| Scarlett Strallen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Scarlett Strallen 3 July 1982 London, England, UK |
| Occupation | Stage actress and singer |
Scarlett Strallen (born 3 July 1982) is a British stage actress who made her Broadway debut on 9 October 2008 at the New Amsterdam Theatre playing the title role of Mary Poppins. She took over the role from Ashley Brown, who left the Broadway company to rehearse for the United States national tour production.
Strallen, who was born in London, England, had previously played that role twice in the West End production: she first joined the show at the end of 2005 to replace original cast member Laura Michelle Kelly, but left in November 2006 to join the The Royal Shakespeare Company's musical production of The Merry Wives of Windsor in Stratford. She returned to Mary Poppins on 21 May 2007, replacing Lisa O'Hare and stayed with the production until it closed at the Prince Edward Theatre on January 12, 2008. For this role, she was nominated in the category of 'Best Takeover Role' at the Theatregoer's Choice Awards 2006. On 6 July 2008, Strallen and two other actresses who had portrayed Mary Poppins on stage (Lisa O'Hare and Caroline Sheen) performed the song "Practically Perfect" for a special concert of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe's songs, "A Spoonful of Stiles and Drewe", at Her Majesty's Theatre.[1] This version was released on CD in December 2008.[2] Strallen played her final performance in the Broadway production of Mary Poppins on October 11, 2009 and was replaced by Laura Michelle Kelly.[3] Strallen has also appeared on a number of audio books down the years. One of her first, as a child, was as Matilda Wormwood in an audio dramatisation of Roald Dahl's Matilda in 1990, released on audio cassette as part of the Roald Dahl Theatre Collection, dramatising a selection of the author's most popular children's books. She also appears in plays for BBC Radio 4.
Strallen had voiced interest in the West End production of Wicked, but could not audition because of her involvement in Mary Poppins.[1]
She is the sister of Summer Strallen, who is also an actress. Her aunt is Broadway, stage and TV actress Bonnie Langford.[4] Her godfather is Christopher Biggins.
Scarlett is also an ISTD Dance Examiner who trained with Jacqui Tapsell at The Performers Dance College in London. Scarlett Strallen trained at Arts Educational and the London Studio Centre. She made her Broadway in 2008 playing the title role of Mary Poppins. She had previously played the role twice in the West End and first joined the show at the end of 2005 to replace Laura Michelle Kelly. She left in 2006 to join the RSC’s musical production of The Merry Wives of Windsor in Stratford and returned to Mary Poppins in 2007 staying with the production until it closed at the Prince Edward Theatre in 2008.