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. Since then, Bridel starred as Lauren in the Canadian premiere of ''
Kinky Boots'' at the
Royal Alexandra Theatre
The Royal Alexandra Theatre, commonly known as the Royal Alex, is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located near King and Simcoe Street. Built in 1907, the 1,244-seat Royal Alex is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in Nort ...
and has appeared in several regional productions across Ontario. In 2022, Bridel started voicing the main character Pipp Petals in the
My Little Pony
''My Little Pony'' (''MLP'') is a toy line and media franchise developed by American toy company Hasbro. The first toys were developed by Bonnie Zacherle, Charles Muenchinger, and Steve D'Aguanno, and were produced in 1981. The ponies feature c ...
series.
Early life and education
Bridel was born in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
, but raised in
Kitchener,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
.
Bridel was first drawn to musical theatre after listening to the music for ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...
'' from a CD owned by her parents.
As a teenager, Bridel was a member of the ''Kitchener Waterloo Musical Productions'', a non-profit community theatre organization. She performed in the organization's productions of ''
Fiddler on the Roof
''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...
'', ''
Annie'', ''
Footloose'', and ''
13''.
Bridel attended
Eastwood Collegiate Institute
Eastwood Collegiate Institute is a public high school located at 760 Weber Street East in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1956. The school teams are known as the "Lions
". Eastwood is known for its Provincially ranked soccer team ...
, in Kitchener. An
honours student in high school, Bridel enrolled in the musical theatre program at
Sheridan College
Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology) is a public polytechnic institute of technology located in the west-Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada.
Founded in ...
but withdrew to appear on ''Over the Rainbow''. Bridel has since completed courses through
Queen's University.
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
John Mighton, OC (born October 2, 1957) is a Canadian mathematician, author, and playwright.
Education and career
Mighton was born in Hamilton, Ontario on and lives in Toronto, Ontario with partner Pamela Sinha and daughter Chloe.
In 1998 M ...
.
The play was performed at the
Stratford Festival
The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...
between July 13 and September 24, 2011.
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
The Ed Mirvish Theatre, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, is a historic film and play theatre in the downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was initially known as the Pantages Theatre, then becam ...
. Following a boot camp held by Lloyd Webber, Bridel was chosen as one of the ten contestants. During the competition, Lloyd Webber commented that "there are probably several roles that I would cast her in right away." On November 4, 2012, Bridel was eliminated in third place.
Bridel was cast as Dorothy Gale in a production of The Wizard of Oz that was produced by Drayton Entertainment in March 2015.
In 2015, Bridel was cast as Lauren in the Canadian production of ''
Kinky Boots'', which played at the
Royal Alexandra Theatre
The Royal Alexandra Theatre, commonly known as the Royal Alex, is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located near King and Simcoe Street. Built in 1907, the 1,244-seat Royal Alex is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in Nort ...
between June 2015 and May 2016. Bridel appeared on ''
Canada AM
''Canada AM'' was a Canadian morning television news show that aired on CTV from 1972 to 2016. Its final hosts were Beverly Thomson and Marci Ien, with Jeff Hutcheson presenting the weather forecast and sports. The program aired on weekdays, and ...
'', where she performed ''The History of Wrong Guys'', a song her character performs in the show. For her performance as Lauren, Bridel received a nomination for Outstanding Female Performance in a Musical at the 2016 Dora Awards. She also was nominated for and won a 2016 Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical.
Between 2016 and 2020, Bridel appeared in four Ross Petty Christmas pantomimes. In 2016, Bridel appeared in her first Ross Petty
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
, where she starred as Sleeping Beauty in ''Sleeping Beauty''. 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. Bridel then starred as Maid Marion in the 2019 Ross Petty production of ''Lil' Red Robin Hood''. 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.
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. Bridel reprised her role of Anne in the 2018 production.
In April 2022, Bridel began starring in the main voice role of Pipp Petals in ''
My Little Pony
''My Little Pony'' (''MLP'') is a toy line and media franchise developed by American toy company Hasbro. The first toys were developed by Bonnie Zacherle, Charles Muenchinger, and Steve D'Aguanno, and were produced in 1981. The ponies feature c ...
'', replacing
Sofia Carson
Sofía Daccarett Char (born April 10, 1993), known professionally as Sofia Carson, is an American actress and singer. Her first appearance on television was as a guest star on the Disney Channel series '' Austin & Ally''. In 2015, she received ...
. She currently voices the character in the made-for-YouTube 2D animated series ''My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale'' and in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
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''.
Personal life
In 2018 Bridel was nearly involved in the 2018 Toronto van attack, having been about 5 minutes away when it occurred.
In 2021 Bridel married Adam Craig
Theatre credits
Filmography
Television
Film
Audiobooks
Video games
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridel, A.J.
1994 births
Living people
Canadian musical theatre actresses
Actresses from Calgary
Musicians from Calgary
Actresses from Kitchener, Ontario
Musicians from Kitchener, Ontario
Participants in Canadian reality television series
21st-century Canadian actresses
Date of birth missing (living people)
21st-century Canadian women singers