Krysten Cummings (born ) is a stage and film actress. She is also a musician. She appeared as Tina in the 1997 production of '' The Fix'', and as Mimi in the 1998 version of the musical '' Rent'' for which she was a 1999
Olivier Award
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...
nominee.
Background
Cummings is originally from
Pennsauken Township, New Jersey
Pennsauken Township is a township in Camden County, in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and it is located outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which it borders directly on the Delaware River. As of the 2 ...
. As a stage actress, she got her start at age 17 at the Ritz Theatre in
Haddon Township, New Jersey
Haddon Township is a township in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 15,407, an increase of 700 (+4.8%) from the 2010 census count of 14,707, which in turn refle ...
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
'', June 28, 1998. Accessed April 9, 2023, via
Newspapers.com
Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...
. "Krysten Cummings, 23, rehearses in London.... Lynn remembers that Krysten, when growing up, was upset by the fact that people didn't know where Pennsauken is.... A 1992 Camden Catholic graduate, Krysten received her acting training at the Ritz Theatre in Oaklyn." By 2014, she had been in more than 20 theatrical productions, and musically performed in more than 30 countries. Her career has taken her from Broadway to the West End in London.
She had a co-starring role in the 2009 horror, '' The Descent: Part 2''.
While she was in London, she came in to contact with
Richard Archer
Richard Archer (born 18 January 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, principal songwriter and main composer of indie rock band Hard-Fi. Hard-Fi have produced several top 10 hits and two No. ...
, who fronted the rock band Hard-Fi. Certain recent-then events in the media put them both in a musical collaboration.
Stage
Cummings played the original part of Tina in ''See Jane Run'' which premiered at London's Donmar Warehouse in 1997.
In 2014, she performed a one-woman show at the Ritz Theatre for the "Build Jake's Place" project.
In 2015, she played the part of Mimi Marquez, a woman with HIV positive in the production of ''Rent'' which played at the Ritz Theater in Haddon Township NJ. In late 2015, it was announced that Cummings along with Debbie Kurup and Damien Flood would be appearing in the ''Seasons of Larson'' concert, a celebration of the life of Broadway composer
Jonathan Larson
Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright, most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent (musical), Rent'' and ''Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of mult ...
. The concert was to be held at London's Lyric Theatre.
In late 2017, she played the Fairy Godmother in the ''Cinderella'' at the Hackney Empire Theatre.
She is a co-creator of '' The Bisley Boy'', a gothic musical fantasy that follows the private life of
Bram Stoker
Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...
, which was to run at the Ritz Theatre from September 16 to October 2 in 2022.
Film work
Cummings provided the voice for Submerge in the 2009 sci-fi film, '' Ghost Machine'' which was directed by Chris Hartwill.
She played the role of Deputy Elen Rios in '' The Descent: Part 2'', a horror film about cave crawling creatures. It was the sequel to the 2005 film, ''
The Descent
''The Descent'' is a 2005 British horror film written and directed by Neil Marshall. The film stars actresses Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, Nora-Jane Noone and MyAnna Buring. The plot follows six women who e ...
''. Cummings' character Rios was the only one to survive the ordeal following Shauna Macdonald's character Sarah sacrificing herself to let her escape.
Music
In 2009, the single, "Sunrise" by Hoxton Whores feat. Krysten Cummings was released.
In 2013, she backed
Bonnie Tyler
Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer. Known for her distinctive husky voice, Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' and its ...
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...
that year. She later backed Elnur Huseynov on his song, " Hour of the Wolf" at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest.
In 2020, Cummings was a member of the band OffWorld which was made up of
Richard Archer
Richard Archer (born 18 January 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, principal songwriter and main composer of indie rock band Hard-Fi. Hard-Fi have produced several top 10 hits and two No. ...
, herself, Wolsey White, Smiley Barnard and Dale Davis. Playing a mixture of blues, gospel and soul, on April 9 they released their EP, ''Brave to Be Alive''. Later that month they released a single, "Burnt Out Star". Also that month Cummings and Richard Archer performed a set of songs from his home which included songs from the EP and some Hard-Fi songs. It was part of the Royal Albert Home sessions. The songs were transmitted from the homes of the artists while the Royal Albert Hall was closed.Royal Albert Hall ROYAL ALBERT HALL PRESENTS ROYAL ALBERT HOME /ref>