Elicia MacKenzie (born 1985) is a Canadian musical theatre actress who won the 2008

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

contest '' How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?''. As a result of winning the contest, she played Maria, the lead, in the Toronto revival of ''

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''. ...

'' from October 2008 through January 2010. She went on to star as Sherrie in Mirvish Productions' ''

Rock of Ages Rock of Ages may refer to: Films * ''Rock of Ages'' (1918 film), a British silent film by Bertram Phillips * ''Rock of Ages'' (2012 film), a film adaptation of the jukebox musical (see below) Music * ''Rock of Ages'' (musical), a 2006 rock ...

'' at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre from April 2010 through January 2011 and on the first U.S. tour. She appeared as Dorothy in ''The Wizard of Oz'', Ross Petty Productions' 2011 pantomime at Toronto's Elgin Theatre from November 2011 through January 2012. MacKenzie is currently represented by Toronto agenc
The Talent House
an
Carrier Talent Management
in Vancouver.

Biography

MacKenzie was born in

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" because o ...

, New Brunswick. A self-described

tomboy A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men ...

growing up in

Surrey, British Columbia Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surr ...

, she participated in children's choirs and various singing competitions. Her first job was at age 15, at De Dutch Pannekoek House in Vancouver. At age 16 she auditioned for ''

Canadian Idol ''Canadian Idol'' is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show '' Pop Idol''. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Dor ...

'' but was passed over because she sounded "too musical theatre". She graduated in 2008 from the musical theatre program at

Capilano College Capilano University (CapU) is a teaching-focused public university based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located on the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, with programming that also serves the Sea-to-Sky Corridor and the Sunshin ...

, and had major roles in productions such as ''

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 63rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and first installment of the ''High School Musical'' film series, ...

'' in North Vancouver in 2007, in which she portrayed Gabriella . She was about to take a part in a community theatre production of ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'', as a wicked stepsister, and was also considering a career in

massage therapy Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In Eu ...

, when her uncle noticed the audition call for the CBC show. On '' How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?'' after thousands of people auditioned in early 2008, she competed against 47 other finalists, who were eliminated by a combination of judges' decisions and viewer voting, although once the final two were selected, the winner was chosen only by fans. She beat out Janna Polzin of

Woodstock, Ontario Woodstock is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The city has a population of 40,902 according to the 2016 Canadian census. Woodstock is the seat of Oxford County, at the head of the non-navigable Thames River, approximately 128 km from ...

, who was widely expected to win. Composer and judge

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 and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musica ...

referred to MacKenzie as "the dark horse" of the competition. The role of Maria was her first professional acting credit. Reviews of the Toronto show weren almost uniformly positive, and the show's success, despite the recession, was credited largely to MacKenzie. She played the role of Sherrie Christian in the Toronto production of the musical ''

'' and on the first U.S. tour.

References

External links

Elicia MacKenzie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenzie, Elicia 1985 births Living people Canadian musical theatre actresses Participants in Canadian reality television series People from Moncton Reality casting show winners Actresses from New Brunswick Actresses from British Columbia Capilano University alumni