Kelli O'Hara

Kelli O’Hara will return to Lincoln Center Theatre to star as Anna Leonowens in the Broadway revival of The King and I After her fantastic debut at the Metropolitan Opera in December 2014 in a new production of LehÃ¡râ€™s The Merry Widow, conducted by Andrew Davis and directed by Tony award-winning director, Susan Stroman. The Merry Widow was broadcasted to cinemas as part of the Met’s Live in HD program.

The King and I, opens in April at The Beaumont Theatre Lincoln Center, with director Bartlett Sher, with whom she worked on the recent musical “The Bridges of Madison County” and Lincoln Center Theater’s acclaimed 2008 revival of “South Pacific.” and starring opposite Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe as The King. The production will begin previews at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre on March 12, 2015 and open on April 15, 2015.

Back Story

Kelli was born April 16, 1976 is an American stage actress, singer, and songwriter. O’Hara has appeared on Broadway and Off-Broadway in many musicals and has been nominated for five Tony Awards. O’Hara grew up in Oklahoma in an Irish American family. She graduated from Deer Creek High School and also attended Oklahoma City University, graduating with a Bachelor Degree in Music in vocal performance/opera. O’Hara studied voice with Florence Birdwell, who also taught Kristin Chenoweth four years earlier. O’Hara is married to Greg Naughton, son of actor James Naughton, brother of actress/singer Keira Naughton, and nephew of actor David Naughton. The couple have two children.

Work

O’Hara has been nominated for five Tony Awards, including four for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in The Pajama Game, South Pacific, Nice Work If You Can Get It, and most recently The Bridges of Madison County. Her first nomination was for her featured role in The Light in the Piazza.

O’Hara played the role of Young Hattie in the 2001 Broadway revival of Follies, and then played the role of Young Phyllis. She next appeared in the Broadway production of Sweet Smell of Success as Susan in 2002. In 2003 she played the role of Albertine in the Off-Broadway Playwrights Horizons production of the musical My Life With Albertine. She played the role of Lucy Westenra in the Broadway production of the musical Dracula in 2004.

She starred in the Broadway production of The Light in the Piazza at the Lincoln Center Vivian Beaumont Theatre in 2005 as Clara. She had done a workshop of the musical at the Theatre Lab at Sundance, as well as during tryouts in Seattle and Chicago, as the character of Franca. She received a 2005 Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. In her next Broadway musical, she played “Babe” in the Broadway revival of The Pajama Game in 2006. The New York Times reviewer, Ben Brantley, wrote that O’Hara “rockets past the promising ingÃ©nue status she attained with ‘Light in the Piazza'”.

O’Hara played the role of Dot/Marie in the L.A. Reprise! concert staging of Sunday in the Park with George in January through February 2007.

She starred in the Broadway revival of South Pacific in 2008 through 2010 as Nellie Forbush at the Lincoln Center Vivian Beaumont Theater, and was nominated for the 2008 Tony Award, Best Performance By a Leading Actress in a Musical. O’Hara took maternity leave on March 8, 2009 and returned to the musical on October 13, 2009.

O’Hara played the role of Ella Peterson in the New York City Center Encores! semi-staged concert presentation of Bells Are Ringing in November 2010.

Nice Work Kelli O’Hara and Matthew Broderick

She starred on Broadway in Nice Work if You Can Get It as Billie Bendix from April 2012 to March 2013 and received her fourth Tony Award nomination. She was replaced by Jessie Mueller. She appeared on Broadway in the role of Francesca Johnson in the new musical The Bridges of Madison County from January 2014 through May 2014, for which she received her fifth Tony Award nomination. She received positive reviews. Elyse Sommer, the curtainup.com reviewer, noted O’Hara’s “superb vocal chops” and her “exquisite” duets with co-star Steven Pasquale.

She can be heard as the voice of producer Beth Totenbag on PBS’s 2008 animated series Click and Clack’s As the Wrench Turns. She played Mrs. Darling in the NBC telecast of Peter Pan Live!.

On December 31, 2014, O’Hara is to make her grand operatic debut at The Metropolitan Opera in Franz LehÃ¡r’s The Merry Widow as Valencienne alongside opera’s most loved Soprano Renee Fleming.

Following her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, O’Hara will return to Lincoln Center Theatre for the 3rd time to star as Anna Leonowens in the Broadway revival of The King and I starring opposite Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe as The King. The production will begin previews at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre on March 12, 2015 and open on April 15, 2015.

Stage Roles

Broadway

Jekyll & Hyde (2000) as Kate (replacement) / Emma (understudy)
Follies (2001) as Young Hattie/Ensemble, then as Young Phyllis
Sweet Smell of Success: The Musical (2002) as Susan
Dracula, the Musical (2004) as Lucy Westenra
The Light in the Piazza (2005) as Clara Johnson
The Pajama Game (2006) as Babe Williams
South Pacific (2008) as Nellie Forbush
Nice Work If You Can Get It (2012) as Billie Bendix
The Bridges of Madison County (2014) as Francesca Johnson
The King and I (2015) as Anna Leonowens

Off-Broadway and Regional Theatre

Beauty (2003) (La Jolla Playhouse)
My Life with Albertine (2003) as Albertine (off-Broadway)
The Light in the Piazza (2004) as Franca (in Seattle and Chicago)
Bells Are Ringing (2010) as Ella Peterson (Encores!)
Far From Heaven (2012) as Cathy Whitaker (developmental premiere, Williamstown Theatre Festival)^[27]