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Sally Lee Mayes is an American actress and
cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...
and concert singer.


Biography

Born in
Livingston, Texas Livingston is a town in and the county seat of Polk County, Texas. With a population of 5,640 at the 2020 census, it is the largest city in Polk County. It is located about 46 miles south of Lufkin and was originally settled in 1835 as S ...
, Mayes began her career as a rock and jazz singer in
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
. She attended the
University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...
.Sally Mayes, Brent Spiner, Robert Wuhl Set for University of Houston School of Theatre & Dance Tribute Event
by David Gordon. TheaterMania Theater News, 6 Aug 2012; retrieved 2012-09-05. She made her
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 ...
debut in April 1989 as Winona Shook in Cy Coleman's '' Welcome to the Club''. For her performance she won a
Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...
. This was followed by her appearance in the original Off-Broadway production of
Richard Maltby, Jr. Richard Eldridge Maltby Jr. (born October 6, 1937) is an American theatre director and theatrical producer, producer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He conceived and directed the only two musical revues to win the Tony Award for Best Musical: ''Ain ...
and
David Shire David Lee Shire (born July 3, 1937) is an American songwriter and composer of stage musicals, film and television scores. The soundtracks to the 1976 film '' The Big Bus'', '' The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'', ''The Conversation'' and ''All ...
's ''
Closer Than Ever ''Closer Than Ever'' is a musical revue in two acts, with words by Richard Maltby, Jr. and music by David Shire. The revue contains no dialogue, and Maltby and Shire have described this show as a "bookless book musical." The show was originally co ...
'' at the
Cherry Lane Theatre The Cherry Lane Theatre is the oldest continuously running off-Broadway theater in New York City. The theater is located at 38 Commerce Street between Barrow and Bedford Streets in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, ...
. A critical success, the show ran for 312 performances and a CD recording was made on the RCA Victor label. Mayes next appeared as Ilona Ritter in a revival of
Jerry Bock Jerrold Lewis Bock (November 23, 1928November 3, 2010) was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical ''Fiorello!'' and the Tony ...
's ''
She Loves Me ''She Loves Me'' is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. The musical is the third adaptation of the 1937 play '' Parfumerie'' by Hungarian playwright Miklós László, following the 194 ...
'' at the
Roundabout Theatre The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizab ...
in 1993. The production moved to the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre The Lena Horne Theatre (previously the Mansfield Theatre and the Brooks Atkinson Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 256 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1926, it was designed by Herbert ...
on Broadway the following year, and Mayes garnered
Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
and Drama Desk Award nominations for her performance. After ''She Loves Me'' closed in June, Mayes appeared as Brunnhilde in
Jim Luigs Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...
's '' Das Barbecu'' at the
Minetta Lane Theatre The Minetta Lane Theatre is a 391-seat off-Broadway theatre on Minetta Lane in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of lower Manhattan, New York City. Significant productions include '' Marvin's Room'' in 1992, '' Jeffrey'' in 1994, and ''The ...
the following Fall. In 1995 she appeared as Mrs. MacAfee in the
television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
version of ''
Bye Bye Birdie ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The short story "Dream Man", authored ...
'' with Jason Alexander, Vanessa L. Williams,
Marc Kudisch Marc Kudisch (born September 22, 1966) is an American stage actor, who is best known for his musical theatre roles on Broadway. Early life and education Kudisch was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, the son of Florence and Raymond Kudisch. His fami ...
, and
Chynna Phillips Chynna Gilliam Phillips (born February 12, 1968) is an American singer and actress, and a member of the vocal group Wilson Phillips. She is the daughter of the Mamas & the Papas band members John and Michelle Phillips and half-sister of Macken ...
. The following year she played a small role in
Harold Becker Harold Becker (born September 25, 1928) is an American film and television director, producer, and photographer from New York City, associated with the New Hollywood movement and best known for his work in the thriller genre. His body of work ...
's film '' City Hall''. In 1997 she appeared at the
Queens Theatre in the Park Queens Theatre, formerly Queens Theatre in the Park and before that Queens Playhouse, is an American professional theatre, located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City, New York. Artistic and Executive Directors have includ ...
in a production of Stephen Sondheim's '' Marry Me A Little''. In 2000 Mayes appeared Off-Broadway as Keely in James Hindman's critically acclaimed musical '' Pete 'n' Keely''. For her performance she was nominated for a
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. The awards were established in 1955, ...
. That same year she appeared in a small role in the film ''
Double Parked Double parking refers to parking parallel to a car already parked at the curb or double parking in attended car parks and garages. Parking parallel to a car already parked at the curb "Double parking" means standing or parking a vehicle on th ...
''. In 2001 she returned to the Queens Theatre in the Park to appear in the play ''Decade'' and she appeared in the musical review ''The Broadway Musicals of 1943'' at Town Hall. She toured the United States in a production of
Claudia Shear Claudia Shear (born September 12, 1962) is an American actress and playwright. She was nominated for the Tony Award, Best Play and Best Actress for her play '' Dirty Blonde''. Early life Shear was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 12, 1962 ...
's and
James Lapine James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', '' Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ...
's '' Dirty Blonde'' and appeared on ''
Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name, the series premiered in the United Stat ...
'' in the episode ''Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda''. In 2002 she guest starred on ''
Law & Order: Criminal Intent ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural Drama (film and television), drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, p ...
'' as Brenda in the episode ''
Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or t ...
''. In 2003 she returned to Broadway as Aunt Corene in the musical ''
Urban Cowboy ''Urban Cowboy'' is a 1980 American romantic Western film directed by James Bridges. The plot concerns the love-hate relationship between Buford Uan "Bud" Davis (John Travolta) and Sissy (Debra Winger). The film's success was credited for spur ...
'', earning a third Drama Desk Award nomination. In 2005 she appeared in the ensemble of the film '' The Producers''. When Mayes isn't working as an actress, she maintains a busy schedule as a concert and cabaret singer in New York City. Stephen Holden of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' wrote in a 2001 review, "There is hardly a cabaret performer in New York who couldn't learn something from Sally Mayes. The plucky platinum-haired singer and actress embodies a hard-shelled professionalism that is too often missing from the nightclub stage. Alternately sparkly and brassy, and exuding a determined can-do energy, Ms. Mayes often suggests a contemporary cabaret descendant of
Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...
."


References


External links

* *
Sally Mayes at the Internet Off Broadway Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayes, Sally People from Livingston, Texas University of Houston alumni American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Living people Theatre World Award winners American cabaret performers 1959 births 21st-century American women