Last week I spoke to West End and Broadway Royalty! Kerry Ellis has starred in Les Miserables, Wicked, Oliver, Cats, Chess and Anything Goes among others.
She has worked with Queen’s Brian May on her albums. She’s a Musical superstar.
With such am impressive pedigree I asked her what her first love was; music, theatre, drama?
“I think what I love the most is that I have variety in my life. People say you can’t have it all but I’m a Mum, I’m a wife, a singer, an actress, I do podcasts at times and I’ve done a book. I get to do so many different things that I just love what I do. I like to challenge myself and that’s what keeps me going.”
Kerry played the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba Thropp, in Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre and the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway between 2006 and 2014. Despite playing the same role for so long, even that offers a lot of variety within her work, according to Kerry. “People forget how different it can be every night. Yes, you have the routine of doing the same show every day, saying the same lines and singing the same songs but some elements can be very different.
“The audiences make a huge difference every day. Their response, which is one of the beauties of live theatre, is that difference that makes you react differently. Another thing that adds variety to each performance is that there are understudies due to sickness and holidays and so many other variables. Even if you’re in a long running show, and typically you’re on a year-long contract, time races past.”
“I loved every moment I was in Anything Goes, which came to Manchester. It’s great being part of a company. There is something really nice about the familiarity of knowing what every day is going to be like. On the other hand, I’ll be at the Lyric Theatre, at the Albert Hall and on a ship in the next couple of weeks, so I really think I have the best of both Worlds”.
Kerry Ellis has a new album out too. Personally, I love it. It’s not a collection of Show songs like her album Anthems, which included songs from Wicked, Chess and Kristina or KE, which had songs from My Fair Lady, Les Miserables and Tell me on a Sunday (among others). Her new album is full of brand new original songs. She’s been involved in the writing herself alongside Brian May, Newton Faulkner, Jamie Lawson and Charlie Turner.
I particularly love the title track Kings and Queens but the album is a collection that is full of variety and is one of the best collections I’ve heard for a long time. I’d recommend it to anyone.
I often wax lyrical about how good the amateurs in our area are and this week I’ll be attending two Am/Drams and can’t wait. I’ll be at Stockport Plaza to watch the Drama Dept’s version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic Cats and I’ll also be at Mossley’s George Lawton Hall to see Six: the Musical by the equally talented NK Theatre Arts, who had to relocate their shows because of the discovery of RAAC at their usual home at Romiley Forum. I’ll give you a full report on what I see next week.
My guests from 7pm this week, on Tameside Radio are Ben Hart, who’s magic show Jadoo will be at the Lowry Theatre in Salford on Monday 23rd October and Jill Ratcliffe, a star of the AM/Dram World for decades, who’ll be in The Music Man by Stockport Operatic Society at Stockport Plaza from 24th to 28th October and of course you’ll hear the first part of my chat with Kerry Ellis. If you’re treading the boards this week or attending a show Break-a-Leg!
