Reva Rice is an American

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, ...

actress and singer, best known for originating the role of

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

in ''

Starlight Express '' Starlight Express'' is a 1984 musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern locomotives of diesel and el ...

'' on Broadway.

Background

Rice was born in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

to Flute and Pearl Esterine Shields Rice. She began training in dance, theatre, and piano at the age of five, and later graduated from the Boston Conservatory of Music.

Career

After originating the role of Pearl in ''Starlight Express'' on Broadway, she subsequently played the role in the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

production after its 1992 revision as well as on tour in the US and 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 ...

. In 1991 Rice became one of the finalists on the television talent show ''

Star Search ''Star Search'' (later known as ''Ed McMahon's Star Search'') is an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./ Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 29 ...

''. In 1999, Rice took over Valarie Pettiford's role in the Broadway production of '' Fosse'', based on the work of choreographer

Bob Fosse Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American choreographer, dancer, filmmaker, and stage director. Known for his work on stage and screen, he is arguably the most influential figure in the field of jazz dance in th ...

. Rice led the cast in both the US tour and the Japanese production of ''Fosse''. Her other credits include Velma 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 ...

'', '' Smokey Joe's Cafe'' and the television show '' The Watcher''. She played Roz in the world premiere production of ''JAM: Just Another Man'', a musical about the life of

Clint Holmes Clinton Raymond Holmes (born 9 May 1946) is a British-born singer-songwriter and Las Vegas entertainer, and TV announcer. He had a hit single in the US with " Playground in My Mind". Bio He was born in Bournemouth, England, the son of an Afri ...

, at the Judy Bayley Theatre at the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...

. Rice the standby for The Lady of the Lake in the Las Vegas production of ''

Spamalot ''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot: A Musical (Lovingly) Ripped Off from the Motion Picture ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail) is a musical theatre, stage musical with score by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, with lyrics and book ...

'' and took part in the Las Vegas tryout of the new musical, ''All In: The Poker Musical''. She performed in the ensemble of the US national tour of the musical version of '' The Color Purple,'' understudying the lead character Shug Avery. She performed in David Saxe's ''Vegas! The Show'', at the Saxe Theater at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. She starred in ''Reva Las Vegas'', a 90-minute revue based upon her career from Broadway to Las Vegas. In June 2018, Rice returned to ''Starlight Express'' playing Mama, a female version of Poppa, in the Bochum production.

Theatre credits

* Pearl the Observation Car in ''

'' (Broadway) * Pearl the Observation Car in ''

'' (London) * Velma Kelly in ''

'' * Roz in ''JAM: Just Another Man'' * The Lady of the Lake (Standby) in '' Monty Python's Spamalot'' (Las Vegas) * Lead Singer in ''VEGAS! THE SHOW'' ''VEGAS! THE SHOW''
/ref> * Mama the Old Steamer in ''

'' (Bochum)

Single

In 1993, ''The New Starlight Express'', a cast recording of the revised London production was released featuring Rice as Pearl. As well as singing the solos "Make Up My Heart" and "He'll Whistle At Me", Rice duets on "Next Time You Fall in Love" with Greg Ellis. The track was released as a single.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Reva Living people 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers Actresses from Toledo, Ohio American musical theatre actresses Boston Conservatory at Berklee alumni Musicians from Toledo, Ohio Year of birth missing (living people)