theatre, Liverpool | Regional |
| 2017-2019 | Wicked | Madame Morrible | Apollo Victoria Theatre | West End |
| 2019 | & Juliet | Angélique/Nurse | Manchester Opera House | World premiere |
| 2019-2022 | Shaftesbury Theatre | West End | ||
| 2020 | Dick Whittington | Bow Belles | Royal National Theatre | London |
| 2021 | Brother | Cassie | Southwark Playhouse (online) | Off-West End |
| 2021 | The Lorax | Various | The Old Vic (online) | London |
| 2021 | Going Ape | Eve | Union Theatre | Off-West End |
| 2022 | & Juliet | Angélique/Nurse | Princess of Wales Theatre | Toronto - North American premiere |
| 2022–2023 | Stephen Sondheim Theatre | Broadway | ||
| 2024 | Hadestown | Hermes | Lyric Theatre | West End |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | EastEnders | Resus Nurse | Episode: 5 Oct 2001 |
| 2004 | Casualty | Anita | 2 episodes: S18.E23; S18.E24 |
| 2015 | London Road | Resident | Directed by Rufus Norris |
| Year | Work | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | & Juliet | WhatsOnStage Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Musical | Nominated | [26] |
| 2022 | Dora Award | Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role | Nominated | [27] | |
| 2025 | Hadestown | WhatsOnStage Award | Best Supporting Performer in a Musical | Pending | [28] |
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