Helena Blackman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Helena Blackman | |
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 (October 2006)
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Helena Blackman |
| Born | 10 December 1982 |
| Origin | Southampton, United Kingdom |
| Genre(s) | Pop, Musicals |
| Instrument(s) | Singing |
| Years active | 2006 – present |
| Website | Helena Blackman |
Helena Blackman (born 10 December 1982 in Southampton) is a British musical theatre actress best known for being the runner-up in the BBC1 Reality TV programme How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?. She trained at the Guildford School of Acting.
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[edit] Biography
On October 29, 2006, Blackman was seen as Gypsy Rose Lee in a production of Gypsy which was performed at the Wales Millennium Centre as part of the Cardiff International Festival of Musical Theatre. In December 2006, Blackman played Dorothy in an acclaimed run of The Wizard of Oz at the Haymarket Theatre in Leicester.[1]
Blackman is a much in demand[citation needed] cabaret performer at corporate events, she has recently been featured as a soloist in The night of a thousand voices at the Royal Albert Hall and in Tim McArthur's one-man show Sister Mary McArthur Comin' At-Cha! at the Jermyn Street Theatre in London.
In May 2007, Blackman was seen giving advice to contestant Ben Ellis in an episode of Any Dream Will Do and in July 2007 she appeared as a soloist in an episode of BBC Radio 2's long-running Friday Night is Music Night opposite Daniel Boys. Blackman is currently touring the UK extensively as "Nellie Forbush" in a run of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific which will continue into 2008.
On Christmas Eve 2007 Blackman was seen performing with Lee Mead and Connie Fisher and some of the other 'Maria' and 'Joseph' finalists in a BBC special 'festive' reunion show called When Joseph met Maria![2] - celebrating both the hit Andrew Lloyd Webber BBC shows - it was recorded earlier on December 2, 2007. The BBC show, HDYSAPLM, featuring Blackman, recently won a prestigious international Emmy Award in New York (2007) for best non-scripted entertainment.[3]
[edit] Reviews
Blackman has been been reviewed by several print and web publications. The Times' Jeremy Kingston said of her performance in The Wizard of Oz "Helena Blackman's voice soars to the yearning high notes, and yet she is not afraid to sing in the softest whisper. Every word is clear and cuts to the heart."[1] Alfred Hickling of The Guardian also gave Blackman praise in the role saying "She gives a sparklingly assured performance, marred only by the usual drawback of appearing at least 20 years too old for a pinafore dress."[4]
The Stage said of her performance as Nellie Forbrush in South Pacific "Her voice hasn’t got the widest of ranges but she exudes enthusiasm in the essential ensemble numbers - especially the excellent Thanksgiving Follies scenes - and she looks perfectly 1940s."[5] BBC Nottingham's Heather Hinchley also reviewed Blackman's performance positively saying "Without a doubt the star of the show was Helena Blackman".[6]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Kingston, Jeremy. "The Wizard of Oz", The Times, Times Newspapers Ltd, 2006-12-30. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
- ^ http://aoifemulholland.blogspot.com/2007/12/when-joseph-met-maria-christmas-special.html
- ^ BBC NEWS | Entertainment | British shows scoop Emmy awards
- ^ Hickling, Alfred. "The Wizard of Oz", The Guardian, Guardian Media Group, 2007-01-08. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
- ^ Duke, Robin. "South Pacific", The Stage, The Stage Newspaper Limited, 2007-08-29. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
- ^ Hinchley, Heather. "South Pacfic", BBC Nottingham, BBC, 2007-11-14. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
[edit] External links
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| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Blackman, Helena |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Blackman, Helena |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | British musical theatre actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 10 December 1982 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Southampton, United Kingdom |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
