Lillias White for Sydney season of Fame

Producer John Frost announced today that the role of Miss Sherman in the Sydney season of FAME will be played by Tony award winning actress Lillias White. Ms White has been recognized on Broadway with the Tony Award®, Drama Desk Award®, People’s Choice® Award and The Outer Critics Award® for Best Actress in a Musical - Broadway's Prestigious Quadruple Crown - for her 1997 role as Sonja in The Life. In 1990 she won The Obie Award® for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Hennie in Romance in Hard Times. In addition, she won The Drama Logue Award® for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in the national tour of Dreamgirls. Other Broadway credits include How to Succeed in Business, Once on This Island, Rock n' Roll: The First 5,000 Years ( Aretha Franklin ), Barnum, Carrie and Dreamgirls, and she has performed in US and international tours of Ain't Misbehavin', Tintypes and The Wiz. Ms White's TV and film credits include featured roles in the films Pieces of April, The Grinch That Stole Christmas, North and Disney's Hercules. In 1992, Ms White won an Emmy Award® for her role as Sesame Street's Lillian Edwards.

FAME THE MUSICAL opens at the Capitol Theatre from October 9 for a strictly limited season.

FAME is, almost uniquely, a classic of cinema, television and music theatre. The movie, released in 1980, won an Academy Award and swept the world. The TV show ran for six seasons, won numerous Emmy Awards and was broadcast in over 70 countries. FAME THE MUSICAL ran for a decade on London’s West End and has been seen by over ten million people worldwide. It follows the story of a diverse group of students at New York City’s celebrated High School of the Performing Arts who inspired a generation.

FAME THE MUSICAL is directed and choreographed by Kelley Abbey, and also stars Andrew McFarlane, Brian Wenzel, Timomatic and Talia Fowler. Darlene Love, who performed the role of Miss Sherman in the Melbourne and Brisbane season, returned to the US for commitments on a movie about her life.

LILLIAS WHITE BIOGRAPHY

LILLIAS WHITE has been recognized on Broadway with the Tony Award®, Drama Desk Award®, People’s Choice® Award and The Outer Critics Award® for Best Actress in a Musical - Broadway's Prestigious Quadruple Crown - for her 1997 role as Sonja in The Life. In 1990 she won The Obie Award® for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Hennie in Romance in Hard Times. In addition, she won The Drama Logue Award® for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in the national tour of Dreamgirls. Other theatre credits include the Broadway productions of How to Succeed in Business, Once on This Island, Rock n' Roll: The First 5,000 Years ( Aretha Franklin ), Barnum, Carrie and Dreamgirls, as well as the off Broadway productions of Crowns, The Vagina Monologues, Waiting for Godot, The Princess & The Black-Eyed Pea and Dinah Was. Lillias White has also gone on the national and international tours for Ain't Misbehavin', Tintypes and The Wiz.

Lillias White's TV and film credits include featured roles in the films Pieces of April, The Grinch That Stole Christmas, Gloria, North and Disney's Hercules. In 1992, Ms White won an Emmy Award® for her role as Sesame Street's Lillian Edwards. Other television credits consist of recurring roles and guest spots on Outreach, Law & Order, NYPD Blue and The Jury. In 2004 Ms White was cast opposite Eddie Griffith in HBO's pilot Pryor Offenses (The Richard Pryor Story).

As a recording artist, Lillias White has an extensive list of recordings which include cast records and featured vocalist performances. Most recently she recorded Dream Girls : The Concert, Too Hot To Handle (The Gospel version of Handel's Messiah ) and was featured with Tony Bennett on Cy Coleman's most recent record. Lillias White CDs include "From Shubert Alley to Jazz Alley" and "From Brooklyn to Broadway". She regularly appears in concert at The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, as well as, a guest soloist on the PBS Special, such as, A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and In Performance at The White House.