John O'May is an American-born Australian actor, best known for his stage performances.

Early life

O'May was born at

Johns Hopkins Hospital Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1889, Johns Hopkins Hospital and its school of medicine are considered to be the foundin ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, one of four children. He grew up with a love of reading and literature. At university he dabbled in theatre, learning acting, stagecraft and building sets. He became a teacher at Patapsco High School, where he himself had attended high school. He taught English literature for two and a half years. He eventually travelled overseas, and after visiting his sister in Australia and ended up staying.

Career

In 1972, O'May auditioned for the role of Ashley Wilkes in ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

''. He took singing lessons and found an agent. In 1973, he was offered an audition and role in ''

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical in two acts with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set t ...

'', replacing

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

Judas Judas Iscariot (; ; died AD) was, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, in exchange for thirty pieces of ...

. He created and performed in the revues ''Gershwin'' (with

John Diedrich John Edwin Diedrich (born 25 February 1953 in Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian actor, director, producer and singer, known for stage and television roles in Australia and the UK. Diedrich was a child actor, debuting as the Artful Dodger ...

) in 1975 and ''The 20s and All That Jazz'' (with Diedrich and Caroline Gilmer) in 1977. O'May played

Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...

in the original Australian cast of '' Evita'' which opened in Adelaide in April 1980. In the 1980s he was a regular performer with the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

, and played Bobby in ''

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

'' for the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in the Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Theatre ...

in 1986 and Captain Corcoran in ''

H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London on 25 May 1878, and ran for 571 performances, w ...

'' for the Victoria State Opera in 1987. He directed and starred in the musical '' Seven Little Australians'' in 1988. O'May played Monsieur André in the original Australian cast of ''

The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to: Novel * The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux Characters * Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...

'' which opened at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne in December 1990. He later performed each of the two manager characters in various productions over the subsequent decades. Other notable roles include Marvin in ''

Falsettos ''Falsettos'' is a sung-through musical theatre, musical with a book by William Finn and James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Finn. The musical consists of ''March of the Falsettos'' (1981) and ''Falsettoland'' (1990), the last two installment ...

'' in 1994 for the

, Nick Arnstein in ''Funny Girl'' in 1999, John Wilkes Booth in ''

Assassins An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder. The origin of the term is the medieval Order of Assassins, a sect of Shia Islam 1090–1275 CE. Assassin, or variants, may also refer to: Fictional characters * Assassin, in the Japanese adult ...

'' in 1995, and Fredrik Egerman in ''

A Little Night Music ''A Little Night Music'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film '' Smiles of a Summer Night'', it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a ...

'' in 1997, both for the

. For the latter, he received a Green Room Award for male artist in a leading role. In 2014 he appeared as Doctor Tambourri in Sondheim's '' Passion''. In 2022, he portrayed the Mysterious Man and Cinderella’s Father in ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

'' in North Melbourne, Australia. Film credits include supporting roles in the films '' Starstruck'' and ''

Rebel A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...

'' and the television opera ''The Divorce'' (2015). In 2000, O’May guest-starred in season 2, episode 11, "Sponsorship and Media Discontent", of the ABC mockumentary, '' The Games''.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

As actor

As writer/director

https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/948

References

External links

*
Profile
markgogoll.com {{DEFAULTSORT:OMay, John 20th-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male actors Australian male stage actors Australian male film actors Australian male television actors Australian male musical theatre actors Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Male actors from Baltimore