Ruthie Henshall: Difference between revisions

Valentine Ruth Henshall (born 7 March 1967), better known as Ruthie Henshall, is an English singer, dancer and actress.

Ruthie Henshall trained at Laine Theatre Arts in Epsom, Surrey^[1] before making her stage debut, at the age of 19, in the Cascade Review at the West Cliff Theatre in Clacton-on-Sea. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she took part in a touring production of A Chorus Line as Maggie. Her West End Theatre debut came shortly thereafter when she was cast in Cats, making appearances as Jemima, Demeter, Griddlebone and Grizabella.^[2]

In 1988, at the age of 21, she was cast as Ellen in Miss Saigon showing at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. She then went on to originate the role of Aphra in Children of Eden at the Prince Edward Theatre. The summer of 1989 saw her at the Chichester Festival Theatre performing in plays by Shakespeare, Molliere as well as a role in the musical Valentine's Day, based on You Can Never Tell by George Bernard Shaw.^[1]

In 1992, at the age of 25, she was cast as Fantine in Les Misérables. Though her first starring role wouldn't come until the 1993 trans-Atlantic transfer of the Broadway smash Crazy for You, with a score by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, opening at the Prince Edward Theatre. Her performance earned her the first of four Olivier Award nominations.^[1] In 1995, Henshall starred in She Loves Me, winning the Olivier as Best Actress in a Musical^[3]. That same year, she performed a concert of Gershwin songs at London's Royal Festival Hall. Later, in October, she recreated her role of Fantine for the 10th Anniversary Concert performance of Les Miz at the Royal Albert Hall. In 1996, she took on the role of Nancy in producer Cameron Mackintosh's hit revival of Oliver! at the famed London Palladium. From 1997-1998, Henshall starred as Roxie Hart in the West End revival of Chicago.

Henshall was cast in the title role of the stage musical adaptation of the Francis Ford Coppola film Peggy Sue Got Married,^[4] which opened in London in August 2001 to mixed reviews. Although it closed after a run of just eight weeks, she was once again nominated for an Olivier for her performance.^[5]

Henshall has also appeared at the Chichester Festival Theatre, has toured Britain in the revue The Magnificent Musicals, and has performed in Hey, Mr. Producer, a celebration of the works of Cameron Mackintosh.^{[6][failed verification]} Her solo recordings include The Ruthie Henshall Album, Pilgrim, and Love Is Here to Stay, a collection of Gershwin tunes^[7]. She succeeded the role of Marian Halcombe from Maria Freidman in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White, from July 2005 until February 2006. She was also cast in the title role in Marguerite, a new musical from the pens of Michel Legrand, Herbert Kretzmer, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg. The show opened on 7 May at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London, but closed early on 13 September.^[8]

Henshall's Broadway credits include Stephen Sondheim's Putting It Together and The Vagina Monologues. Her first feature film, a musical version of A Christmas Carol with Kelsey Grammer, aired on NBC in the United States in November 2004 and was released as a commercial attraction to theaters in the UK and Europe.^[2] In January 2006 she appeared in the four-part BBC Television series The Sound of Musicals.

Early in 2006, a Welsh portraitist named Roger P. Thomas said Henshall had given permission for him to paint her likeness, so that prints could be sold to raise £60,000 for charity^{[citation needed]}.

In 2008 and 2009, Henshall appeared as an Ice Judge on the ITV1 show Dancing On Ice. Her appointment to the panel caused some controversy as she is the only judge with no experience in ice skating.^[9]

After Susan Boyle's appearance on Britain's Got Talent in 2009, Ruthie Henshall's rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables has become a YouTube hit with more than three million viewings.^[10]

Henshall is slated to perform two evening concerts with Kim Criswell entitled From Broadway to Hollywood at London's Cadogan Hall in the Summer of 2009.^[11]

Henshall was born in Bromley, South East London, England. Her father David was a journalist, latterly editor of the East Anglian Daily Times, the Suffolk morning newspaper. Henshall's early ambition was to be a ballet dancer, but she lacked the necessary physique. Her sister, Noel, died in 2007 of a drugs overdose in the United States.^[12]

Henshall dated Prince Edward "solidly" for two years, but "on and off for five years"^[13], before becoming engaged to actor John Gordon Sinclair. After she took the role of Velma Kelly in Chicago on Broadway, New York, they broke up. Henshall admits then going through a process of excess drinking and considering suicide, but resolved her intimacy issues within relationships by undergoing counselling with the Hoffman Institute.^{[14][unreliable source?]}

She then met Tim Howar, theatre actor and lead singer of the band Van Tramp; and her male co-star lead in the West End production of "Peggy Sue Got Married". The couple married in 2004 and have two children together, Lily; six and Dolly, who is four.^[15] They live close to her parents on the Essex/Suffolk border.^[16]

• Ziegfeld Follies of 1936 (New York Concert Cast, 1999)...Roles originated by Gertrude Niesen
• Chicago (London Revival Cast, 1998)...as Roxie Hart
• Divorce Me, Darling! (Chichester Festival Cast, 1997)...Performer
• Annie (Studio Cast, 1995)...Performer
• Miss Saigon (Studio Cast, 1995)...as Ellen
• Les Misérables (London Concert Cast, 1995)...as Fantine
• She Loves Me (London Revival Cast, 1994)...as Amalia Balash
• Godspell (Studio Cast, 1993)...Performer
• Crazy for You (Original London Cast, 1993)...as Polly Baker
• Children of Eden (Original London Cast, 1991)...Performer
• Bernadette (Concept Album, 1989)...Performer
• Miss Saigon (Original London Cast, 1989)...as Ellen
• Marguerite (Original London Production, 2008)...as Marguerite
• The Woman in White [West End] (Original London Production, 2004)...as Marian
• The Boy from Oz (New York Workshop, 2002)...as Liza Minnelli
• Peggy Sue Got Married (Original London Production, 2001)...as Peggy Sue
• Putting It Together (Broadway Revival, 1999)...as The Younger Woman
• The Vagina Monologues (Original Off-Broadway Production, 1999)...Performer
• Crazy for You (London Production, 1993)...as Polly Baker
• Cats (Original London Production, 1981)...as Grizabella^[6]

• 1993: Crazy For You (Original London Cast)
• 1994: She Loves Me (1994 London Revival Cast)
• 1995: Miss Saigon (1995 Studio Cast)
• 1997: Godspell (1993 London Studio Cast)
• 1998: She Loves Me (1994 London Cast)
• 1998: Divorce Me, Darling! (1997 Chichester Cast)
• 1998: Annie (London Studio Cast)
• 1998: Chicago - The Musical (1998 London Cast)
• 1999: Miss Saigon (1995 Studio Cast - Highlights)
• 2001: Ziegfeld Follies of 1936
• 2002: Pilgrim
• 2004: Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert^[7]

• Ruthie Henshall's Official Website
• Ruthie Henshall at IBDB