Ann Harada
| Ann Harada | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 3, 1964 Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Education | Brown University |
| Occupation | actress, singer |
| Years active | 1987-present |
Ann Harada (born February 3, 1964) is an American New York-based actress who is best known for the musical Avenue Q in which she originated the role of Christmas Eve, the heavily-accented Japanese therapist.
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[edit] Early life
Harada was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was raised in Hawaii and attended the Punahou School and Brown University. She was active in theatre from high school. After college, she moved to New York and, anticipating working in production, worked with producer Suzanne Schwartz.[1] Finding stage production not completely satisfactory, she performed with the New York City Gay Men's Chorus as a vocalist, performed cabaret, and appeared in the Broadway production of M. Butterfly.[2]
[edit] Career
Harada earned her Equity Card in 1987 when she was cast in Maury Yeston and Larry Gelbart's 1,2,3,4,5 at Manhattan Theatre Club.[3] She is a member of the Vineyard Theatre's Community of Artists and appeared in four original musicals there.[4]
In 1998, Harada starred in the National Asian American Theatre Company's highly praised All-Asian production of William Finn's Falsettoland. Peter Marks of The New York Times described her rendition of "Holding to the Ground" as a "full-throttle success".[5] Also in 1998, Harada had a small part in the Todd Solondz film Happiness as one of the co-workers of Jane Adams's character.
Harada was in the original Broadway company of the legendary flop Seussical in 2000. She had also been in its first workshop and all of the pre-Broadway iterations of that show. About her experience she said "It was such a roller-coaster ride — everything that could go wrong went wrong. You'd just show up to work every day and go, 'I wonder what's going to happen today.'...There was way too much drama for one show to take, and it didn't deserve that kind of drama because it's really a great little show. . . . I loved it, and I still love it. . . I just keep thinking about what it was like doing that first workshop and us all just being so blown away by it and being so excited."[6]
[edit] Avenue Q
Harada was involved in Avenue Q since the first performance of the show at the York Theatre in 2000.[7] Lyricist Amanda Green had recommended Harada to Avenue Q writers Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx. She opened Avenue Q at the Vineyard Theatre in New York in March 2003 and moved with the show to Broadway that July. She took a break for maternity leave in late 2004, returning in early 2005.[7] Her son is named Elvis.[6] Harada left the Broadway company of Avenue Q on 26 February 2006. Her role was taken over by Ann Sanders. In June 2006, she opened the London production of Avenue Q at the Noel Coward Theatre in the West End. She played her last performance on 18 November 2006; the role was taken over by Naoko Mori. She is the only actress who played the role of Christmas Eve in both the Broadway and London productions of Avenue Q.[8]
About her performance in the Broadway production, Ben Brantley wrote in The New York Times: "Counseling the romantically troubled Kate, she temporarily drops her habitually pinched voice to deliver, in the show's wittiest coup de théâtre, a full-throated ballad in the manner of a 1950's musical diva...The more you love someone/The more you want to kill him, Christmas sings in a shivery, rafters-shaking alto. And though you can construe the song as a satire if you choose, there is no doubt that Christmas means every word she sings."[9] Hilton Als, in The New Yorker, in another rave for the show, noted that Avenue Q "has so much to recommend it...But not to single out the remarkable Ann Harada — a funny girl who can sing, act, and let the audience in on the joke all at the same time — would be a mistake."[10]
On July 6, 2009, Harada returned as part of the final Broadway cast of Avenue Q. The show closed on September 13, 2009. A September 15 New York Times article stated the show would relocate to an Off-Broadway location, and resume production October 3.[11]
Harada reprised the character of Christmas Eve for one-night-only benefits for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS entitled Christmas Eve with Christmas Eve. The premise is that Christmas Eve is the night when all of the fantasies of Christmas Eve come true and all of those fantasies involve singing duets with Broadway leading men in ways that often hysterically reinterpret well-known showtunes. The third annual Christmas Eve with Christmas Eve was on 12 December 2011. [12]
[edit] After Avenue Q
On April 24, 2007, Harada joined the Broadway company of Les Misérables playing Madame Thénardier; she replaced the British actress Jenny Galloway.[13] Harada left Les Misérables on October 30, 2007, replaced by Galloway.
Harada is featured in the Wes Anderson-directed commercials for AT&T which began airing in September 2007.[14]
Harada rejoined Avenue Q star John Tartaglia as a guest star on his television show Johnny and the Sprites. Harada sings the Laurence O'Keefe song "Everything Must Go" on an episode entitled "The Sprites Save Grotto's Grove". It premiered on the Disney Channel on 22 March 2008.[15]
Harada did "sharp work" in The Muny's production of High School Musical in St. Louis in 2008[16] playing Ms. Darbus, the drama teacher.[17]
She was in the original cast of the Dolly Parton musical 9 to 5 (based on the film of the same name) as Kathy and in the ensemble through June 21, 2009.[18] She left to return to the cast of Avenue Q.
In May 2011, she played the role of Annette in a production of Yasmina Reza's Tony-winning play God of Carnage at George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey.[19]
Her recording of A Last Confession (lyrics by William Butler Yeats) on Steve Marzullo's album Show Some Beauty, was a Playlist pick in USA Today in June 2011.[20]
[edit] Awards
- 2004 Broadway.com Audience Award Favorite Featured Actress in a Broadway Musical for Avenue Q [21]
- 2003-2004 Outer Critics Circle Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance and Puppet Artistry for Avenue Q [22]
[edit] References
- ^ "Sleight of Hand". ibdb.com. http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=4470. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
- ^ "M. Butterfly Replacements". ibdb.com. http://www.ibdb.com/productionreplacements.asp?ID=4497. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
- ^ Harada, Ann. How I Got My Equity Card. Retrieved May 2, 2008.
- ^ Ann Harada biography from Avenue Q UK production [1] Retrieved May 10, 2008.
- ^ Marks, Peter. THEATER REVIEW; It's Family That Matters, No Matter What Family, The New York Times, July 17, 1998. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
- ^ a b Gans, Andrew. DIVA TALK: Chatting with Les Miz Star Ann Harada Plus Betty Buckley at the Blue Note, Playbill, 27 July 2007. Retrieved September 8, 2007.
- ^ a b Gans, Andrew. DIVA TALK: Catching Up with Avenue Q's Ann Harada; Family Night at the Cabaret Convention and Showstoppers!, Playbill, 22 October 2004
- ^ "Extension and New Cast Member Announcement" (Press release). Avenue Q UK. October 2006. http://avenueqthemusical.co.uk/news-and-reviews/news3.php. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
- ^ Brantley, Ben. THEATER REVIEW; A Feeling You're Not On Sesame Street, The New York Times, August 1, 2003. Retrieved September 8, 2007.
- ^ Als, Hilton. Mayhem and Madness, The New Yorker, August 11, 2003. Retrieved September 8, 2007.
- ^ Hernandez, Ernio (29 June 2009). "PHOTO CALL: Harada, Larsen and More to Join Final Avenue Q Cast". playbill.com. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/130682-PHOTO_CALL_Harada_Larsen_and_More_to_Join_Final_Avenue_Q_Cast. Retrieved 23 July 2009
- ^ "Christmas Eve Plays Santa for Broadway's Leading Men". broadwaycares.org. http://www.broadwaycares.org/christmaseve2011. Retrieved 6 January 2012
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. Avenue Vous: Harada Will Be Madame T in Les Miz, With Davis, von Essen and Bruno, Playbill, 20 March 2007
- ^ YouTube AT&T Your Seamless World Architect Commercial Retrieved October 6, 2007.
- ^ Gans, Andrew. Avenue Q's Harada and Tartaglia Reunited on March 22 "Sprites" Episode, Playbill, 17 March 2008
- ^ Newmark, Judith (24 June 2008) (– Scholar search). High School Musical. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/reviews.nsf/stage/story/F1956AC00625627C86257473000EC701?OpenDocument. Retrieved 2008-07-13[dead link]
- ^ Gans, Andrew; Hernandez, Ernio (18 June 2008). "Harada, Bogardus, McGinnis and More Cast in Muny's High School Musical". playbill.com. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/118806.html. Retrieved 13 July 2008
- ^ Broadway.com staff (15 July 2008). "9 to 5 Headed for Broadway's Marquis Theatre; Complete Cast Announced". Broadway.com. http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=568482. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
- ^ Gates, Anita (20 May 2011). "It's All Perfectly Polite. Then the Savaging Begins.". nytimes.com. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/nyregion/god-of-carnage-in-new-brunswick-review.html?_r=1&ref=theater. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ Gardner, Elysa (28 June 2011). "Playlist: Sam Phillips' 'So Glad,' plus 10 tracks". usatoday.com. http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/reviews/2011-06-27-playlist-sam-phillips_n.htm. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ "2004 Audience Choice Awards". broadway.com. http://www.broadway.com/AudienceChoiceAwards/history-2004/. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ "Awards for 2003-2004". Outer Critics Circle. http://www.outercritics.org/AwardArchives.aspx?_y=2003-2004. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
[edit] External links
- Ann Harada at the Internet Movie Database
- Ann Harada at the Internet Broadway Database
- Ann Harada Broadway.com Star File
- Ann Harada on Twitter
