Christine Andreas (born 1951) is an American Broadway actress and singer.
Early life and education
Andreas was born on October 1, 1951, in Camden, New Jersey, to James Francis Andreas, a systems analyst, and Teresa Cecilia Genovese Andreas.
She grew up in Suffern, New York, and graduated from Suffern High School in the class of 1969. She was voted by her fellow high school seniors as best female actor and best female musician, and the yearbook photo for the latter depicts Andreas facetiously playing a tuba.
Career
Broadway
She made her Broadway debut in a 1975 revival of Angel Street.<ref>[http://www.playbill.com/production/angel-street-lyceum-theatre-vault-0000007128# Angel Street"] playbill.com, retrieved March 16, 2017</ref> In 1976 she was cast as Eliza Doolittle in the 20th Anniversary production of My Fair Lady, for which she received the Theatre World Award. Additional theatre credits include Oklahoma! as Laurey in 1979 (Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical), On Your Toes in 1983 (Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical), The Scarlet Pimpernel (1997), Words & Music with Sammy Cahn (standby, 1974), and Rags (1986).
Her role in Legs Diamond (1988) as "Alice" was removed during previews.
She was featured in the musical revue Stardust, which was conceived and written by Albert Harris with costumes and sets designed by Erté. The musical ran at the Stamford Center for the Arts at the Palace Theater and the Kennedy Center in 1990 but did not open on Broadway as had been planned.Richards, David. "Theater" The Washington Post, February 23, 1990
She starred in the U.S, tour as Margaret Johnson in The Light in the Piazza, which began in San Francisco in August 2006.
In 2010, she portrayed the role of Jacqueline in the Broadway revival of La Cage Aux Folles, which opened April 18, 2010. The show was a transfer from London's West End.
Regional
She appeared in Tartuffe at the Kennedy Center in 1982, as Mariane and Twelfth Night (Alaska Rep).
She appeared in the Marsha Norman play Sarah and Abraham at the George Street Playhouse, New Brunswick, New Jersey in February 1992, and Promises, Promises.
Andreas starred as Judy Garland in Heartbreaker: Two Months with Judy Garland, the stage premiere of John Meyer's 1983 book about his time with Garland, which ran at the Adirondack Theatre Festival in June 2013.
She collaborated with composer Martin Silvestri in the musical The Fields of Ambrosia. She appeared in the musical in 1993 at the George Street Playhouse, New Brunswick, New Jersey. She also appeared in the musical in London at the Aldwych Theatre in 1996.
She appeared in Pal Joey at the Prince Music Theater as "Vera" in 2002. She received the Barrymore Award for Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical).
Television
Andreas' television appearances include The Cosby Show, Another World, Sylvia Fine Kaye's Musical Comedy Tonight III (1995) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She portrayed Ava Gardner in the made-for-TV movie Mia, Child of Hollywood (1995).
Cabaret
She has performed her cabaret act in the Café Carlyle, the Algonquin Hotel's Oak Room, Carnegie Hall in New York City, in the Catalina Grill in Los Angeles, and the Ballroom in New York City in 1989.
She has appeared in concert in London, Paris, Rome and at The White House.
Andreas performed her new show "Bemused" at 54 Below in 2013. Stephen Holden, reviewing for The New York Times, wrote: "The days are long gone when she starred on Broadway in revivals of “My Fair Lady” and “Oklahoma!,” but her beauty and radiance remain undimmed. Her bright, shiny soprano, with its wheeling vibrato and metallic edge, conveys a high-strung emotionality that is sharpened by her acting skills."
She gave a concert at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College, New York City based on her recording Love is Good in February 2014.
Awards and nominations
Theater World Award 1976, My Fair Lady, recipient; Tony Award Best Actress in a Musical 1980, Oklahoma! (nomination) Tony Award Best Featured Actress in a Musical 1983, On Your Toes (nomination); Barrymore Award 2003, Philadelphia, Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical Pal Joey (winner) Helen Hayes Award 2007, Washington, D.C., Musical, Outstanding Leading Actress, Non-Resident Production, The Light in the Piazza (nomination)