Reva Rice is an American musical theatre actress and singer, best known for originating the role of

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

in ''

Starlight Express ''Starlight Express'' is a 1984 British musical, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern engines in the hope o ...

'' on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, and subsequently playing the role in the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

production after its 1992 revision as well as on tour in the US and in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Her other credits include Velma in ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

'', '' Smokey Joe's Cafe'' and the television show '' The Watcher''. She played Roz in the world premiere production of ''JAM: Just Another Man'', a musical about the life of

Clint Holmes Clint Holmes (born 9 May 1946) is a British-born singer-songwriter and Las Vegas entertainer, and TV announcer. Bio He was born in Bournemouth, England, the son of an African-American jazz musician and an English opera singer. He was raised in ...

, at the Judy Bayley Theatre at the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

. More recently she was the standby for The Lady of the Lake in the Las Vegas production of ''

Spamalot ''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot'') is a musical comedy with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and lyrics and book by Idle. It is adapted from the 1975 film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Like the motion pictu ...

'' and took part in the Las Vegas tryout of the new musical, ''All In: The Poker Musical''. She performed in the ensemble of the US national tour of the musical version of ''

The Color Purple ''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.

,'' understudying the lead character Shug Avery. She performed in David Saxe's ''Vegas! The Show'', at the Saxe Theater at th
Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino
Rice led the cast in the Japanese production of '' Fosse'', based on the work of choreographer

Bob Fosse Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals ''The Pajam ...

. She was also one of the finalists on the television show ''

Star Search ''Star Search'' was an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both versio ...

''. ''Reva Las Vegas'' is a 90-minute revue based upon her career from Broadway to Las Vegas. In June 2018, Rice returned to ''Starlight Express'' playing Mama, a female version of Poppa, in the Bochum production.

Background

Rice was born in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

to Flute and Pearl Esterine Shields Rice. She began training in dance, theatre, and piano at the age of five, and later graduated from the

Boston Conservatory of Music Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater. Boston Conservatory was founde ...

Theatre credits

* Pearl the Observation Car in ''

'' (Broadway) * Pearl the Observation Car in ''

'' (London) *

Velma Kelly Velma Kelly is one of the main characters in the successful 1975 Broadway musical ''Chicago''. Kelly is based on the character "Velma", who first appeared in the 1926 play, also called ''Chicago'', who was in-turn inspired by the life of Belva Ga ...

in ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

'' * Roz in ''JAM: Just Another Man'' *

The Lady of the Lake The Lady of the Lake (french: Dame du Lac, Demoiselle du Lac, cy, Arglwyddes y Llyn, kw, Arloedhes an Lynn, br, Itron al Lenn, it, Dama del Lago) is a name or a title used by several either fairy or fairy-like but human enchantresses in the ...

(Standby) in ''

Monty Python's Spamalot ''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot'') is a musical comedy with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and lyrics and book by Idle. It is adapted from the 1975 film '' Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Like the motion pictu ...

'' (Las Vegas) * Lead Singer i
''VEGAS! THE SHOW''
* Mama the Old Steamer in ''

'' (Bochum)

Single

In 1993, ''The New Starlight Express'', a cast recording of the revised London production was released featuring Rice as Pearl. As well as singing the solos "Make Up My Heart" and "He'll Whistle At Me", Rice duets on "Next Time You Fall in Love" with Greg Ellis. The track was released as a single.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Reva Living people 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American women singers Actresses from Toledo, Ohio American musical theatre actresses Boston Conservatory at Berklee alumni Musicians from Toledo, Ohio Year of birth missing (living people)