Ann Mandrella is a French

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, born in Besançon, France on the 3rd of August. She has performed in theatre productions throughout

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and in

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 ...

Biography

Ann's family moved to the town of Koblenz in Germany when Ann was a young child. From the beginning, Ann showed an interest in the performing arts. Her family encouraged her talent and she was enrolled in dancing and singing classes outside of school (the school she attended did not offer an arts program) and she participated in the local children's community theatre productions. After completing her secondary school education, Ann attended the

Folkwang Hochschule The Folkwang University of the Arts is a university for music, theater, dance, design, and academic studies, located in four German cities of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 1927, its traditional main location has been in the former Werden Abbey in ...

in Essen, Germany for three years. There, she obtained a degree in musical theatre performance. After she graduated, she moved to Vienna, Austria to pursue further studies in the performing arts at the Gesangsstudio Theater. During her time in school, Ann supported herself through modeling work and by doing ballet/dance for local television shows. Just before she completed her studies in Gesangsstudio, Ann was cast as Cha Cha in '' Grease'' (Vienna production), and she performed on the original cast album for the show. After her successful run in '' Grease'', other roles would follow, including Babette in ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'', Anita 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 ...

'', Roxie in ''

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

'', and Queenie in '' The Wild Party''. She performed in several cities and countries throughout Europe, including Vienna (Austria), Amstetten (Austria), Stuttgart (Germany), Berlin (Germany), and Bern (Switzerland). Though she traveled often in order to perform, Ann's primary city of residence remained Vienna, where she maintains an apartment to this day. During her time working in Europe, Ann met and married

Drew Sarich Drew Sarich (born August 24, 1975) is an American stage actor and singer songwriter from St. Louis, who performs in the English and German languages. Biography Sarich received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre with a concentration in Dir ...

, an American musical theatre actor and musician. In late 2005, Drew's career brought him to San Francisco. Ann, who was working on ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...

'' in Switzerland, joined her husband in New York in February 2006. In September of that year, Ann made her American stage debut in the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway revival of ''

Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris ''Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris'' is a musical revue of the songs of Jacques Brel. Brel's songs were translated into English by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman, who also provided the story. The original 1968 Off-Broadway product ...

'', which also starred her husband. In 2007, she made her Broadway debut as Babette in the Broadway production of ''

'' and was the final actress to play the role.¹ Ann later moved back to Austria, where she currently resides with her husband and children. In 2009, she played the title role in the

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 ...

musical '' Evita'' in the Dortmund Theater in Germany, as well as Gitta in the European premiere of the Gershwin musical ''

Pardon My English ''Pardon My English'' is a musical with a book by Herbert Fields and Morrie Ryskind, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. Set in 1933 Dresden, the farcical plot satirizes the Prohibition era. Production history Producers Ale ...

'' at the Staatsoperette Dresden.

Stage Work

*'' Grease'' - Cha-Cha (1994–1995) *'' Die Schöne und Das Biest'' (Vienna) - Babette (1995–1997) *''Cole Porter Revue'' - Juliet (1996–1997) *''

'' - Anita (1997) *'' City of Angels'' (Krefeld) - Gabby/Bobby (1997) *'' Die Schöne und Das Biest'' (Stuttgart) - Babette (1997–1998) *'' City of Angels'' (Amstetten) - Gabby/Bobby (1998) *''

'' (Vienna) - June (u/s Roxie) (1998–1999) *''

'' (Berlin) - Roxie (2000) *''

'' (Switzerland) - Roxie (2000–2001) *''Time Out!'' - Maxine (2001) *''

'' (Düsseldorf) - Roxie (2001–2002) *''What A Feeling'' - Aylin (2002) *''Wake Up'' - Lydia (2002–2004) *''Lapdog and Wildcat'' (2003) *'' The Wild Party'' (Amstetten) - Queenie (2003) *'' The Wild Party'' (Klagenfurt) - Queenie (2004–2005) *''

'' - Ellie (2005–2006) *''

'' - u/s Woman #1 (2006) *''

'' (Broadway) - Babette (2007) *'' Evita'' (Dortmund) - Eva Perón (2009) *''

'' (Dresden) - Gitta (2009) *'' Ich war noch niemals in New York'' (Vienna) - Lisa Wartberg (2010) *'' Hello, Dolly!'' (Lehar festival, Bad-Ischl) - Dolly Levi (2013) *''

Cabaret (musical) ''Cabaret'' is an American musical theater, musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Joe Masteroff. It is based on the 1951 play ''I Am a Camera'' by John Van Druten, which in turn was based on the 1939 novel ''Good ...

'' (Baden bei Wien) - Sally Bowles (2023)

Discography

Cast Recordings

*''What A Feeling'' (Original Bonn Cast) *''Wake Up'' (Original Wien Cast) *'' Die Schöne und Das Biest'' (Original Stuttgart Cast) *''

'' (Original Wien Cast) *'' Die Schöne und Das Biest'' (Original Wien Cast) *'' Grease'' (Original Wien Cast)

Miscellaneous

*''Musical Christmas In Vienna'' (2003 Concert Cast)

References

1. Ann Mandrella Biography
annmandrella.com
Retrieved 30 Jan 2007

External links

Ann Mandrella Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandrella, Ann 1971 births Living people Actors from Besançon Actresses from Bourgogne-Franche-Comté French stage actresses French musical theatre actresses