Marisha Wallace | |
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Born | |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2014–present |
Marisha Wallace (born September 29, 1985) is an American actress and singer, best known for her work in musical theatre.
Wallace appeared in the original Broadway casts of Aladdin (2014) and Something Rotten! (2015) as a member of the ensemble and understudy. [1] In January 2017 she became an alternate Effie White in the West End production of Dreamgirls . [2] Following the departure of Amber Riley from the production, Wallace took over the role, sharing with Karen Mav and Moya Angela. [3] In 2017, she released a Christmas album called Soul Holiday. [4] In 2019, she joined the original London cast of Waitress as Becky. [5] In Summer 2021 she starred in the London Coliseum production of Hairspray as Motormouth Maybelle opposite Michael Ball. [6] For this role she was nominated for the 2021 Black British Theatre Awards as Best Female Actor in a Musical. [7]
In 2022, she played Ado Annie in Oklahoma! at the Young Vic, [8] a performance which garnered her an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical. [9]
Wallace is the singing voice of Ms. Johnston in Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey on Netflix.
In March 2023, she began playing Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls at the Bridge Theatre for which she was nominated for her second Olivier Award Nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She left the production in February 2024. [10]
In March 2024, Wallace entered the Celebrity Big Brother house to compete in the twenty-third series. [11] She was the fifth housemate evicted, leaving on Day 16 in a double eviction. [12]
In December 2024, she will make her debut in pantomime as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood at the London Palladium.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | The Book of Mormon | Ensemble | US Tour |
2014 | Aladdin | Ensemble | New Amsterdam Theatre, New York |
2015 | Something Rotten! | Ensemble | St. James Theatre, New York |
2016 | Dreamgirls | Effie White | Savoy Theatre, London |
2019 | Waitress | Becky | Adelphi Theatre, London |
2021 | Hairspray | Motormouth Maybelle | London Coliseum |
2022 | Oklahoma! | Ado Annie | Young Vic Theatre, London |
2023 | Guys and Dolls | Miss Adelaide | Bridge Theatre, London |
2024 | Robin Hood | Sheriff of Nottingham | London Palladium |
Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | Feel Good | Marsha; season 2 (2 episodes) | |
2024 | Celebrity Big Brother | Housemate; series 23 | [13] |
Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
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UK [14] | ||
Soul Holiday |
| — |
Tomorrow |
| 69 |
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Fight Like a Woman (Slay)" | 2019 | Non-album singles |
"The Beginning" | 2020 | |
"Tomorrow" | Tomorrow |
Year | Work | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Waitress | WhatsOnStage Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Musical | Nominated | [15] |
2023 | Oklahoma! | Olivier Awards | Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical | Nominated | [16] |
WhatsOnStage Award | Best Supporting Performer in a Musical | Nominated | [17] | ||
2024 | Guys and Dolls | WhatsOnStage Award | Best Performer in a Musical | Nominated | [18] |
Olivier Awards | Best Actress in a Musical | Nominated | [19] |
Guys and Dolls is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, such as "Pick the Winner". The show premiered on Broadway in 1950, where it ran for 1,200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical has had several Broadway and London revivals, as well as a 1955 film adaptation starring Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, and Vivian Blaine.
Hairspray is an American musical with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, with a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on John Waters's 1988 film of the same name. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues. Set in 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, the production follows teenage Tracy Turnblad's dream to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program based on the real-life Buddy Deane Show. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight, leading to social change as Tracy campaigns for the show's integration.
Shoshana E. Bean is an American singer, songwriter, and stage actress. She has appeared in numerous musicals, performing in major Off-Broadway and Broadway theatres, including in the original production of Hairspray.
Dreamgirls is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, but closely follows the story of The Supremes as the musical follows the story of a young Black female singing trio from Chicago, Illinois called "The Dreams", who become music superstars.
David Bedella is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in Jerry Springer: The Opera, In The Heights, and & Juliet. He has won three Olivier Awards.
Sharon Delores Clarke is an English actress and singer. She is a three-time Olivier Award winner, and is best known to television audiences for her role as Lola Griffin in the medical drama Holby City, and as Grace O'Brien in Doctor Who. Clarke has also played lead roles in many West End musicals, and originated the roles of the Killer Queen in We Will Rock You and Oda Mae Brown in Ghost the Musical.
Dreamgirls is a 2006 American musical drama film written and directed by Bill Condon and jointly produced and released by DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures. Adapted from the 1981 Broadway musical of the same name, Dreamgirls is a film à clef, a work of fiction taking strong inspiration from the history of the Motown record label and its superstar act, The Supremes. The story follows the history and evolution of American R&B music during the 1960s and 1970s through the eyes of a Detroit girl group known as "The Dreams" and their manipulative record executive.
Tracie Bennett is an English singer and stage and television actress. She trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in Clapham, London. She played the role of Sharon Gaskell in Coronation Street from 1982 to 1984, returning to the role in 1999 and again in 2021.
"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" is a torch song from the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, with lyrics by Tom Eyen and music by Henry Krieger. In the context of the musical, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" is sung by the character Effie White, a singer with the girl group The Dreams, to her manager, Curtis Taylor Jr., whose romantic and professional relationship with Effie is ending. The lyrics to "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", often considered the show's signature tune, describe Effie's love for Curtis, both strongly devoted and defiant. She refuses to let Curtis leave her behind, and boldly proclaims to him, "I'm staying and you ... you're gonna love me."
Caissie Levy is a Canadian-American actress and singer, mainly known for her work in musical theatre on Broadway and in the West End. Her early Broadway credits included Penny Pingleton in Hairspray and Sheila in Hair, a role she also played in the West End. She originated the role of Molly Jensen in the West End and Broadway productions of Ghost: the Musical, and played Fantine in the 2014 Broadway revival of Les Misérables. Levy also originated the role of Elsa in Frozen on Broadway. For her performance on the cast recording of Caroline, or Change, she was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in 2023. Levy originated the role of Diana Goodman in the London production of Next to Normal and received a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply TheOlivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Awards, but they were renamed in honour of the British actor of the same name in 1984.
Patina Renea Miller is an American actress and singer. Miller's breakout role was as originating the role of disco diva wannabe Deloris Van Cartier in the 2009 West End and 2011 Broadway productions of Sister Act for which she earned a Laurence Olivier Award and Tony Award nominations respectively. She also starred as the Leading Player in the 2013 Broadway revival of Pippin, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She later returned to Broadway to star as the Witch in the 2022 Broadway revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods.
Amber Patrice Riley sometimes known mononymously as RILEY, is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her portrayal of Mercedes Jones on the Fox comedy-drama series Glee (2009–2015). For her performance on the series, she and the rest of the cast won a Screen Actors Guild Award, and have been nominated for three Teen Choice Awards, three NAACP Image Awards, and a Grammy Award.
Evelyn Hoskins is an English actress best known for her role as Shona Wark in the British BBC1 hospital drama series Casualty.
Sarah Goldberg is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Sally Reed in the HBO dark comedy series Barry (2018–2023), which earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She also originated the dual role of Betsey/Lindsey in the Royal Court Theatre's production of Clybourne Park, for which she was nominated for a 2011 Olivier Award, and later performed it on Broadway.
Adrienne Warren is an American actress, singer and dancer. She made her Broadway debut in the 2012 musical Bring It On, and in 2016 received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical nomination for her performance in Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. She was also praised for her role as Tina Turner in the West End production of Tina in 2018, and for the same role in the Broadway production, for which she received the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2020.
Waitress is a musical with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles and a book by Jessie Nelson. Based on the 2007 film of the same name, written and directed by Adrienne Shelly, it tells the story of Jenna Hunterson, a baker and waitress in an abusive relationship with her husband, Earl. After Jenna unexpectedly becomes pregnant, she begins an affair with her doctor, Dr. James "Jim" Pomatter. Looking for ways out of her troubles, she sees a pie baking contest and its grand prize as her chance.
Charlie Stemp is an English actor. Stemp came to prominence for his leading role as Arthur Kipps in the West End musical Half a Sixpence, which earned him a WhatsOnStage Award for Best Actor in a Musical and nomination for a 2017 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical.
Nicole Raquel Dennis is a British musical theatre performer and singer. They are best known as one of the contestants on season eight of The Voice UK and for playing Effie White in the first UK tour of the musical Dreamgirls.
Celebrity Big Brother 2024, also known as Celebrity Big Brother 23, is the twenty-third series of Celebrity Big Brother. It is the first celebrity series and second series of Big Brother overall to air on ITV after ITV plc gained the rights to the format. The series began on 4 March 2024, almost six years since it last aired on Channel 5 and was co-presented by AJ Odudu and Will Best.