Joanna Ampil is a musical theatre and film actress from the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Career

Joanna, at seventeen years old, auditioned for an open call in Manila for the original production of ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a sung-through musical theatre, stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madama Butterfly'', and similarly tells th ...

'' in front of director Sir Nicolas Hytner. Despite not having any experience in theatre or the performing arts, she landed the lead role of Kim and was flown to London to rehearse with the West End company at the

Theatre Royal Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dru ...

. She has since reprised her role as Kim in the original Australian production, the original United Kingdom and Ireland Tour and 10th Anniversary Performance. Ampil's other notable roles include Mary Magdalene in the West End revival of ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

'', Éponine in ''Les Misérables'', Fantine in ''Les Misérables'', Mimi in ''Rent'', Christmas Eve in ''

Avenue Q '' Avenue Q'' is a musical comedy featuring puppets and human actors with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and a book by Jeff Whitty. It won Best Musical, Book, and Score at the 2004 Tony Awards. The show's format is a parody ...

'', Sheila Franklin in ''Hair'', Thanh in the world premiere of ''The Real Love'', Heidi in ''I Sing!'', The ingénue June in the West End premiere of ''The Musical of Musicals: The Musical!'', Blue Fairy in ''Pinocchio: A New Musical'', ''West End Women'' (UK Tour), ''The Magic of Disney in Concert'' (Hyde Park, London), ''Defying Gravity: The Songs of Stephen Schwartz'' (Sydney),

Grizabella Grizabella the Glamour Cat is a main character in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''Cats''. Lonely and decrepit, Grizabella seeks acceptance from the other Jellicle cats but is initially ostracised. She sings the most famous song from the music ...

in ''Cats'', and reprising Mary Magdalene in '' Jesus Christ Superstar in Concert''. In 2008, she made her Philippine theatre debut as Maria in ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

'', alongside Christian Bautista's Tony. She played Maria Von Trapp in ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'', at the Newport Performing Arts Theatre and was followed by Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific in Concert''. She was invited by Philippine's Prima Ballerina

Lisa Macuja-Elizalde Lisa Teresita Macuja Elizalde (born October 3, 1964) is a Filipino prima ballerina. In 1984, she became the first foreign soloist to ever join the Kirov Ballet. In the Philippines, she is the Artistic Director and CEO of Ballet Manila and was ...

to play Inang Bayan in the ballet ''Rebel EDSA 30''. In 2015, she played Francesca Johnson in the international premiere of ''The Bridges of Madison County'', and Jenna in the international premiere of ''Waitress'' in 2018. She performed on recordings of ''Miss Saigon (The Complete Symphonic Recording)'' as Kim, ''Jesus Christ Superstar (1996 London Revival Cast)'' as Mary Magdalene, ''The Postman and the Poet'' ''(Concept Cast)'' as Beatriz Gonzalez and ''Ang Larawan “The Portrait”'' ''(Original Soundtrack)'' as Candida. Her debut musicals album ''"Joanna Ampil"'' was released 2007 by JAY Records, followed with pop albums ''"Try Love"'' in 2010 and ''"Joanna Ampil"'' in 2014 with

VIVA Records Viva Records Corporation, commonly known as Viva Records, is a Philippine record label owned by Viva Music Group, a subsidiary of Viva Communications. History Viva Records was established in 1986, 6 years after Vic del Rosario Jr. left Vicor ...

. Her latest singles are ''Reach for the Stars'', ''Always Better'' and ''Memory''. In 2017, Ampil portrayed Candida Marasigan in the feature film ''

Ang Larawan ''Ang Larawan'', internationally released as ''The Portrait'', is a 2017 Philippine musical film directed by Loy Arcenas. Based on the 1997 stage play, ''Larawan'' which in turn was based on the 1950 literary play ''A Portrait of the Artist as F ...

'' for which she won the

Metro Manila Film Festival Award for Best Actress The Metro Manila Film Festival Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). It was first awarded at the 1st Metro Manila Film Festival ceremony, held in 1975; Charito Solis rec ...

, PMPC Star Awards, Gawad Pasado, Luna, Gawad Tangi, Guillermo Award, Urduja Best Heritage Film Awards and the prestigious

Gawad Urian The Gawad Urian Awards are annual film awards in the Philippines presented since 1977 by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (), a Film criticism, film critic organization composed of critics, writers, and scholars. It is the regarded as the h ...

Best Actress Awards. She worked on the television series ''"Call Me Tita"'' ''"Babae Sa Septic Tank 3"'', ''The Quest'', ''Mummy Autopsy'' and ''

Broken News ''Broken News'' is a comedy programme shown on BBC Two in late 2005. The show poked fun at the world of 24-hour rolling news channels. The title of the show is a play on the phrase "breaking news". It had six thirty-minute episodes. Having previ ...

''. She portrayed Corazon in ''Maalaala Mo Kaya's "Kadena"'' wherein she won the GEMS Award for Best Actress for Television. She performed

in the 40th Anniversary Tour of ''Cats'' (South Korea, 2020/2021) during the height of COVID-19 pandemic with socially distanced audiences and local government protocols; along with ''Phantom of the Opera'' World Tour (South Korea and Taiwan, 2020). In the summer of 2021, Joanna made her

Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...

debut in Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

'' as Bloody Mary. In the summer of 2022, she reprised the role of Bloody Mary in London ahead of a UK Tour. In 2023, she played The Engineer in the brand new production ''

'' at

Sheffield Theatres Sheffield Theatres is a theatre complex in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It comprises four theatres: the Crucible, the Lyceum, the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse, and (as of January 2025) the Montgomery Theatre. These theatres make up ...

by special arrangement with

Sir Cameron Mackintosh Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "t ...

, bringing together the original creators of the show

Claude-Michel Schönberg Claude-Michel Schönberg (born 6 July 1944, in Vannes) is a French record producer, actor, singer, songwriter, and musical theatre composer, best known for his collaborations with lyricist Alain Boublil. Major works include '' La Révolution Fr ...

and

Alain Boublil Alain Boublil (born 5 March 1941) is a French national musical theatre lyricist and librettist, best known for his collaborations with the composer Claude-Michel Schönberg for musicals on Broadway and London's West End. These include '' La ...

along with Artistic Directors Robert Hastie and Anthony Lau in editing the book, lyrics and creating new arrangements for the reimagined production. Joanna joined international stars of the stage and screen, including

Michael Ball Michael Ashley Ball (born 27 June 1962) is an English singer, presenter and actor. In 1985, he made his West End debut as Marius Pontmercy in the original production of ''Les Misérables''. In 1989, he reached number two in the UK Singles C ...

Daniel Dae Kim Daniel Dae Kim (born August 4, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his many roles in network television and theater. In 2025, ''Time'' magazine listed him as one of the world's 100 most influential people. On television, he portray ...

Maria Friedman Maria Friedman ( Freedman; born 19 March 1960) is a British actress and director, best known for her work in musical theatre. She is an eight-time Laurence Olivier Award nominee, winning three. Her first win was for her 1994 one-woman show, ' ...

Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American singer and actress. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four acti ...

Julian Ovenden Julian Mark Ovenden (born 29 November 1976) is an English actor and singer. He has starred on Broadway and West End stages, in television series in both the United Kingdom and United States, in films, and performed internationally as a concert ...

, Lucy St. Louis,

Aaron Tveit Aaron Kyle Tveit (; born October 21, 1983) is an American actor and singer. Tveit originated the lead role of Christian in the stage adaptation of ''Moulin Rouge! (musical), Moulin Rouge!'' on Broadway theatre, Broadway, a performance for which ...

Marisha Wallace Marisha Wallace (born September 29, 1985) is an American-born British actress and singer, best known for her work in musical theatre. Life and career Wallace appeared in the original Broadway casts of ''Aladdin'' (2014) and ''Something Rotten!'' ...

and

Patrick Wilson Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty (musical), The Full Mont ...

in ''My Favorite Things: The Rodgers & Hammerstein 80th Anniversary Concert,'' featuring a 40-piece orchestra on 12 December 2023, at the

. The filmed musical concert will be screened in cinemas across the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and North America, and will be part of the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is produced by the PBS member statio ...

broadcast this Spring 2024.

Theatre

Discography

Cast albums

*''My Favorite Things: The Rodgers & Hammerstein 80th Anniversary Concert'' * ''Miss Saigon (The Complete Symphonic Recording)'' *'' Jesus Christ Superstar (1996 London Cast)'' * ''The Postman and The Poet (Concept Cast)'' * ''Ang Larawan (Original Soundtrack)''

Studio albums

''Joanna Ampil''
(2007; Jay Records)
''Try Love''
(2010; Musiko Records,

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

)
''Joanna Ampil''
(2014;

Viva Records Viva Records Corporation, commonly known as Viva Records, is a Philippine record label owned by Viva Music Group, a subsidiary of Viva Communications. History Viva Records was established in 1986, 6 years after Vic del Rosario Jr. left Vicor ...

)

Singles

*''Reach For The Stars'' *''I'm Caught Between Goodbye and I Love You'' *''For The Last Time I Felt Like This'' *''Hanggang Saan'' *''The Only Place To Be'' * ''Memory'' * ''Always Better''
''Kundimang Mahal''
(theme song of the movie

Culion Culion, officially the Municipality of Culion (), is a municipality in the province of Palawan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 23,213 people. Culion consists primarily of Culion Island as well as 41 minor sur ...

) *''One More Gift''

Filmography

Film

Television/Digital

Concerts

* ''

Carols in the Domain Carols in the Domain is an annual Australian Christmas concert event held in the Domain Gardens in Sydney. It began in 1983, and features many national and international performers and guest appearances. It is a free event, broadcast around Aus ...

'' (1995) The Domain, Sydney * ''Stars of the Musicals'' (2001) Putra, Kuala Lumpur * ''The Night of 100 Stars:

Marvin Hamlisch Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. He is one of a handful of people to win Emmy Awards, Emmy, Grammy Awards, Grammy, Academy Awards, Oscar, and Tony Awards, Tony awards, a feat ...

'' (2001)

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

* ''One Day More: A Symphonic Concert of

and

'' (2004)

Symphony Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall is a 2,262-seat concert venue in Birmingham, England. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 12 June 1991, although it had been in use since 15 April 1991. It is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and hos ...

* ''An Evening with

Jason Robert Brown Jason Robert Brown (born June 20, 1970) is an American musical theatre composer, lyricist, and playwright. Brown's music sensibility fuses pop-rock stylings with theatrical lyrics. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards for his work on ''Parad ...

'' (2005) Players Theatre, London * ''Musical Moments'' (2007)

Hong Kong Cultural Centre The Hong Kong Cultural Centre (HKCC, ) is a public multipurpose performance facility in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Located at Salisbury Road, it was built by the former Urban Council and, since 2000, has been administered by the Leisure a ...

* ''Musical Moments'' (2008)

* ''Musical Moments'' (2009)

* ''Joanna Ampil, I Love...'' (2009) Music Museum, Manila * ''West End Girl: Joanna Ampil'' (2010) OnStage, Manila * ''

Brad Little Bradley Jay Little (born February 15, 1954) is an American politician serving as the 33rd governor of Idaho since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 42nd Lieutenant Governor of Idaho ...

Unmasked with Joanna Ampil'' (2010) Taipei International Convention Centre, Taiwan * ''Broadway Showstoppers'' (2011) Newport Performing Arts Theatre * ''The Vietnam-Philippines Friendship Concert'' (2012)

Hanoi Opera House The Hanoi Opera House (), or the Grand Opera House (, ) is an opera house in central Hanoi, Vietnam. It was erected by the French colonial administration between 1901 and 1911. Hanoi Opera House is one of three opera houses that the French built ...

, Vietnam * ''The Night of 1000 Voices'' (2012)

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, London * ''The Magic of Disney in Concert'' (2012) Hyde Park, London In celebration of the H.M. The Queen's Diamond Jubilee * ''West End Women:

Kerry Ellis Kerry Jane Ellis (born 6 May 1979) is an English actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music. Born and raised in Suffolk, Ellis began performing at an early age before training at La ...

, Ria Jones & Joanna Ampil'' (2014) United Kingdom Tour * Defying Gravity: The Songs of

Stephen Schwartz Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written hit musicals such as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin (musical), Pippin'' (1972), and ...

(2016) Sydney * ''A Woman's World: Joanna Ampil'' (2016) Shangri-La Plaza, Manila * ''The Sound of Musicals: Joanna Ampil,

Graham Bickley Graham John Bickley (born 18 May 1958) is an English actor and singer. He is best known for playing the role of Joey Boswell in ''Bread'' from 1989 until 1991, taking over from Peter Howitt, who originally portrayed the character from 1986 unt ...

and

Oliver Tompsett Oliver Tompsett (born 25 August 1981) is a British actor and singer. He is best known for his work in musical theatre. He originated leading roles in multiple West End productions, including Drew Boley in '' Rock of Ages'' and William Shakespe ...

'' (2016) United Kingdom Tour * ''Una nit a Broadway Andrew Lloyd Webber: Joanna Ampil, John Owen Jones, Geronimo Rauch and Celinde Schoenmacher'' (2017) L'Auditori, Barcelona * ''Love Wins: Joanna Ampil'' (2018) Maybank Theatre, Manila * ''Silver Lining: Joanna Ampil'' (2019) Maybank Theatre, Manila * ''Pinoy Playlist: Joanna Ampil'' (2019) Maybank Theatre, Manila * ''Bulawan: The CCP's 50th Anniversary Gala'' (2023) Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila * ''Fivera Goes West End with Joanna Ampil'' (2023) Singapore Botanic Gardens, Singapore * ''Fivera Goes West End with Joanna Ampil'' (2023) Esplanade Theatre, Singapore * ''Anywhere We Sing Is Home: The CCP's 54th Anniversary Gala'' (2023) Samsung Performing Arts Theatre, Manila * ''West End Musical Halloween'' (2023) Lyric Theatre, London * ''West End Does: Christmas'' (2023) Cadogan Hall, London * ''My Favorite Things: The Rodgers & Hammerstein 80th Anniversary Concert'' (2023)

, London

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ampil, Joanna Filipino musical theatre actresses 21st-century Filipino women singers Living people People from Cagayan de Oro Actresses from Misamis Oriental Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Filipino women singers