Alex Gaumond

Alex Gaumond
Alex Gaumond's head shot as of 2011.
Born	Alexandre Gaumond (1978-04-09) 9 April 1978 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Occupation	Actor, Singer & Songwriter
Years active	2000–present
Website	www.alexgaumond.com

Alex Gaumond (born 9 April 1978) is a Canadian actor, singer and songwriter known mainly for his involvement in musical theatre.

Gaumond is best known for playing the leading roles of Galileo in the Queen musical We Will Rock You, Emmett in the original London production of Legally Blonde and Agatha Trunchbull in the RSC's Matilda.

Early life

Gaumond was born in Montreal, Canada to French speaking parents.

He moved to the UK in 1997 to study at GSA where he graduated with a 1st class BA (Hons) in 2000.

Stage career^[1]

2000-01 (Miss Saigon)

After completing his degree at GSA in 2000, Alex made his professional debut that very same year in the ensemble of Miss Saigon in the Philippines where he was flown half way across the world to feature in a show that is very close to the country’s heritage. Alex also understudied the leading role of Chris in that production and went on to perform in the same musical in Hong Kong and Singapore in 2001.

2002-04 (The Full Monty)

2002 saw Gaumond make his professional West End debut at the Prince Of Wales Theatre where he understudied the roles of Malcolm, Jerry and Ethan in The Full Monty. He then played the role of Malcolm in the 2004 UK touring production.

2002-09

Between 2002 and 2009 Gaumond made a number of appearances in a variety of UK national tours and London shows, including Guys And Dolls (Donmar Warehouse production), Desperately Seeking Susan and Sunday In The Park With George (5 times Olivier Award winning production^[2]).

He also played the role of Tom Jenkins in Scrooge at the London Palladium. During this show, Alex recorded a cast album with the show's star, British icon Tommy Steele.

2009 (We Will Rock You)

Gaumond (right) with guitarist Brian May (centre) and co-star Sabrina Aloueche (left)

In 2009, Alex Gaumond's career took to new levels when he was cast by Ben Elton, Brian May and Roger Taylor to play the lead role of Galileo Figaro in their co-written musical We Will Rock You. The show, based on hit songs by the rock band Queen, has its home at the Dominion Theatre in the West End but Alex was cast in the first ever UK tour of the musical, performing 7 shows a week for 7 months. During the tour Gaumond played at the Palace Theatre in Manchester,^[3] the Sunderland Empire, the Birmingham Hippodrome and the Bristol Hippodrome.

2010-11 (Legally Blonde)

In 2009, Gaumond learned of his success with another musical which was to debut at the Savoy Theatre in London in January 2010. He had been cast to play the male lead (Emmett) in the original UK production of Legally Blonde alongside Sheridan Smith as Elle Woods.^[4][5] This exciting character provided Alex with a freshly written role for theatre that had been superbly crafted by the writers and brilliantly moulded by Alex so that he made the role his own. He starred in the multi-award winning production for 20 months and his portrayal of the role earned him nominations for 'Best Actor in a Musical' in both the WhatsOnStage Awards 2011 and the Olivier Awards 2011.

An album of the Original London Cast featuring Alex Gaumond, Sheridan Smith and Duncan James was recorded live during performances on 12, 13 and 14 June 2010. It was released on 16 August 2010 under the reputed theatre label First Night Records.^[6]

2011-13

In August 2011, Gaumond reprised his role as Galileo Figaro in We Will Rock You, but this time in the Dominion Theatre Production.^[7] He performed in this role until 18 February 2012 and his performance earned him a nomination for 'Best Takeover in a Role' in the WhatsOnStage Awards 2012.

In the summer of 2012, Alex Gaumond made a small appearance on TV during Andrew Lloyd Webber's auditions for the role of 'Jesus' in his upcoming UK arena tour of the show Jesus Christ Superstar. The audition process for 'Jesus' was televised in the UK in a short series called Superstar. Gaumond reached the top 20 through the initial audition process but was sent home by Lloyd Webber just before reaching the live shows.

Shortly after this and in a bizarre twist of fate, Gaumond was then cast as Jesus by UK-based Bronowski Productions in their new production of Jesus Christ Superstar for Ljubljana Festival in Slovenia.

In early 2013 it was announced that Alex Gaumond would return to the West End starring as Alberto Beddini in Top Hat at the Aldwych Theatre, alongside Broadway actors Gavin Lee and Kristen Beth Williams.^[8] Alex performed in the show from February to August 2013. While Alex was in the show, he and his fellow cast members attended the Olivier Awards 2013 which saw Top Hat win 3 major awards including Best New Musical.^[9] The show was also heavily featured in a four-part documentary on Channel 4 following West End musicals, entitled The Sound of Musicals, which aired in November and December 2013.^[10]

2013-14 (Matilda)

In June 2013, it was announced that Alex would be joining the cast of the Royal Shakespeare Company's multi award winning production of Matilda at the Cambridge Theatre, playing the iconic role of headmistress Miss Trunchbull.^[11] His first show was on 3 September 2013. During his time on the show, Alex made many TV appearances including BBC's Children in Need^[12] and The Paul O'Grady Show on ITV, where he performed a specially conceived sketch with the show's host and guests.^[13]

On 23 February 2014, Alex attended the WhatsOnStage Awards, where Matilda won for 'Best West End Show'. He accepted the award with fellow cast member Haley Flaherty (Miss Honey).^[14] He also attended the Olivier Awards on 13 April 2014, where the show was nominated for the BBC Radio 2 Audience Award.

On 15 June 2014, Alex took part in the first ever 'Relaxed Performance' of Matilda.^[15] This specially adapted version of the show, developed in close collaboration with The National Autistic Society, was designed for people with autism and learning disabilities. The performance was a huge success and the RSC has plans for regular instalments every year.

Alex played his final show as Trunchbull on 7 September 2014. After his departure the role was handed to Craige Els.

2014-present day

In October 2014, it was revealed that Alex was to appear in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Savoy Theatre from 11 November 2014, replacing Rufus Hound in the role of Freddy Benson, the iconic conman portrayed by Steve Martin in the original movie version.^[16] Alex starred opposite Robert Lindsay at the Savoy Theatre and played the role until the production closed in the West End on 7 March 2015.

In March 2015, it was officially announced that Alex would be playing the role of Beadle Bamford in English National Opera's production of Sweeney Todd at the London Coliseum, opposite Bryn Terfel and Emma Thompson, from 30 March to 12 April 2015. ^[17]

In April 2015, it was announced that Alex would star as Adam Pontipee in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, from 16 July to 29 August 2015. ^[18] The original 1954 movie version of the musical, starring Howard Keel and Jane Powell, won the Academy Award for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture and was nominated for four additional awards, including Best Picture of the Year.

In October 2015, it was announced that Alex would star as the Baker in a new production of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Into the Woods at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, from 4 December 2015 to 16 January 2016, directed by Matthew Xia. ^[19]

Music career

Alex Gaumond headlined his first solo show on 22 May 2011 at the Leicester Square Theatre, where he performed a mix of covers and original material, as well as some duets with special guests including Ramin Karimloo. ^[20]

On 24 June 2012, Alex Gaumond released his first single "'Here I Am", a new version of the song co-written and originally performed by Bryan Adams. He launched the release of his single with a performance at West End Live in Trafalgar Square in front of 20,000 people, as one of only three recording artists invited to perform their solo material amongst all the West End shows featured in the programme.^[21]

Major professional theatre credits

References

External links

• Official website