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Kim Crosby (singer)

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Kim Crosby
Born (1960-07-11) July 11, 1960 (age 64)
Fort Smith, Arkansas
EducationSouthern Methodist University
Manhattan School of Music
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Years active1980–present
SpouseRobert Westenberg (m. 1991)
Children3

Kim Crosby (born July 11, 1960) is an American singer and musical theatre actress. She is best known as the original Cinderella in the Sondheim–Lapine musical Into the Woods.

Early life and education

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Crosby was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas[1] and grew up in Springfield, Missouri. She attended Southern Methodist University and the Manhattan School of Music, and she is a former America's Junior Miss.[2]

Career

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Stage work

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Crosby appeared in the Broadway production of Jerry's Girls in 1985–86.[3] She then created the role of Cinderella in Into the Woods in 1987, playing the role in the tryout at The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego and then on Broadway.[4] It was in this production that she met her future husband, actor Robert Westenberg, who starred opposite her as Cinderella's Prince (and also as the Wolf).[5]

Her next Broadway role was in the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls, where she was a replacement as Sarah Brown.[6]

She reprised the role of Cinderella at the benefit performance of Into the Woods on November 9, 1997, at The Broadway Theatre.[7]

Off-Broadway, at the York Theatre, she played Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Jane Seymour in the musical Six Wives in 1992,[8] and Marsius in Philemon in 1991.[9]

Crosby starred as Laurey in the national tour of Oklahoma! opposite John Davidson and Jamie Farr. She also toured for two years with Fred Waring and His Young Pennsylvanians. In regional theatre, she played Maria in West Side Story at The Springfield Little Theatre, Anne in A Little Night Music at the Berkshire Theatre Festival, Stockbridge, Massachusetts (1986),[10] Hope Langdon in Something's Afoot at the Birmingham Theatre; David Gordon's The Mysteries and What's So Funny? at the American Repertory Theater, Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Jessie Pullman in the musical Georgia Avenue (July - August 1985) at Goodspeed Musicals, Norma Terris Theater in East Haddam, Connecticut. She appeared in workshop productions of Six Wives, Fahrenheit 451, Grovers Corners, and Jekyll & Hyde. She appeared as Lily Garland in On the Twentieth Century at Barrington Stage in 2001.[11] More recently, she played Sally Durant Plummer in Follies (2005) with the Barrington Stage Company.[5]

She has appeared in several productions at The Muny Repertory in St. Louis, Missouri. She played Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady in 2001 opposite Westenberg.[12] She also played Marian in The Music Man in 2004[13] and Guinevere in Camelot in 2002. Of this performance, the Riverfront Times reviewer wrote: "Crosby can sing a lesser-known song such as "Before I Gaze at You Again" and make us wonder why we've overlooked it all these years. She can sing a popular tune like "I Loved You Once in Silence" and make us realize that Frederick Loewe's score is possessed of a haunting quality reminiscent of Schubert."[14]

Crosby recently played Mrs. Darling and other characters in the new national tour of Peter Pan alongside Cathy Rigby in the title role, which began performances August 2011 and concluded on April 28, 2013.[15][16] Crosby temporarily left Peter Pan to star in a production of Into The Woods (her first since the original cast) as The Baker's Wife at Springfield Little Theatre from May 13–29, 2012.[17] Her most recent show was Hello, Dolly! at Springfield Little Theatre where she played the title role.[18] Kim also lead Springfield Contemporary Theatre's production of Jerry's Girls in 2016, coming full circle after making her Broadway debut in the ensemble of this show. Ms. Crosby's other productions with Springfield Contemporary Theatre include The Light in the Piazza, Fun Home, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Television and concerts

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Crosby's television credits include Jane in Tarzan in Manhattan (CBS, 1989).[19] In this version, Jane was a tough-talking New York City cabbie who befriended Tarzan (played by Joe Lara), they are in search of Cheeta and other animals captured and taken from the jungle.[19] She appeared in the soap operas Guiding Light and All My Children, and in The Cosby Mysteries as "Mrs. Pierce" in the episode "Big Brother Is Watching" (1995).[20]

Crosby has sung in concert with orchestras both in the U.S. and abroad. She performed with the Florida Orchestra, in Tampa, at Kaleidoscope of Broadway in 2004.[21] She sang with the South Arkansas Symphony in a Christmas pops concert in December 2004.[22] She has toured frequently with the ensemble Broadway Nights.[5][23][24] In the Broadway Nights concert with the Lincoln Symphony in March 2002, the reviewer noted that when singing songs from Phantom, "Crosby stole the show with 'Think of Me'".[25]

Acting credits

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Theatre

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Year Title Role Notes
1985 Jerry's Girls Performer Broadway
1986-87 Into the Woods Cinderella Old Globe Theatre Premiere
1987 Original Broadway cast
1989
1990 Oklahoma! Laurey Williams
1992-95 Guys and Dolls Martha
u/s Sarah Brown
u/s Agatha 		Broadway replacement
Sarah Brown Broadway replacement
1995 Desert Inn and Country Club
1997 Into the Woods Cinderella 10th Anniversary Concert
2001 My Fair Lady Eliza Doolittle The Muny opposite Robert Westenberg
2002 Camelot Guinevere The Muny
2004 The Music Man Marian Paroo
2008 90 Years of Muny Magic
2010 The Light in the Piazza Margaret Johnson Springfield Contemporary Theatre
2011-13 Peter Pan Mrs. Darling/Mermaid/Adult Wendy National tour
2012 Into the Woods The Baker's Wife Landers Theatre
2013 Rodgers & Hart: A Celebration Performer Springfield Contemporary Theatre
2016 Jerry's Girls
2018 Fun Home Helen Bechdel
2020 Hello, Dolly! Dolly Gallagher Levi Landers Theatre
2022 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Mrs. Nellie Lovett Springfield Contemporary Theatre

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1979 The Mike Douglas Show Self Episode: "18.119"
1989 Tarzan in Manhattan Jane Porter Television film
1991 American Playhouse Cinderella Episode: "Into the Woods"
1995 The Cosby Mysteries Mrs. Pierce Episode: "Big Brother is Watching"
2012 The Mystery Hour Self Episode: "Kim Crosby/John Pinney"

Personal life

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Crosby and Robert Westenberg married on June 19, 1991. They live in Springfield, Missouri with their three children, Emily, Katie, and Joel. The family has since moved to Colorado, following Kim and Robert's retirement.[5][26]

References

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  1. ^ "Kickapoo Theatre Hall of Fame Members" Archived November 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine khstheaterproductions, accessed January 9, 2011
  2. ^ "Junior Miss list" Archived July 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine ajm.org, accessed January 9, 2011
  3. ^ Rich, Frank. "Theater Review, 'Jerry's Girls'" New York Times, December 19, 1985
  4. ^ "'Into the Woods' 1987 Broadway listing". Sondheimguide.com, accessed January 9, 2011
  5. ^ a b c d Gans, Andrew. "Diva Talk: Chatting with Follies' Kim Crosby Plus Victor Victoria (Piazza's Clark, that is)" playbill.com, June 10, 2005
  6. ^ "Theater: Broadway - Now Playing", New York, January 2, 1995, p. 83
  7. ^ "'Into the Woods', Tenth Anniversary Concert", sondheimguide.com, accessed January 9, 2011.
  8. ^ Simon, John."Review, 'Six Wives' at York Theatre", New York Magazine, October 26, 1992, p. 94.
  9. ^ Willis, John. "'Philemon' listing, The York Theatre Company" Theatre World 1990-1991 (vol 47), Hal Leonard Corporation (2000); ISBN 1-55783-126-2, p. 105
  10. ^ "'A Little Night Music' at Berkshire Theatre Festival, 7/1/1986 - 7/19/1986" floormic.com, accessed January 9, 2011
  11. ^ Hernandez, Ernio. "Barrington Stage Begins 'Twentieth Century' in MA, June 20-July 14", playbill.com, June 20, 2001.
  12. ^ Jones, Kenneth. Westenberg and Crosby Spar in The Muny's My Fair Lady, July 30-Aug. 5". Playbill.com, July 30, 2001
  13. ^ Newmark, Judith . "Muny's 'Music Man' marches into town, wins families' hearts", St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri), July 28, 2004, p. E4 "As Marian, Kim Crosby maintains her starchy posture up to the last possible moment. It makes an appealing contrast to Lumbard's loose-limbed style in this romance of total opposites."
  14. ^ Brown, Dennis. "A Broadway-caliber Cast Illuminates the Muny Stage", Riverfront Times (Missouri), July 31, 2002, Culture/Reviews (section)
  15. ^ Complete Cast Announced for Peter Pan Starring Cathy Rigby; NYC-Bound Tour Takes Flight Aug. 24
  16. ^ BWW Interviews: Cathy Rigby Takes Final Flight as 'PETER PAN' Retrieved April 24, 2013
  17. ^ Kim Crosby, Original Cinderella, Plays Baker's Wife in INTO THE WOODS at Little Springfield Theatre, MO, Now thru 5/29
  18. ^ SLT's 'Mary Poppins' sparkles with humor, life Retrieved April 15, 2015
  19. ^ a b Pratt, Douglas (2004) Doug Pratt's DVD: Movies, Television, Music, Art, Adult, and More!, ISBN 1-932916-00-8, p. 1205
  20. ^ The Cosby Mysteries Episode List, 'Big Brother Is Watching '" tvguide.com, accessed January 9, 2011
  21. ^ "The Florida Orchestra, 'Kaleidoscope of Broadway' Tampa Bay Magazine, Mar-Apr 2004
  22. ^ (no author). "Actress to sing Christmas hits", Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock), December 3, 2004.
  23. ^ 2003 "Concert Schedule, Broadway Nights, 2003" Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine, broadwaynights.com, accessed January 9, 2011.
  24. ^ "Concert Schedule, Broadway Nights, 2004" Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine, broadwaynights.com, accessed January 9, 2011.
  25. ^ Cutler, John. "Symphony Pops, guests know their Broadway music well", Lincoln Journal Star (Nebraska), March 24, 2002, p. B5.
  26. ^ https://playbill.com/article/diva-talk-chatting-with-follies-kim-crosby-plus-victor-victoria-piazzas-clark-that-is-com-126415
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