LOUISE PITRE

Receiving a Tony nomination for her Broadway debut in the smash hit Mamma Mia! was a highlight for Louise Pitre, Canada’s first lady of , in a career that spans theatre, television and concert stages across North America and Europe. In addition to headlining the , Broadway and US touring casts of Mamma Mia!, Louise is known for her signature performances as The Snake in The Little Prince (Theatre Calgary), Fantine in Les Misérables (Toronto, and ) and the title character in Edith Piaf. She also earned raves for leading roles in Luck Be A Lady (world premiere for Asolo Rep Theatre, Gordon Greenberg director/creator); Company (Theatre20); Gypsy (with famed director Gary Griffin at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); Mame (Goodspeed Opera House); What Makes A Man (Jennifer Tarver director); A Year With Frog and Toad; The Toxic Avenger (John Rando directing); Sweeney Todd (Calgary Opera, Kelly Robinson directing); Annie Get Your Gun (at Massey Hall, Donna Feore directing); Song & Dance; Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris; For The Pleasure of Seeing Her Again; I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; The World Goes ‘Round ; ; Tartuffe; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf?; The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd; ; Rock ‘n’ Roll etc… Louise will premiere a sung-through one act show for Coal Mine Theatre this December in Toronto. In 2013, Louise premiered her first self-produced, self-penned one-woman show at Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto. “On The Rocks” won rave reviews for her disarmingly honest script and affecting songs (with co-lyricist/composer, W. Joseph Matheson). Louise is a proud Founding Artist of Theatre20, a new musical theatre company dedicated to the production and development of existing and new Canadian musicals. In September, 2009, Louise made her Carnegie Hall debut singing the role of Ulrika in the concert version of the musical Kristina by ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus which she reprised at Royal Albert Hall in April 2010. Louise has guested with orchestras across Canada and the U.S. and appears in concert regularly throughout North America with accompaniment ranging from big band to solo piano. This January she will be performing her new concert “Chasing Rainbows” at 4 venues in Florida. She will also be a special guest star on the Broadway Caribbean Seven Seas Cruise this February. Her small screen appearances include CBC’s Over The Rainbow (Judge), Lifetime’s A Christmas Wedding, Recipe for a Perfect Christmas, MVP, Flashpoint and the CBC biopic Celine in which she played Celine Dion’s mother, Thérèse. She can still be seen as the host of Star Portraits on Bravo! Louise is the winner of a National Broadway Touring Award, a New York , a Theatre Critics’ Award, a Betsy Mitchell Award and four Dora Mavor Moore awards, all for best performance by a leading actress in a musical. Since earning her Honours BA in Music Education (piano) from the University of Western , Louise has become the proud recipient of honorary degrees from the Royal Conservatory of Music and Humber College along with a Doctorate of Music from her alma mater, The University of Western Ontario. She has recently released an all French CD, La Vie En Rouge, in addition to four solo CD’s: On The Rocks, Shattered, All of My Life Has Led To This and Songs My Mother Taught Me. She is heard as Fantine on the Paris cast recording of Les Misérables, as Ulrika on the Kristina cast recording, and as Mary on the original Canadian musical “Could You Wait?” cast recording. www.louisepitre.com