Donna King (born 1957) is an American dancer and

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

performer who appeared in Broadway musicals in the 1970s and 1980s and has lived and worked mostly in England since the 1980s. She is also an actress and has appeared in theatre as well as on film and television.

Life

Originally from

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

, King trained at the Miller Marley School of Dance in

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the largest city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, second-most populous city in the state of Kansas. It is one of four principal city, principal cities in ...

.Alumni: Donna King
at millermarley.com, accessed 8 April 2018 She worked briefly on a revue in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

before starting at

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater and former nightclub at 254 West 54th Street (Manhattan), 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Opened as the Gallo Opera House in 1927, it served ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, on its opening night in 1977. She appeared in the Broadway musical ''

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall. It is based on a story by King that was inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch in La Grang ...

'' (1978), then in

Roland Petit Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets. Life and work The son of shoe designer Ro ...

's 1981 revival of ''

Can-Can The can-can (also spelled cancan as in the original French /kɑ̃kɑ̃/) is a high-energy, physically demanding dance that became a popular music-hall dance in the 1840s, continuing in popularity in French cabaret to this day. Originally dance ...

'', before originating the part of

Bombalurina Bombalurina is a principal character in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''Cats''. The musical is an adaptation of T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'', and the character's name is given in the poem "The Naming of ...

at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Originally designed by architect William Albert Swasey, it opened in 1911. The Winter Garden's current des ...

on Broadway in

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

's ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

'',Biography
at donnaking II , accessed 7 April 2018 which she played from 1982 to 1984. In September 1982, the ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

'' ran a feature on King, who was pictured as Bombalurina in a window display at

Bergdorf Goodman Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is an American luxury department store based in New York City, founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf. , it operates a women's store and a men's store across the street from each other on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. ...

. She played a Shark in the Mediterranean Tour of West Side Story. She was also a lead dancer in the film ''

Grease 2 ''Grease 2'' is a 1982 American Musical film, musical romantic comedy film, and a standalone sequel to the Grease (film), 1978 film ''Grease'', adapted from the 1971 Grease (musical), musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Orig ...

'' (1982). In 1984, King married

John Napier John Napier of Merchiston ( ; Latinisation of names, Latinized as Ioannes Neper; 1 February 1550 – 4 April 1617), nicknamed Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish landowner known as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. He was the 8 ...

, a British theatre designer who had designed the set and costumes for ''Cats'', and they had two children, James (now the musician

Jimmy Napes James Napier (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Jimmy Napes, is an English songwriter and record producer. He has won a number of awards including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, 3 Grammy Awards, and 2 Ivor Novello Awards ...

) and Jessica. They were divorced in 1994. In 1991, Donna King appeared in the lead role of May in a revival of

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, ...

's '' Fool for Love'' at the Timber Street Studios, London. King had a notable part in

Jilly Cooper Dame Jilly Cooper, (born Jill Sallitt; 21 February 1937) is an English author. She began her career as a journalist and wrote numerous works of non-fiction before writing several romance novels, the first of which appeared in 1975. Cooper is ...

's '' The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous'' (1997). In the opening scene, her tryst with the anti-hero, Lysander Hawkley, is interrupted by her husband, who chases Lysander out of the house naked with a crossbow.Dave Lanning
Sooper-Stud's Flight of Fancy
dated June 8, 1997, in ''

The People The People may refer to: Legal jargon * The People, term used to refer to the people in general, in legal documents * "We the People of the United States", from the Preamble to the U. S. Constitution * In philosophy, economics, and political scienc ...

'' (London, England) at highbeam.com, accessed 6 April 2018 She now has a studio in

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

and teaches music, theatre, and film students.

Musical theatre

*''

'' (

46th Street Theatre The Richard Rodgers Theatre (formerly Chanin's 46th Street Theatre and the 46th Street Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 226 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1925, it was ...

, 1978), as Linda Lou *''

'' (

Minskoff Theatre The Minskoff Theatre is a Broadway theater on the third floor of the One Astor Plaza office building in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1973, it is operated by the Nederlander Organizatio ...

, Broadway, 1981), as Mimi *''

'' (

, Broadway, 1982–1984), as

Films

:''This list is not complete'' Papaya69 (2022) as Amanda (Papaya's mother) Pic Films, Italy *''

'' (1982) as Girl Greaser (lead dancer) *'' The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous'' (1997) as Martha WintertonThe Man Who Made Husbands Jealous
at bfi.org.uk, accessed 8 April 2018

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Donna 1957 births Living people American expatriate actresses American expatriates in England American female dancers American television actresses Dancers from Kansas American dance teachers 21st-century American actresses