''Divas at the Donmar'' is a stage production that occurred for 5 seasons at the
Donmar Warehouse
The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977.
Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Micha ...
, first premiering on 10 August 1998, with the last show ending on 31 August 2002. The show hosted different actors and actresses performing a variety of material from singing to acting.
Productions
1998 production
The first season of ''Divas at the Donmar'' starred
Ann Hampton Callaway
Ann Hampton Callaway (born May 30, 1958) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and actress. She wrote and sang the theme song for the TV series ''The Nanny''.
Career
A native of Chicago, her father, John Callaway, was a journalist and her mot ...
and
Liz Callaway
Liz Callaway (born April 13, 1961) is an American actress, singer and recording artist, who is best known for having provided the singing voices of many female characters in animated films, such as Anya/Anastasia in ''Anastasia'', Odette in ''Th ...
;
Barbara Cook
Barbara Cook (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals ''Plain and Fancy'' (1955), ''Candide'' (1956) and ''The Music Man'' (19 ...
and
Imelda Staunton
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre produ ...
and ran from 10 August until 5 September 1998.
1999 production
The second season starred
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fa ...
,
Audra McDonald
Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four act ...
and
Sam Brown and ran from 9 August until 4 September 1999.
2000 production
The third season starred
Betty Buckley
Betty Lynn Buckley (born July 3, 1947) is an American actress and singer. Buckley is the winner of a Tony Award, and was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Olivier Award. In 2012, she was inducted into the American T ...
and
Clive Rowe
Clive Mark Rowe (born 27 March 1964) is a British actor, best known for his role as Norman "Duke" Ellington in BBC Children's drama ''The Story of Tracy Beaker''. He also starred as Mayor Doyle in the Disney show '' The Evermoor Chronicles''.
...
and ran from 21 August until 9 September 2000.
2001 production
The fourth season starred
Clive Rowe
Clive Mark Rowe (born 27 March 1964) is a British actor, best known for his role as Norman "Duke" Ellington in BBC Children's drama ''The Story of Tracy Beaker''. He also starred as Mayor Doyle in the Disney show '' The Evermoor Chronicles''.
...
in his second appearance,
Siân Phillips
Dame Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips (born 14 May 1933), known professionally as Siân Phillips ( ), is a Welsh actress. She has performed the title roles in Ibsen's ''Hedda Gabler'' and George Bernard Shaw's '' Saint Joan''.
Early life
Phi ...
and
Michael Ball
Michael Ashley Ball (born 27 June 1962) is an English singer, presenter and actor. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of ''Les Misérables'', and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in ...
and ran from 3–29 September 2001.
2002 production
The last season starred
Janie Dee
Janie Dee (born 20 June 1962) is an English actress and singer. She won the Olivier Award for Best Actress, Evening Standard Award and Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Play, and in New York the Obie and Theatre World Award fo ...
,
Ruby Turner
Francella Ruby Turner MBE (born 22 June 1958) is a British Jamaican R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and actress.
In a music career spanning more than 30 years, Turner is best known for her album and single releases in Europe and North Americ ...
,
Philip Quast
Philip Mark Quast (born 30 July 1957) is an Australian actor and singer. He has won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical three times, making him the first actor to have three wins in that category.
He is perhaps best known ...
and
and ran from 5–31 August 2002. Turner's production ran from 12–17 August, while Quast's production ran from the 19–24 August and Chenoweth ending the show on the 26–31 August.
References
English plays
1998 plays
1999 plays
2000 plays
2001 plays
2002 plays
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