Anna-Jane Casey
Born (1972-02-15) 15 February 1972
Salford, Lancashire, England
Years active1988–present
SpouseGraham MacDuff

Anna-Jane Casey (born 15 February 1972)[1] is an English singer, dancer and actress best known for her work in musical theatre.

Personal life

Casey was born in Salford, Lancashire, England.

Casey married fellow actor Graham MacDuff in 1998.[2] The pair started dating whilst on the national tour of West Side Story.[3]

In 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic, Casey revealed that she and her husband had worked as delivery drivers to supplement their income during lockdown due to the lack of work.[4]

Her sister Natalie Casey is also an actress best known for her television roles in Hollyoaks and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.

Stage career

Casey trained at Lupino Dance School in Bury. She appeared as Baby June in Gypsy at the Forum Theatre in Wythenshaw, Manchester which starred Josephine Blake and was choreographed by Paul Kerryson. She made her West End debut at age 16 as Rumpleteazer in Cats at New London Theatre.[3] After two years with Cats she then went on to Children of Eden at the Prince Edward Theatre.

In 1993 Casey performed in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium in the role of Reuben's Wife.[5]

In 1993 she played Barbara-Lou and Rizzo (replacement) in Grease at Dominion Theatre.[6]

She spent two years in Starlight Express at the Apollo Victoria Theatre playing the roles of Buffy, Dinah and Pearl.

In 1998 Casey fulfilled a lifelong ambition by playing Anita in West Side Story, both at the Prince Edward Theatre and on the national tour.[7] It was during this tour she met her husband, Graham MacDuff.

Casey made her first appearance in Chicago as Velma Kelly in 1998, a role she has reprised on numerous occasions.

In 2003 Casey landed the role of Frankie Frayne in the London revival of On Your Toes at the Southbank Centre.[8]

In 2005 she won the TMA (Theatrical Management Association) Award for Best Performance in a Musical[9] playing Mabel in Mack & Mabel at the Watermill Theatre.[10]

She originated the role of Dot in the London revival of Sunday in the Park with George at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2005, but left before the production transferred to The West End and Broadway, being replaced by Jenna Russell.[11]

After that she went on to play Maggie in Hobson's Choice from May to July 2006 at Watermill Theatre[12] before giving birth to her son.

During 2009 she appeared in Forbidden Broadway at the Menier Chocolate Factory.[13]

She spent the Christmas period in the title role of Aladdin at Hackney Empire.[14]

Casey returned to Chicago from February until 24 April 2010 playing Velma Kelly alongside Ruthie Henshall.[15]

Casey appeared in the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park production of The Comedy of Errors as the Courtesan, in the summer of 2010.

She appeared in the BBC Prom alongside the John Wilson Orchestra celebrating the music of Rodgers & Hammerstein. The concert was broadcast on the BBC on Saturday 28 August 2010.[16] She would return to perform with the same orchestra in their 2012 BBC Prom concert entitled 'The Broadway Sound', bringing the concert to a close with an encore performance of Tap Your Troubles Away from Mack and Mabel.[17]

Casey appeared as 'The Lady of the Lake' in Spamalot, at the Playhouse Theatre in London.

From May 2013 Casey appeared as Mrs Wilkinson in Billy Elliot the Musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London.

From July 2014 Casey appeared in the London edition of the revue Forbidden Broadway at the Vaudeville Theatre.

From July to September 2015 Casey played the role of Lottie in a revival of musical Mack & Mabel at Chichester Festival Theatre.

From December 2016 Casey played the eponymous Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun at the Sheffield Crucible.[18]

In 2017 she recorded two songs for the album Wit & Whimsy - Songs by Alexander S. Bermange (one solo and one featuring all of the album's 23 artists), which reached No. 1 in the iTunes comedy album chart.

In March 2017 it was announced that Casey will step into the role of Mavis in Stepping Out at the Vaudeville Theatre in London after Tamzin Outhwaite, who was supposed to play the role, fractured her foot during rehearsals. Casey will play the role until Outhwaite is able to return. Her sister Natalie Casey also appears in the play.

In January 2018, it was announced that Casey would play the role of Annie in the UK tour of Calendar Girls, which opens at the Leeds Grand Theatre on 16 August.[19]

Anna-Jane was in the original cast of the 2021 revival of Cabaret starring Eddie Redmayne, in which she played Frauline Kost and understudied the role of Frauline Schneider, a role she played numerous times. Whilst in Cabaret she appeared in the Stephen Sondheim tribute concert Old Friends, which was subsequently broadcast on television. She left Cabaret to appear with Sir Ian McKellen in the national tour of Mother Goose.

In 2023 Anna-Jane was in the new Robert J. Sherman West End musical Love Birds showcase directed by Ian Talbot OBE.[20]

Television roles

She has appeared on EastEnders, The Bill, Heartbeat and Holby City. The Royal series 4 episode 7

In 2023 she played Nicky Baron a patient in the TV show Casualty ( S38 ep9)

References

  1. ↑ "Weekend Birthdays", The Guardian, p. 49, 15 February 2014
  2. ↑ "World's a stage for Anna and Graham" thisislancashire.co.uk, 5 August 1998, retrieved 5 April 2010
  3. 1 2 Paddock, Terri."20 Questions With...Anna-Jane Casey" The two actors have two children. (Hi mum)Archived 8 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine whatsonstage.com, 9 December 2002
  4. ↑ "Thousands from Covid-blighted jobs join parcel courier army". TheGuardian.com. 29 November 2020.
  5. ↑ "'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' Cast List, May 1993" Archived 14 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine reallyuseful.com, retrieved 5 April 2010
  6. ↑ "'Grease' London Revival Cast (1993)" Archived 6 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine broadwayworld.com, retrieved 5 April 2010
  7. ↑ "Archive page for 'West Side Story'" Archived 7 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine albemarle-london.com, retrieved 5 April 2010
  8. ↑ Paddock, Terri."Review:'On Your Toes'" Archived 15 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine whatsonstage.com, 8 August 2003
  9. ↑ "2005 Nominees & Winners" Archived 7 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine tmauk.org, retrieved 5 April 2010
  10. ↑ Paddock, Terri.Soul Follows Jerry with Mack & Mabel at Watermill Archived 15 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine whatsonstage.com, 8 April 2005
  11. ↑ Paddock, Terri.Extensions: Sunday in the Park & Emperor Jones Archived 15 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine whatsonstage.com, 4 January 2006
  12. ↑ "Watermill – Hobson's Choice" Archived 19 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine newburytheatre.co.uk, retrieved 5 April 2010
  13. ↑ Bosanquet, Theo."Review:'Forbidden Broadway'" Archived 25 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine whatsonstage.com, 3 July 2009
  14. ↑ Coveney, Michael "Review: Alladin" Archived 29 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine www.whatsonstage.com, 4 December 2009
  15. ↑ Staff.Ruthie Henshall Extends Stay in London's Chicago Through April broadway.com, 19 February 2010
  16. ↑ Paddock, Terri.Waddingham & Russell Go into Woods, More Cast Archived 3 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine whatsonstage.com, 31 March 2010
  17. ↑ Anna-Jane Casey - Tap Your Troubles Away - BBC Proms 2012 - Prom 59 (Encore), retrieved 19 January 2023
  18. ↑ "Full casting announced for Annie Get Your Gun". Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  19. ↑ "Gary Barlow and Tim Firth's Calendar Girls musical gets new cast". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  20. ↑ Wild, Stephi (14 September 2023). "New Musical LOVE BIRDS Gets Workshop and Industry Showcase". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
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