John O'May

John O'May is an American-born Australian actor, best known for his stage performances.

O'May grew up in Baltimore and went to Patapsco High School, where he later become a teacher.[1][2]

He came to Australia in 1972, where he replaced John Waters as Judas in Godspell. He created and performed in the revues Gershwin (with John Diedrich) in 1975 and The 20s and All That Jazz (with Diedrich and Caroline Gilmer) in 1977.[3]

O'May played Che in the original Australian cast of Evita which opened in Adelaide in April 1980.[4] In the 1980s he was a regular performer with the Melbourne Theatre Company, and played Bobby in Company for the Sydney Theatre Company in 1986 and Captain Corcoran in H.M.S. Pinafore for the Victoria State Opera in 1987.[5]

He directed and starred in the musical Seven Little Australians in 1988.[6]

O'May played Monsieur André in the original Australian cast of The Phantom of the Opera which opened at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne in December 1990. He later performed each of the two manager characters in various productions over the subsequent decades.[1]

Other notable roles include Marvin in Falsettos in 1994 for the Sydney Theatre Company, John Wilkes Booth in Assassins in 1995, and Fredrik Egerman in A Little Night Music in 1997, both for the Melbourne Theatre Company. For the latter, he received a Green Room Award for male artist in a leading role.[2] In 2014 he appeared as Doctor Tambourri in Sondheim's Passion.[2]

Film credits include supporting roles in the films Starstruck and Rebel and the television opera The Divorce (2015).[7] In 2000, O’May guest-starred in season 2, episode 11, "Sponsorship and Media Discontent", of the ABC mockumentary, The Games.

References

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  1. ^ a b Harris, Sarah. "Profile: John O'May | Confessions of a working actor". Weekly Review. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Drouyn, Coral (n.d.). "Maintaining The Passion". stagewhispers.com.au (2014). Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Do-it-yourself musical has had packed houses". The Canberra Times. Vol. 52, no. 14, 903. 11 October 1977. p. 13. Retrieved 23 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "'Wonder boy' Jim Sharman for 1982 Adelaide Festival". The Canberra Times. Vol. 55, no. 16, 220. 22 February 1980. p. 17. Retrieved 23 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "John O'May". ausstage.edu.au. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  6. ^ Radic, Leonard (24 June 1988). "The winning ways of little Australians". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  7. ^ "The Divorce is a comedic opera, and unlike anything else on Australian TV" by Paul Kalina, The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 November 2015
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