Louise Pitre (born January 1, 1957) is an actress in musical theatre on Broadway and in Canada. She is best known for her role as Donna Sheridan in the ABBA-themed musical Mamma Mia!, which earned her a 2002 Tony Award nomination.
Pitre was born in Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario; her family moved to Montreal and then to Welland during her childhood. Her first language is French.[1] At age seven, she began to play piano, eventually taking professional lessons. attended the University of Western Ontario and graduated with a bachelor's degree in music education. After performing in a college musical, however, she decided she would rather act on stage.[2]
She later moved to Toronto to pursue a musical theatre career. Her performance as Fantine in the musical adaptation of Les Misérables earned her acclaim in Toronto, Montreal, and Paris. Later, she portrayed French singer Edith Piaf in three productions of Piaf.
Other musicals she was involved with include Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, The World Goes 'Round, Blood Brothers, Tartuffe, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd, Applause, and Rock 'n' Roll. She was nominated for three Dora Mavor Moore Awards for her various projects in Canada.
Pitre moved to New York to audition for the musical Napoleon being produced in London, but was turned down for the role of Josephine.[3] She remained in the city and in 2001, Pitre made her Broadway debut in Mamma Mia! at the Winter Garden Theatre as the lead role of Donna Sheridan. Although initially hesitant about taking the role, believing it to be "a tacky revue of ABBA tunes", she eventually changed her mind after seeing the show.[4] She performed the role in Toronto and in its United States national tour, and after 18 months, was asked to play the role on Broadway.[5]
Reviews were positive; Variety Magazine, although unenthusiastic about the musical, called her "a terrific Donna",[6] The New York Times called her performance "delightful" and praised her "terrific pop belter's voice",[7] and the San Francisco Chronicle praised her for making the show "a dramatic showstopper".[8] For her performance, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, and won the National Broadway Touring Award and an award from the San Francisco Theatre Critics Circle.[9] Pitre left the show in October 2003.
Later projects include a performance as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd with the Calgary Opera Company[10] and a role in Annie Get Your Gun.[11]
Pitre has also released a CD titled All My Life Has Led To This, featuring songs in English and French. The song is a re-release of her former Canadian album Love Letters, but with the Mamma Mia! songs "The Winner Takes It All" and "Slipping Through My Fingers" added.[12] She released a subsequent album, titled Shattered, on which she collaborated with American songwriter Jimmy Webb.[5]
Pitre sang the role of Ulrika in two very well-received concert presentations of the English translation of Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus' symphonic musical Kristina at Carnegie Hall, New York on 23 and 24 September 2009.
She starred as Mayor Babs Belgoody and Ma Ferd in the Toronto production of The Toxic Avenger at the Danforth Music Hall from October 2009 through January 2010 with Dancap Productions[13]. She was on stage in summer 2010 in Love, Loss and What I Wore and finished the year to rave reviews[14] of her performance as Toad in A Year With Frog and Toad at Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People (now Young Peoples Theatre). She won her fourth Dora Mavor Moore Award for this performance[15].
She is a Founding Artist of Theatre 20, a musical theatre company in Toronto formed by artists in 2009, and headlined their first project, a workshop of the first English translation of the hit French musical Les Belles Soeurs[16]. She also performed in Theatre 20's 2011 Concert Series at the Panasonic Theatre[17].
On June 1, 2011, she recorded her first live album during a one-night-only, sold-out concert (La Vie en Rouge) at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts' Jane Mallett Theatre. The upcoming CD will be released in 2012 in French[18].
In July 2011, Toronto Life magazine named "Louise Pitre's musical theatre renaissance" as #12 in their "50 Reasons to Love Toronto" feature article.
She can currently be seen as the host of Star Portraits on Bravo! and performing her popular solo concerts across North America[19].