Chilina Kennedy
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Chilina Joelle Kennedy is a Canadian actress, singer and songwriter born in Oromocto, NB. Following 3 seasons at the Shaw Festival and Stratford Festival, Chilina made her Broadway debut playing Mary Magdalene in the 2012 Broadway Revival of Jesus Christ Superstar. Chilina is best known for playing Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on Broadway for over 1200 performances. She originated the role of Annie Lewis in the Broadway production of Paradise Square. She was also the original Dina in the First National Tour of the Tony-Award® winning The Band's Visit.
Chilina Kennedy is also the Co-Founder & Artistic Producer of the Toronto-based Eclipse Theatre Company, and the composer of the new musical Wild About You.
Early life[edit]
Chilina Kennedy was born in Ormocto, NB to father Vincent Wayne Kennedy and mother Wendy Barbara Pearson. With her father being a Brigadier General in the Canadian Armed Forces, she moved around the world for most of her life. Chilina grew up in Gagetown, NB, Longstanton, UK, Toronto, ON, Winnipeg, MB, Montréal, QC, Calgary, AB, Point Lonsdale, Victoria, Canberra, and Kingston, ON. She began her artistic pursuits with ballet and piano, beginning at age 4 and continuing throughout her life and travels. She remained in Kingston, ON throughout high school where she attended Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute (KCVI) and was also named head girl. KCVI is the oldest high school in Ontario, and other famed alumni include The Tragically Hip, and Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald.
She moved to Etobicoke, ON to attend Sheridan College for Musical Theatre.
Currently, Chilina has a home in Stratford, ON and is a resident of New York City.
Career[edit]
Broadway[edit]
Chilina Kennedy's Broadway debut was playing Mary Magdalene in the 2012 Revival of Jesus Christ Superstar directed by Des MacAnuff. A production which originated at The Stratford Festival. She then went on to play Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. She holds the record for the longest-running actor to play the role, performing the part for over 1200 performances. She then went on to originate the role of Annie Lewis in Paradise Square.
In 2023, Chilina played Billie Jean King in the Broadway-bound play Love All by Anna Deavere Smith at La Jolla Playhouse .
Off-Broadway[edit]
in 2024, Chilina debuted as Cindy in the premiere of A Sign of The Times at New World Stages, a new musical based mostly on the catalogue of Petula Clark, as well as Lesley Gore & Dusty Springfield. Chilina originated the role at the Delaware Theatre Company production.
Chilina played Binky in the world premiere of the Studio 54 musical This Ain't No Disco directed by Darko Tresnjak.
National tours[edit]
Chilina led the First National Tour of the Tony-Award Winning Best Musical The Band's Visit as Dina. For her performance she won the Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Performance in a Musical. Her other tour credits include Fantine in Les Miserables, Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and Sophia in Mamma Mia!.
Canadian theatre[edit]
Chilina Kennedy is a fixture of the Canadian theatre landscape and one of its preeminent stars. Her multiple seasons leading companies at The Stratford & Shaw Festival cemented her as such, not to mention her other leading roles across the country.
Her credits include: Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar (Stratford Festival), Rose Of Sharon in The Grapes of Wrath (Stratford Festival), Eva Perón in Evita (Stratford Festival), Louis Lane in Kiss Me, Kate (Stratford Festival), Maria in West Side Story (Stratford Festival), Philia in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (Stratford Festival), Louse in The Wanderlust (Stratford Festival), Eileen in Wonderful Town (Shaw Festival), Nellie Ewell in Summer and Smoke (Shaw Festival), Lydia in The President (Shaw Festival), Anne in Anne of Green Gables (Charlottetown Festival), Evangeline in Evangeline (Charlottetown Festival), Leighton in BLACKOUT (Musical Stage Co.) Ariel in The Little Mermaid Panto (Ross Petty Productions), and Maud Lewis in the workshop of Maudie: The Musical (Theatre Calgary).
Chilina was also a part of the world premiere of the Lord Of The Rings Musical with Mirvish Productions.
Other[edit]
Chilina played "She" in the film festival selected short film With Me direcred by Weyni Mengesha.
She also performed as Bertrande in The House of Martin Guerre In Concert at The Stratford Festival, as part of the Virtual Choir in the Canadian Production of Dear Evan Hansen (Mirvish Productions).
In addition, in 2015 she released her debut album, "What You Find In A Bottle".
Eclipse Theatre Company[edit]
In 2018 Chilina Kennedy launched Eclipse Theatre Company alongside Evan Tsitsias and Sara-Jeanne Hosie. Kennedy serves as Co-Founder & Artstic Producer of the Toronto-based theatre company which focuses on both developing new as well as reimagining musicals.
Chilina Kennedy said regarding the launch, “I wanted to help foster new Canadian work and I felt it was important to reinvest in theatre that already existed in new and innovative ways". The premiere season included a site-responsive revival of Kiss of The Spider Woman at The Don Jail in Toronto, as well as developing a song cycle of Chilina Kennedy's Album "What You Find In A Bottle" which was first entitled Call It Love and later became Wild About You.
Wild About You[edit]
Chilina Kennedy is the composer of a new musical Wild About You
The show centers on Olivia, as the program states, "When Olivia finds herself in the hospital with limited memory, she must dig through her messy past to figure out which of the loves of her life is her emergency contact, only to understand that her desire to make everyone happy has left no one happy. Through a series of realizations, she reclaims her right to be flawed and loved in all her human complexity. However, as she regains clarity, tragedy strikes, but that’s when Olivia literally moves Heaven and Earth to reconnect with her greatest love - her son".
Originally based off of her debut album, "What You Find In A Bottle", the musical began as a song cycle entitled Call It Love, through a development process, industry reading and workshops the title changed to With(out) Her and is currently entitled Wild About You.
In 2023, a concept album was released featuring Katharine McPhee, Jackie Burns, Paul Alexander Nolan, Jenn Colella, Chilina Kennedy, Jessie Mueller, Jay McKenzie, Noah J. Ricketts, Eric McCormack, Joaquina Kalukango, Kennedy Caughell, Rachel Ling Gordon, Aisha Jackson, Alex Newell, and Lea Salonga.
In March 2024, the show will have a London Concert in the West End at Theatre Royal Drury Lane featuring Eric McCormack, Rachel Tucker, Todrick Hall, Jamie Muscato, Oliver Tompsett, and Tori Allen Martin.
References[edit]
https://www.chilinakennedy.com/home
https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/chilina-kennedy/profile/
https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Chilina-Kennedy/
https://www.playbill.com/person/chilina-kennedy-vault-0000121649
https://www.sheridancollege.ca/en/alumni/profiles/chilina-kennedy
https://lovelondonloveculture.com/2024/02/02/interview-with-chilina-kennedy/
https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/chilina-kennedy-491464
https://lajollaplayhouse.org/show/love-all/
https://resumes.breakdownexpress.com/204435-431846-4545
https://deadline.com/2023/12/sign-of-the-times-musical-cast-1235671221/
https://atlantictheater.org/production/this-aint-no-disco/
https://www.wildaboutyoumusical.com/
https://lwtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/wild-about-you-a-new-musical-in-concert/
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