Lillias White
{{short description|American actress and singer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Lillias White
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|7|21|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|singer}}
| years active = 1981–present
| children = 2
| website = {{URL|lilliaswhite.com}}
}}
Lillias White (born July 21, 1951) is an American actress and singer. She is particularly known for her performances in Broadway musicals. In 1989 she won an Obie Award for her performance in the off-Broadway musical Romance in Hard Times. In 1997, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for portraying Sonja in Cy Coleman's The Life. She was nominated for a Tony Award again in 2010 for her work as Funmilayo in Fela Kuti's Fela!.
White is also known for her roles as Calliope in the Disney film Hercules (1997), and its animated series of the same name; Evette in the film Pieces of April (2003); and as Fat Annie in the Netflix series The Get Down. She has also starred as Bloody Mary in Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific on PBS's Great Performances with Reba McEntire, and in the PBS documentary In Performance at the White House. She is an active cabaret singer and has appeared in concert with the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and at Carnegie Hall.
Career
=Theatre=
White is a Brooklyn, New York native, who made her Broadway debut in Barnum in 1981.{{Cite web|title=Lillias White – Broadway Cast & Staff {{!}} IBDB|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/lillias-white-64758|access-date=2021-03-29|website=www.ibdb.com}} She understudied the role of Effie in the original 1981 production of Dreamgirls, and played the part in the 1987 revival, for which she won the Drama League Award for Best Actress in a Musical.{{cite web|title=Broadway Artists Alliance: Lillias White|url=http://www.broadwayartistsalliance.org/faculty-staff/tony-award-winning-faculty-members/lillias-white|access-date=19 January 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140119024541/http://www.broadwayartistsalliance.org/faculty-staff/tony-award-winning-faculty-members/lillias-white|archive-date=19 January 2014}}
One of her first professional jobs was playing Dorothy in a national tour of The Wiz. {{cite web | url=https://www.vintagebroadway.com/2022/02/the-black-wizard-of-oz-part-three.html?m=1 | title=The Black WIZARD OF OZ - Part Three }}
White has also appeared on Broadway as Grizabella in Cats, Asaka in Once on This Island, Miss Jones in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Matron "Mama" Morton in Chicago, as well as appearing in Carrie and Fela!. For her role in Cy Coleman's The Life, she won the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her portrayal of a world-weary, no-nonsense, streetwise hooker named Sonja.{{cite web|last=Viagas |first=Robert |title=Where You Can Hear Tony Winner Lillias White |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/34188-Where-You-Can-Hear-Tony-Winner-Lillias-White |publisher=Playbill.com |access-date=19 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201132623/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/34188-Where-You-Can-Hear-Tony-Winner-Lillias-White |archive-date= 1 February 2014 }} Off-Broadway White has performed in the Public Theater production of the William Finn musical Romance in Hard Times (1989),Stasio, Marilyn. [https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/24/theater/a-new-musical-finds-comedy-and-romance-in-hard-times.html? "A New Musical Finds Comedy And Romance in Hard Times' "] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827163837/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/24/theater/a-new-musical-finds-comedy-and-romance-in-hard-times.html |date=August 27, 2016 }} The New York Times, December 24, 1989 for which she won the Obie Award, Dinah Was (1998) at the Gramercy Theatre as singer Dinah Washington,Lefkowitz, David. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/tony-winner-lillias-white-to-be-dinah-was-hington-ob-aug.-10-76753# "Tony-Winner Lillias White To Be Dinah Was-hington OB, Aug. 10"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924205644/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/tony-winner-lillias-white-to-be-dinah-was-hington-ob-aug.-10-76753 |date=September 24, 2015 }} playbill.com, August 2, 1998 and the Second Stage Theatre production of Regina Taylor's musical Crowns (2002), for which she and the cast won the AUDELCO Award, Outstanding Ensemble Performance.{{cite web|title=Lortel Archives: Lillias White|url=http://www.lortel.org/lla_archive/index.cfm?search_by=people&first=Lillias&middle=&last=White|publisher=Lortel Archives|access-date=19 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105151015/http://www.lortel.org/lla_archive/index.cfm?search_by=people&first=Lillias&middle=&last=White|archive-date=November 5, 2013|url-status=dead}} In 2014, White appeared Off-Broadway in the Primary Stages production of the play While I Yet Live by Billy Porter.Hetrick, Adam. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/billy-porters-while-i-yet-live-with-lillias-white-and-s.-epatha-merkerson-premieres-off-broadway-331133# "Billy Porter's 'While I Yet Live', with Lillias White and S. Epatha Merkerson, Premieres Off-Broadway"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923103818/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/billy-porters-while-i-yet-live-with-lillias-white-and-s.-epatha-merkerson-premieres-off-broadway-331133 |date=September 23, 2015 }} playbill.com, September 24, 2014 In 2015, White starred with Scott Wakefield Off-Broadway in the York Theatre Company's World premiere of Alan Govenar's musical Texas in Paris.Purcell, Carey. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/world-premiere-of-texas-in-paris-with-lillias-white-and-scott-wakefield-opens-off-broadway-tonight-340923# "World Premiere of 'Texas in Paris', With Lillias White and Scott Wakefield, Opens Off-Broadway Tonight"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150808180501/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/world-premiere-of-texas-in-paris-with-lillias-white-and-scott-wakefield-opens-off-broadway-tonight-340923 |date=August 8, 2015 }} playbill.com, February 5, 2015
White, André De Shields, Stefanie Powers, and Georgia Engel appeared in the new musical Gotta Dance, directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, which began performances on December 13, 2015, at Chicago's Bank of America Theatre, and ran through January 17, 2016.Cox, Gordon. [https://www.variety.com/2015/legit/.../gotta-dance-cast-broadway-120153044 "Stefanie Powers, Georgia Engel Join Cast of Broadway-Bound ‘Gotta Dance’"] Variety, June 29, 2015Viagas, Robert. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/broadway-bound-gotta-dance-starring-lillias-white-andr-de-shields-and-georgia-engel-bows-in-chicago-375371# "Broadway-Bound Gotta Dance, Starring Lillias White, André De Shields and Georgia Engel, Bows in Chicago"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128123424/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/broadway-bound-gotta-dance-starring-lillias-white-andr-de-shields-and-georgia-engel-bows-in-chicago-375371 |date=January 28, 2016 }} playbill.com, December 13, 2015{{cite news| last=Gans| first=Andrew| url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/gotta-dance-helmed-by-jerry-mitchell-extends-chicago-run-broadway-debut-set-for-fall-375512#| title=Gotta Dance, Helmed by Jerry Mitchell, Extends Chicago Run; Broadway Debut Set for Fall| work=Playbill| date=December 14, 2015| access-date=December 17, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218050641/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/gotta-dance-helmed-by-jerry-mitchell-extends-chicago-run-broadway-debut-set-for-fall-375512| archive-date=December 18, 2015| url-status=live}}
In August 2022, White was announced to be playing the role of Hermes in the Broadway musical Hadestown beginning on September 13, 2022. She was the first woman to play the role.{{cite web |url=https://broadwaynews.com/2022/08/08/lillias-white-to-join-broadways-hadestown-as-hermes/ |title=Lillias White to join Broadway's 'Hadestown' as Hermes |last=Hornik |first=Caitlin |date=August 8, 2022 |website=Broadway News |access-date=August 8, 2022}} Her final performance was on 17 March 2024.[https://www.playbill.com/article/lillias-white-sets-final-performance-in-broadways-hadestown Lillias White Sets Final Performance in Broadway's Hadestown] On October 22 of that same year, she returned to the role for a temporary engagement that's set to last until February 2025.[https://playbill.com/article/lillias-white-returns-to-broadways-hadestown-october-22 Lillias White Returns to Broadway's Hadestown October 22]
==Controversy==
During a performance of Hadestown on October 12, 2022, White twice reprimanded an audience member from the stage for recording the production.{{Cite web |url=https://twitter.com/samanthcoleman/status/1580411046237712385 |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=Twitter |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Culwell-Block |first=Logan |date=16 October 2022 |title=Hadestown Producers and Jujamcyn Apologize Following Incident Involving Audience Member With Hearing Loss |url=https://playbill.com/article/hadestown-producers-and-jujamcyn-apologize-following-incident-involving-audience-member-with-hearing-loss |website=Playbill}} White was unaware that this audience member was not recording, and was in fact using a captioning device because she was disabled and needed it to understand the dialogue of the musical.{{Cite web |last=Siegal • • |first=Ida |title='Hadestown' Star Under Fire for Publicly Shaming Audience Member — Twice |url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/the-scene/new-york-live/broadway/hadestown-star-shames-audience-member-for-filming-but-device-is-for-hard-of-hearing/3907377/ |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=NBC New York |date=October 14, 2022 |language=en-US}} The theatre and production issued official apologies, affirmed their future commitments to accessibility, and offered a complimentary ticket to the audience member to make up for the incident.{{Cite web |last1=Evans |first1=Greg |date=2022-10-13 |title='Hadestown' & Jujamcyn Theaters Apologize And Reaffirm "Commitment To Accessibility" After Actor Calls Out Audience Member With Hearing Loss Using Captioning Device |url=https://deadline.com/2022/10/hadestown-jujamcyn-lillias-white-broadway-hearing-impaired-audience-caption-device-1235143838/ |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}} White did not comment on the incident herself. The audience member took to social media to urge users to stop harassing White, as the actress's social media profiles had been deluged with ageist and racist insults in response to the incident.{{Cite web |last1=Evans |first1=Greg |date=2022-10-14 |title='Hadestown' Audience Member With Hearing Loss Urges Social Media Users To "Stop Harassing" Lillias White: Actress Is Not "The Enemy" |url=https://deadline.com/2022/10/hadestown-lillias-white-captioning-device-social-media-harassment-1235145493/ |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}
=Concerts and cabaret=
White's concert performances to benefit the Actors' Fund of America include Dreamgirls in 2001,Marks, Peter. [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/23/theater/theater-for-one-night-the-dreams-are-back.html? "For One Night, the Dreams Are Back"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422184307/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/23/theater/theater-for-one-night-the-dreams-are-back.html |date=April 22, 2017 }} The New York Times, September 23, 2001 Funny Girl in 2002,Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/chenoweth-foster-krakowski-murphy-and-white-added-to-funny-girl-benefit-105658# "Chenoweth, Foster, Krakowski, Murphy and White Added to 'Funny Girl' Benefit"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924192959/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/chenoweth-foster-krakowski-murphy-and-white-added-to-funny-girl-benefit-105658 |date=September 24, 2015 }} playbill.com, May 9, 2002 and Hair in 2004.[http://www.broadway.com/buzz/93580/stars-sign-on-for-actors-fund-920-hair-concert/# "Stars Sign on for Actors' Fund 9/20 'Hair' Concert"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923232250/http://www.broadway.com/buzz/93580/stars-sign-on-for-actors-fund-920-hair-concert/ |date=September 23, 2015 }} broadway.com, August 15, 2004 She performed in the concert version of South Pacific, which was broadcast by PBS Great Performances in 2006.{{cite web|title=South Pacific in concert from Carnegie Hall|website=PBS |date=April 26, 2006 |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/south-pacific-in-concert-from-carnegie-hall-introduction/117/|access-date=19 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202132947/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/episodes/south-pacific-in-concert-from-carnegie-hall/introduction/117/|archive-date=February 2, 2014|url-status=live}} She performed with the Brooklyn Philharmonic in a concert of works by Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, and George and Ira Gershwin celebrating the orchestra's 50th anniversary in July 2003.Filipski, Kevin. "Broadway Star Joins the Phil in Prospect Park", The Brooklyn Paper, July 21, 2003 She also has appeared in concert at Carnegie Hall, in March 2004, singing Harold Arlen songs with the New York Pops.Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/lillias-white-sings-harold-arlen-at-new-york-pops-carnegie-hall-concert-mar-117794# Lillias White Sings Harold Arlen at New York Pops' Carnegie Hall Concert March 5"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924200827/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/lillias-white-sings-harold-arlen-at-new-york-pops-carnegie-hall-concert-mar-117794 |date=September 24, 2015 }} February 6, 2004 White performed her one-woman show at the Kennedy Center's "Barbara Cook's Spotlight" in November 2007, singing songs by Cy Coleman.Pressley, Nelson. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/18/AR2007111801308_pf.html "Lillias White Takes a Seat, but Her Voice Deserves a Pedestal"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305060849/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/18/AR2007111801308_pf.html |date=March 5, 2016 }} The Washington Post, November 19, 2007 At the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, she performed in a concert, Broadway's Future Songbook, in September 2014.Gioia, Michael. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/lillias-white-justin-guarini-christine-dwyer-sing-lyons-and-pakchar-in-free-broadway-songbook-concert-tonight-331510# "Lillias White, Justin Guarini, Christine Dwyer Sing Lyons and Pakchar in Free Broadway Songbook Concert Tonight"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924200821/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/lillias-white-justin-guarini-christine-dwyer-sing-lyons-and-pakchar-in-free-broadway-songbook-concert-tonight-331510 |date=September 24, 2015 }} playbill.com, September 29, 2014 She has toured with her one-woman cabaret show From Brooklyn to Broadway, which she first presented in March 2000 at Arci's Place in New York City.McBride, Murdoch. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/lillias-white-goes-from-brooklyn-to-broadway-at-arcis-march-14-87792# Lillias White Goes "From Brooklyn To Broadway" at Arci’s, March 14"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052019/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/lillias-white-goes-from-brooklyn-to-broadway-at-arcis-march-14-87792 |date=March 4, 2016 }} playbill.com, March 15, 2000 She performed the show in San Francisco in 2003 at the Plush Room.Winn, Steven. [http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/From-Brooklyn-to-Broadway-takes-a-wrong-turn-2656337.php#comments "'From Brooklyn to Broadway' takes a wrong turn"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924155657/http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/From-Brooklyn-to-Broadway-takes-a-wrong-turn-2656337.php#comments |date=September 24, 2015 }} sfgate.com, April 10, 2003 Lilias has also performed at the Purple Room in Palm Springs, California. {{cite web | url=https://www.eventsfy.com/event/an-evening-with-lilias-white-bbf7/palm-springs/purple-room-supper-club/2022-11-18 | title=An Evening with Lilias White at Purple Room Supper Club on Nov 18, 2022 tickets | Eventsfy }}
She is heard on the 1990 Madonna recording "Rescue Me".{{Citation needed|date=January 2014}}
=Television and film=
White's television appearances include a regular role on Sesame Street, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and NYPD Blue. Her screen credits include voiceover work in Disney's Hercules and Anastasia and appearances in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Game 6, Pieces of April, and Then She Found Me.{{cite web|title=IMDB: Lillias White|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0925132/|publisher=IMDB|access-date=19 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171101140522/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0925132/|archive-date=November 1, 2017|url-status=live}}
Personal life
White was raised Catholic. She has a son named Mwambu and daughter named Jamilah. {{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/08/theater/dreamgirls-invites-comparison.html | title='Dreamgirls' Invites Comparison | work=The New York Times | date=July 8, 1987 | last1=Bennetts | first1=Leslie }}{{Cite web|last=Nassour|first=Ellis|date=1997-08-25|title=It's A Wonderful Life|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/its-a-wonderful-life-com-101003|access-date=2021-06-25|website=Playbill|language=en}}
Awards and nominations
Filmography
= Film =
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1988
| Dancing Secretary | |
| rowspan="2" | 1994
| North | Operator | |
| Bleeding Hearts
| Neighbor Woman | |
| rowspan="2" | 1997
| Hercules | Calliope | rowspan="2" | Voice role |
| Anastasia
| Ensemble |
| 1999
| Gloria | Transit Cop #1 | |
| 2000
| How the Grinch Stole Christmas | Shopper | |
| 2002
| Nurse | |
| 2003
| Evette | |
| 2005
| Game 6 | Toyota Moseby | |
| 2007
| Sheila | |
| 2015
| Cecilia | |
| rowspan="2" | 2018
| Melinda | Madam Magda | |
| The Chaperone
| Singer | |
| 2021
| Roberta | |
= Television =
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1990–1993
|Lillian |Recurring role |
| 1998
|Calliope (voice) |Recurring role; 6 episodes |
| 1999
|Calliope (voice) |Television film |
| 2004
|Teresa Scott |Episode: "Lamentation on the Reservation " |
| rowspan="2" | 2015
|Choir Member |Episode: "The Fearsome Dr. Crane" |
| Person of Interest
|Hon. R. Reginald |Episode: "Guilty" |
| 2016–2017
|Fat Annie |Recurring role; 9 episodes |
| 2019–2022
|Dr. Zaveri |2 episodes |
| 2021
|Wilma |Episode: "The Imposter" |
| 2022
|Calliope (voice) |Episode: "Daisy and the Muses" |
| 2024
|Glorious McKall |2 episodes |
= Video games =
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1997
|Disney's Animated Storybook: Hercules |Calliope | |
| 1997
|Calliope | |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{iobdb name|9240}}
- {{IMDb name|925132}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Lillias White
| list =
{{DramaDesk MusicalOutstandingFeaturedActress 1975-1999}}
{{TonyAward MusicalFeaturedActress 1976-2000}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:Actresses from Brooklyn
Category:African-American actresses
Category:American gospel singers
Category:American voice actresses
Category:Drama Desk Award winners
Category:Singers from Brooklyn
Category:American television actresses
Category:American film actresses
Category:20th-century African-American women singers
Category:20th-century American women singers
Category:20th-century American singers
Category:American musical theatre actresses
Category:African-American Catholics