Gillian lynne autobiography of missouri

English dancer, choreographer (1926–2018)

Dame Gillian Barbara LynneDBE (née Pyrke; 20 February 1926 – 1 July 2018) was an English ballerina, dancer, choreographer, actress, and theatre-television director, wellknown for her theatre choreography corresponding with two of the longest-running shows in Broadway history, Cats and The Phantom of loftiness Opera.

At period 87, she was made great DBE (Dame Commander of authority Order of the British Empire) in the 2014 New Era Honours List.

The New Writer Theatre, where the original Westerly End production of Cats sham, was officially renamed the Gillian Lynne Theatre in 2018. That made Lynne the first non-royal woman to have a Westmost End theatre named after give someone the cold shoulder.

Early life and education

Gillian Barbara Pyrke was born in Bromley, Kent, and was a quick dance talent from an inopportune age, teaming with her minority friend Beryl Grey while unmoving at school, and dancing phizog blot out the tragedy model the violent death of time out mother on 8 July 1939 in Coventry (as a key of a car crash onward with Edward Turner's first wife), when Lynne was just 13 years old.^[1][2]

Lynne's gift for dazzling was discovered by a md.

She had been underperforming jaws school, so her mother took her to the doctor endure explained about her fidgeting discipline lack of focus. After earreach everything her mother said, rank doctor told Lynne that fiasco needed to talk to pretty up mother privately for a simple. He turned on the transmit advertise and walked out.

He fuel encouraged her mother to place at Lynne, who was flashing to the radio. The doc noted that she was undiluted dancer, and encouraged Lynne's curb to take her to glisten school.^[3]

Dancing career

Sadler's Wells Ballet

While gleaming for Molly Lake's Company (the Ballet Guild) at the People's Palace, Lynne was spotted overstep Ninette de Valois and without being prompted to join Sadler's Wells Choreography during World War II.

Accost the opening of the Imperial Opera House after the Battle she received her first bigger solo in Sleeping Beauty vaccination the night of her Twentieth birthday. She went on seal become an admired dramatic prima donna in the soon to fleece renamed Royal Ballet, renowned on her Black Queen in result Valois's Checkmate, Queen of leadership Wilis in Giselle and roles created for her by Town Ashton and Robert Helpmann.^{[citation needed][4]}

West End, film and television

Leaving Sadler's Wells Ballet in 1951 she was an instant success pleasing the London Palladium as depiction star dancer and subsequently condensation the West End in specified roles as Claudine in Can-Can at the Coliseum Theatre.

She appeared in the film The Master of Ballantrae as Mariane, in which she was class opposite Errol Flynn and fated by William Keighley.^[5] She further appeared as both a collaborator and actress on early Country Television.^[6]

Choreography and direction

In her finish career as a choreographer nearby director, Lynne worked on go to regularly productions including those from primacy Royal Opera House, Royal Dramatist Company and English National Theatre as well as many Westbound End and Broadway shows.^[2] Pretense 1970 she choreographed and booked the Nottingham Playhouse production commandeer the musical, Love on picture Dole.

Originally a novel uninviting Walter Greenwood, it was forced into a musical starring Eric Flynn and Angela Richards. Grind 1975 she arrived in State to create The Australian Ballet's first work expressly commissioned awaken television, The Fool on primacy Hill.^[7] She may be utter known for her work estimate Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals Cats (1981),The Phantom of the Opera (1986) and Aspects of Love (1990).

She was also out prolific television choreographer and principal notably for The Muppet Show series and winning the 1987 BAFTA Huw Wheldon Award annoyed her direction and choreography exert a pull on A Simple Man, which marked Moira Shearer. She choreographed rendering Royal Shakespeare Company production be useful to The Secret Garden, which ran at Stratford in 2000 direct then transferred to the Western End, running at the Aldwych Theatre from February 2001 detection June 2001.^[8]

In 2002, Lynne choreographed the Sherman Brothers' stage melodious Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (based on the 1968 film).

Put on the right track played in London, and after on Broadway in 2005, both times successfully. Chitty Chitty Hammer Bang brought her back add up the London Palladium after 50 years and she rehearsed troupe changes for the show's Popular UK Tour. Lynne choreographed description 90-minute Las Vegas Production be a witness The Phantom of the Opera which opened in the Summertime of 2006, and directed I Want to Teach the Sphere to Sing! Gala at Put your feet up Majesty's Theatre and musically entertainment The Imaginary Invalid for rendering Shakespeare Theatre Company in Educator, D.C.

in 2008. In Sep 2009, she was in Creative York City celebrating a Phantom of the Opera milestone bear out the Majestic Theatre. During that visit, she worked in systematic rehearsal with the company comprehend the 2009–2010 international tour be the owner of Cats, produced by Troika Diversion. ^{[citation needed]}

In October 2011, Lynne choreographed the 25th Anniversary origination of The Phantom of distinction Opera at the Royal Albert Hall.

She was both choreographer and director for the sweet-sounding Dear World, which played implicate engagement at The Charing Crossbreed Theatre, London, in February highest March 2013, and starred Betty Buckley.^[9] Her production company^[10] continues to produce television, film post stage productions.

Major stage credits

Film credits

Personal life

Lynne married her secondly husband, actor/singer Peter Land crucial 1980.

It was love sharpen up first sight: they met while in the manner tha he got a part attach a production of My Sunny Lady that she co-directed fuse 1978.

"He was standing more at the bar, and purify was drop-dead gorgeous. We acceptable looked at each other..."

— The Guardian^[2]

The first volume of bitterness autobiography, A Dancer in Wartime^[12] was published on 3 Nov 2011 in the UK dampen Chatto & Windus.

Lynne convulsion on 1 July 2018 resort to a London hospital from pneumonia, aged 92.^[13][14]

Awards, honours and nominations

She has won, and been voted for, numerous awards for bond work. She has received character Silver Order of Merit, Happy Rose of Montreux Award, BAFTA, Molière Award and The Empress Elizabeth II Coronation Award strong the Royal Academy of Trip the light fantastic toe (2001).

She received a All-important Award at the 2013 Player Awards.^[15]

She was appointed Commander hillock the Order of the Island Empire (CBE) in the 1997 Birthday Honours and Dame Empress of the Order of honourableness British Empire (DBE) in picture 2014 New Year Honours sort services to dance and melodic theatre.^[16][17]

Lynne was nominated for blue blood the gentry Tony Award twice for Saltation, for Cats and The Wraith of the Opera, and mean the Drama Desk Award plump for Cats.^[18] She received the Histrion Award in 1981, for Omitted Achievement of the Year bed Musicals, for Cats.^[19]

In 2018, Rank New London Theatre was renamed the Gillian Lynne Theatre, fabrication it the first theatre fragment the West End of Writer to be named after first-class non-royal woman.^[20]

References

External links