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Liz Callaway

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Liz Callaway
Born (1961-04-13) April 13, 1961 (age 63)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • recording artist
Years active1979–present
Spouse
Dan Foster
​
(m. 1985)​
Children1
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentsVocals
LabelsVarèse Sarabande
Websitelizcallaway.com

Liz Callaway (born April 13, 1961) is an American actress, singer and recording artist, who is best known for having provided the singing voices of many female characters in animated films, such as 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.

Early life, family, and education

Callaway was born in Chicago, Illinois to Shirley Callaway, a singer, pianist, and vocal coach, and John Callaway, a journalist.[1] Her sister is actress, composer, and singer Ann Hampton Callaway, with whom she sang the theme song for the Fran Drescher comedy series The Nanny, which Ann Hampton Callaway also composed. Both sisters attended New Trier High School (New Trier East) in Winnetka, Illinois.[2][1] Callaway has also appeared in a number of cabaret and stage productions with her sister. 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.

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.

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, and Miss Saigon. Liz also performed in The Look of Love, a 2003 musical revue of the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. As a replacement on Broadway, Callaway played the role of Grizabella for five years in Cats.[3] Callaway also had her own children's television show on WNEV-TV in Boston, Ready to Go, which ran from 1987 to 1991, winning her an Emmy Award.[4] 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[5]

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

She has performed various cabaret acts at Joe's Pub, Rainbow and Stars, the Russian Tea Room, 54 Below, and 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. In 2015 she released an album of songs from her most recognized work, The Essential Liz Callaway. In 2022 To Steve with Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim was released, a live performance from 54 Below. Callaway has also released two Christmas recordings.

Liz was honored at the 25th Annual Bistro Awards in New York City.[6]

Personal life

Liz married theatre director and producer Dan Foster in 1985, a founding producer of the Hudson Stage Company, a nonprofit, professional theatre company in residence at Pace University in Westchester County, New York.[7] They have a son.[8]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1991 Beauty and the Beast Additional voices
1994 The Return of Jafar Princess Jasmine (singing voice) Direct-to-video
1994 The Swan Princess Princess Odette (singing voice)
1995 Pocahontas Chorus (voice)
1996 Aladdin and the King of Thieves Princess Jasmine (singing voice) Direct-to-video
1997 Anastasia Anastasia (singing voice)
1998 The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars Singer (voice)
1998 The Lion King II: Simba's Pride Adult Kiara (singing voice) Direct-to-video
1998 The Swan Princess: Sing Along Princess Odette (singing voice) Direct-to-video
1999 Bartok the Magnificent Ensemble cast (voice)
2002 The Princess and the Pea Princess Sarah (singing voice)
2012 Didi Lightful Mrs. Lifhtful (voice) Short
2013 Despicable Me Various (voice) Uncredited
2014 The Rewrite Mrs. Lerner

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1981 Senior Trip Judy Matheson Television film
1987 Lyle, Lyle Crocodile: The Musical – The House on East 88th Street Mrs. Primm (singing voice) Television film
2016 The Mentors Mentor Episode: "Liz Callaway & Lauren Ashley Carter"

Discography

  • Anywhere I Wander (Varèse Sarabande) (September 28, 1993)
  • Magical Selections from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Disney's Aladdin (Walt Disney Records, 1995) - performer on "Forget About Love" (duet with Gilbert Gottfried) & "Out of Thin Air" (duet with Brad Kane)
  • 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
  • The Essential Liz Callaway (2015)
  • Merry and Bright (2013)[9]
  • Comfort and Joy (An Acoustic Christmas) (Working Girl Records) with Peter Calo (December 4, 2020)
  • To Steve with Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim (Working Girl Records) (November 11, 2022) [10]

References

  1. ^ a b 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. ^ "Liz Callaway: Credits, Bio, News & More". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  4. ^ Amodeo, John (November 18, 2021). "In Front of Audiences Again, Cabaret's Liz Callaway 'Feels Amazing'". Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  5. ^ Eberson, Sharon (November 24, 2011). "Theater Notes: CLO lands Callaway; City actor makes mean cocktail". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  6. ^ Elli (2010). "Review: 25th Annual Bistro Awards". NiteLifeExchange.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  7. ^ "Hudson Stage Company becomes artist in residence at Pace University Briarcliff Campus". News Coverage and Releases. Pace University. February 28, 2005. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  8. ^ "Croton-on-Hudson Resident Liz Callaway's Life as an Actress, Wife, and Mother". September 26, 2012.
  9. ^ "Liz Callaway | Album Discography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  10. ^ Ganz, Andrew. "Liz Callaway to Release Stephen Sondheim Tribute Album in November". www.playbill.com. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
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