Louise Dearman

Louise Dearman is a British musical theatre performer, who played the role of Glinda and Elphaba in the West End production of Wicked. She is the first actress ever to have played both witches in the musical. She has a number of other professional stage and television credits, such as Eva Perón in Evita, and released her solo albums, You and I and Here Comes the Sun, in 2005 and 2012, respectively.

Early life

Dearman grew up in Linslade, Bedfordshire, attending Linslade Middle School and Cedars Upper School.^[1] She first began dance lessons at the age of three, and started to consider a stage career after appearing as part of a children's choir in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium when she was thirteen. She then went on to train at Laine Theatre Arts for three years from leaving school, where she won their Musical Theatre Award and Opera Award.

Stage career

Immediately after graduating from Laine in 1998, Dearman joined the touring cast of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as the Narrator. Then, after performing in the ensemble of Whistle Down the Wind in Bromley, she portrayed Jan in the Grease UK tour in 2000, which she later returned to in 2003 at the Victoria Palace Theatre. Other roles Dearman has portrayed have been Lucy Harris in the national tour of Jekyll and Hyde, Mimi and understudy to Miss Adelaide and Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre (she then took over the role of Sarah Brown a year later in the touring production of the show), Debbie in Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival, Eva Perón in the tour of Evita, and Grizabella in Cats in Cyprus.

Other stage credits include Kiss Me, Kate at the Victoria Palace Theatre, Christmas Cat and The Pudding Pirates (Highbarn, Great Bardfield), the Willian Finn revue Make Me a Song at the New Players Theatre, Belle in the workshops of new musical Only the Brave, and the workshop production of Brick by Brick.

In addition to this, she has featured in a number of concerts; as a guest vocalist with Michael Ball in his Michael Ball: Past and Present tour, and in her one woman concert You and I in multiple venues.

Dearman has appeared in pantomime versions of Cinderella three times; as Cinderella in Stoke-On-Trent in 2007 and in Milton Keynes in 2009, and as the Fairy Godmother in Wimbledon in 2008.

On 29 March 2010, she replaced Dianne Pilkington as Glinda the Good Witch in the London production of Wicked. She starred alongside Rachel Tucker as Elphaba. Ironically, the two had previously spoofed their roles a year earlier in So Jest End, a show parodying the West End. Dearman played her final performance in the production on 10 December 2011 and was succeeded by Gina Beck.^[2][3]

On 26 September 2010 Dearman joined composer Scott Alan at his concert Simply the Music of Scott Alan in London's West End. The concert also featured Patina Miller, Shoshana Bean, Ashleigh Gray, Sierra Boggess, Jodie Jacobs, Alex Gaumond and Hadley Fraser. She performed the song "And There It Is", as well as performing in a group version of the song "Never, Neverland (Fly Away)".

On 13 May 2012, Dearman held a launch party for her new album Here Comes the Sun at Bush Hall in London. Dearman performed all the songs from the album for her fans, friends and family. Dearman also did a meet and great after the concert. On 28 June 2012, Dearman participated in a workshop for a new musical comedy version of JM Barrie's Peter Pan, playing the role of Tinker Bell. The workshop took place at Lyric Theatre, London, alongside actors Tim Driesen, Gerard Carey and Lucy Sinclair.^[4]

It was announced on 2 August 2012 that Dearman would return to the London production of Wicked but this time in the role of Elphaba replacing her former co-star Rachel Tucker. She is also the first actress ever to have played both starring roles in the musical. Dearman's opening night as Elphaba was on 29 October 2012.^[5] On Monday 3 June 2013, it was announced that Willemijn Verkaik will be taking over the role of Elphaba from Monday 18 November 2013, ending Louises contract with the show.^[6][7]

Television

Dearman's first television appearance was as a singing customer in a KFC advert in 2005. More recently, she has appeared in Tonight's The Night with John Barrowman, and has embarked upon a presenting career, appearing as a presenter in Creative Pastimes, Where Can I Get One of Those?, Kitchen Secrets, Pets Paradise, and Beautiful You. She has also appeared in The Cherries, a pilot for Carlton TV. She also sings "Somebody to Love" in the Confused.com advert (2010)^[8] and "Chain Reaction" (2011) which debuted during the 2011 BRIT Awards. A third advert, a "confused karaoke" version of "YMCA", was also released in 2011.

Recordings

You and I

Dearman released her debut album You and I in 2005, with renditions of songs from well known musicals. The album was rereleased in 2010 and was available to buy through the Ozdust Boutique at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, London.

Here Comes the Sun

On 7 May 2012, Dearman released her new album named Here Comes the Sun.

It's Time

On December 2nd, shortly after leaving Wicked, Louise released her third studio album, It's Time. The album is a collection of well known songs from musical theatre with orchestral arrangements. (N.B. track 12, Tomorrow is a bonus track, available only with pre-orders of the album).

Concept Albums

• LIFT: The Original Concept Album

Other Recordings

• "In the Bleak Midwinter" / "A Winter's Tale" with Ashleigh Gray and Paul Spicer and "All Those Christmas Clichés" on the album Christmas in New York by the Notes From New York team
• "Sometimes" on the album Scrapbook: The Songs of Rob Archibald and Verity Quade
• "Free" with Stuart Matthew Price on the album All Things in Time by Stuart Matthew Price
• "Fallen" on the album More with Every Line – The Music of Tim Prottey-Jones by Tim Prottey-Jones
• "Breakeven", on the album Singers Inc. Sessions, Volume 1
• "And There It Is / Magic" with Julia Murney on the album Scott Alan Live
• "My Man" and "Forever Young" on the album Songs by Richard Beadle
• "Sex on Fire", "Live and Let Die" and "Dry County" on the album Chick Rock (Rock Divas)
• "Defying Gravity" from the Musical Wicked, included in the "Wicked Edition" of her album, Here Comes The Sun.

References

External links

• Louise Dearman on Twitter
• Louise Dearman Interview at www.reviewgraveyard.com