Louise Pitre (born January 1, 1957) is a Canadian actress in musical theatre. She performs on Broadway and in Canada. She is best known for her role as Donna Sheridan in the ABBA-themed musical Mamma Mia!, which earned her a 2002 Tony Award nomination.
Early life
Pitre was born in Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario; her family moved to Montreal and then to Welland during her childhood. Her first language is French. At age seven, she began to play piano, eventually taking professional lessons. She attended the University of Western Ontario and graduated with a bachelor's degree in music education. After performing in a college musical, however, she began combining music with acting on stage.
Career
Pitre moved to Toronto to pursue a musical theatre career. Her performance as Fantine in the musical adaptation of Les Misérables earned her acclaim in Toronto, Montreal, and Paris. In 1992 she portrayed French singer Edith Piaf in three productions of Piaf.
Other musicals she was involved with include Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, The World Goes 'Round, Blood Brothers, Tartuffe, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd, Applause, and Rock 'n' Roll.
Pitre auditioned in New York City for the musical Napoleon being produced in London, but was turned down for the role of Josephine. The director, Francesca Zambello, told her she was perfect for a show she was also casting in Toronto entitled "Mamma Mia!" Pitre auditioned for the role of Donna Sheridan. Although initially hesitant about the part, she accepted after seeing the show. She performed the role in Toronto and in its United States national tour, and after 18 months, was asked to play the role on Broadway.
Reviews were positive; Variety Magazine, although unenthusiastic about the musical, called her "a terrific Donna", The New York Times called her performance "delightful" and praised her "terrific pop belter's voice", and the San Francisco Chronicle praised her for making the show "a dramatic showstopper". For her performance, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, and won the National Broadway Touring Award and an award from the San Francisco Theatre Critics Circle. Pitre left the show in October 2003.
Pitre performed as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd with Calgary Opera in 2003. and as Annie in Annie Get Your Gun in 2005.
Pitre has released several CDs including, All My Life Has Led To This, featuring songs in English and French, Shattered, La vie en rouge (all French) and Songs My Mother Taught Me. She can also be heard on the cast recordings of Could You Wait?, a show she co-wrote with W.J. Matheson and Diane Leah, Kristina playing the role of Ulrika and Les Miserables (role of Fantine) in the Paris cast recording.
She starred as Mayor Babs Belgoody and Ma Ferd in the Toronto production of The Toxic Avenger at the Danforth Music Hall from October 2009 through January 2010 with Dancap Productions. She was on stage in summer 2010 in Love, Loss and What I Wore and finished the year to positive reviews of her performance as Toad in A Year With Frog and Toad at Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People. She garnered her sixth Dora Mavor Moore Award nomination for this performance and captured Best Actress in a Musical with an inaugural Toronto Theatre Critics' Award.
Pitre is a founding artist of Theatre 20, a musical theatre company in Toronto formed by artists in 2009, and headlined their first project, a workshop of the first English translation of the French musical Les Belles Soeurs. She also performed in Theatre 20's 2011 Concert Series at the Panasonic Theatre.
On June 1, 2011, she performed a solo, self-produced, one-night, sold-out concert La Vie en Rouge at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts' Jane Mallett Theatre. The French album, of the same name, was recorded live, off the floor, at Number 9 Audio Group in Toronto and released in conjunction with the concert. This theatrical event was documented to video and some highlights are shared on Louise Pitre’s YouTube channel.
In July 2011, Toronto Life magazine named "Louise Pitre's musical theatre renaissance" as #12 in their "50 Reasons to Love Toronto" feature article.
In 2011 she was the host of Star Portraits on Bravo! and performing solo concerts across North America.