Liz Callaway

Elizabeth "Liz" Callaway (born April 13, 1961) is an American singer, actress, and recording artist, who is best known for having provided the singing voices of many female characters in animated films, such as Anya/Anastasia in Anastasia, Odette in The Swan Princess, Jasmine in the Aladdin sequels The Return of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves, adult Kiara in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, and a dancing napkin ring in Beauty and the Beast. She was also the original Ellen in the Broadway production of Miss Saigon.

Liz Callaway
Birth nameElizabeth Callaway
Born (1961-04-13) April 13, 1961
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, actress, recording artist
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1979–present
LabelsVarèse Sarabande
Websitewww.lizcallaway.com

Early life, family, and education

Callaway was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her mother, Shirley Callaway, is a singer, pianist, and coach, and her father was journalist John Callaway.[1] Her sister is actress, composer, and singer Ann Hampton Callaway. They were raised in the Chicago area. Both sisters attended New Trier High School (New Trier East) in Winnetka, Illinois.[2][1] Shirley, Liz, and Ann have performed together onstage occasionally.

Career

Liz Callaway made her Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim's short-lived Merrily We Roll Along (1981). This began a long-term professional relationship with Sondheim: Callaway has performed in a number of live concerts in his honor, appeared with Sondheim on Inside the Actors Studio, and also played the role of Young Sally in the Lincoln Center concert production of Follies with Mandy Patinkin, Barbara Cook, George Hearn, Lee Remick, Carol Burnett, Elaine Stritch, and the New York Philharmonic. Follies was recorded live and also filmed as a documentary. This recording is considered the definitive recording of the Sondheim/James Goldman/Harold Prince collaboration. Additional stage credits include Lizzie in Baby (for which she earned a Tony Award nomination), The Three Musketeers, The Spitfire Grill (for which she earned a Drama Desk Award nomination), Sunday in the Park with George, Evita, Cats, and Miss Saigon. Liz also performed in The Look of Love, a 2003 musical revue of the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Callaway also had her own children's television show on WNEV-TV in Boston, Ready to Go, which ran from 1987 to 1991. She left this series to begin rehearsals for Miss Saigon on Broadway.

In July 2012, she starred as Norma Desmond in the Pittsburgh CLO's new production of Sunset Boulevard [3]

Callaway has also provided the singing voices for a number of animated characters, including Kiara in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Princess Jasmine in The Return of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves, Princess Odette in The Swan Princess, and her most notable performance is Anya/Anastasia in Anastasia.

She has performed various cabaret acts at Joe's Pub, Rainbow and Stars, the Russian Tea Room, and the Lincoln Center in New York City, and at the Donmar Warehouse in London, among other venues.

Callaway's solo recordings include Anywhere I Wander (1993), The Story Goes On (1995), and The Beat Goes On (2001). She released her fourth recording, Passage of Time, for the record label PS Classics, on October 20, 2009, which featured an appearance with her sister Ann Hampton Callaway. She has an album consisting of her most recognized work, called The Essential Liz Callaway released in 2015.

Callaway and her sister, singer and composer Ann Hampton Callaway, sang the theme song for the Fran Drescher comedy series The Nanny, composed by Hampton Callaway. The Callaway sisters have appeared together in a number of cabaret and stage productions. Recordings of two of them, Sibling Revelry, recorded live at Rainbow and Stars in 1995 and Boom! recorded live at Birdland in 2011, have been released. Liz Callaway is married to former actor and acclaimed director Dan Foster. Foster is one of the three founding producers of the Hudson Stage Company, a nonprofit, professional theatre company in residence at Pace University in Westchester County, New York.[4]

Liz was honored at the 25th Annual Bistro Awards in New York City.[5]

Personal life

Liz is married to Dan Foster.[6] They have a son, Nicholas, who attended Kenyon College. Nicholas is also a singer who is currently attending NYU Stern School of Business.[6]

Discography
  • Anywhere I Wander (Varèse Sarabande) (September 28, 1993)
  • Sibling Revelry (DRG, 1996) with Ann Hampton Callaway
  • The Story Goes On (Varèse Sarabande) (August 29, 1995)
  • The Beat Goes On (Varèse Sarabande) (May 15, 2001)
  • Passage Of Time (PS Classics) (October 20, 2009)
  • Boom! Live at Birdland (PS Classics, 2011) with Ann Hampton Callaway
  • Merry and Bright (2013)[7]
  • Comfort and Joy (An Acoustic Christmas) (Working Girl Records) (December 4, 2020)

Filmography

References
  1. Reich, Howard (June 20, 2000). "She Did It Her Way: Ann Hampton Callaway Makes It To Broadway On Her Own Terms". Chicago Tribune. New York. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  2. "Award-winning Broadway actress and singer Liz Callaway to perform with New Trier Choir-Opera on April 26". newtrier.k12.il.us. New Trier High School. April 26, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  3. Eberson, Sharon (24 November 2011). "Theater Notes: CLO lands Callaway; City actor makes mean cocktail". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  4. "Hudson Stage Company becomes artist in residence at Pace University Briarcliff Campus". News Coverage and Releases. Pace University. 28 February 2005. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  5. Elli (2010). "Review: 25th Annual Bistro Awards". NiteLifeExchange.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03.
  6. http://www.westchestermagazine.com/Westchester-Magazine/October-2012/Croton-on-Hudson-Resident-Liz-Calloways-Life-as-an-Actress-Wife-and-Mother/
  7. "Liz Callaway | Album Discography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
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