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Annemarie Lewis Thomas

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Annemarie Lewis Thomas
Born
Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom
Alma materMiddlesex University
Occupation(s)Composer
Lyricist
Musical theatre director
Musical career
GenresMusical theatre
WebsiteAnnemarieLewisThomas

Annemarie Lewis Thomas is a musical director, composer, lyricist.[1] She founded the Musical Theatre Academy (MTA) in 2009, which was named as The Stage's School of the Year in 2012 and 2017.[2]

Early career

[edit]

Thomas trained at Middlesex Polytechnic, graduating with a BA(Hons) in Performing Arts in 1989.

From 1994 to 2004 she was musical director of fringe theatre company,[3] The Steam Industry with productions including Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The King & I, The Sound of Music and the UK stage premiere of Calamity Jane, all at Battersea Arts Centre (BAC).[4]

Thomas has been commissioned by British Youth Music Theatre (BYMT) to write several musicals including CCTV, The Open Door, Girl In The Ashes, Great Expectations and Fool’s Gold.[5]

Composition

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Thomas has written the music and lyrics for almost 50 musicals including:

Year Title Type of work Performance venues Notes
1990 The Silent Tramp[6] Full length musical Polish Theatre, Hammersmith
1992 Wizard of Oz[7] Full length musical Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury
1995 Dangerous Nights[8] Full length musical Jermyn Street Theatre, London
2000 The Roaring Girl[9] Play with songs Finborough Theatre, London
2001 Uncle Ebenezer[10] Full length musical Various
2002 Around the World in 80 days[11] Full length musical Various Pub. Samuel French, Inc.
Book and lyrics, Phil Willmott.
2002 Man Is Man[12] Play with songs Finborough Theatre, London
2003 The Wolf Boys Full length musical Yvonne Arnaud Theatre commission
Book and lyrics, Phil Willmott
2007 Black Eyed Susan[13] Underscore for melodrama Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds
2010 Dangerous Daughters[14] Full length musical The Drill Hall, London With Nick Stimson
2013 Great Expectations[15] Full length musical Book, Gerry Flanagan
2017 Dangerous Daughters Full length musical Bridewell Theatre, London Book, Nick Stimson
Published by Samuel French.
2018 Oh My, Nelly Bly Full length musical Bridewell Theatre, London Book, Nick Stimson
Published by Samuel French.
2020 The Time Machine Full length musical Bridewell Theatre, London Book, Nick Stimson

Thomas also wrote the music and lyrics for the following pantomimes with the book by Daniel O'Brien: Cinderella (2007), Puss in Boots (2008), Jack and the Beanstalk (2009),Aladdin (2013), Beauty and the Beast (2014), Robinson Crusoe (2016), Mother Goose (2017), Robinson Crusoe, Dick Whittington and his Cat (2019), Covidella and the Masked Ball (2020) an online production and Jack and the Beanstalk (2021).

She wrote the music and lyrics for two online films by Nick Stimson: Coming Home (2020) and J (2021).

Musical direction

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Since 1989, Thomas has been musical director of over 150 productions,[16] including:

Year Title Role Performance venues Notes
1994 The Night We Buried Judy Garland[17] Musical director Shaw Theatre, London Director: Phil Wilmott
1996 Ud's Garden[18] Musical director Wimbledon Studios, London
1996 Dick Daredevil[19] Musical director Drill Hall, London Director, Phil Wilmott
2000 The Ultimate Man[20] Musical director Bridewell Theatre, London Director, Paul Tomlinson
2004 Victor/Victoria[21] Musical director Bridewell Theatre, London Director, Phil Wilmots

Teaching, accompanying and writing

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Thomas was head of musical theatre at the Hertfordshire Theatre School[22] and a staff member at Middlesex University.

In 2009, she founded the Musical Theatre Academy (The MTA) in Islington, London.[23] It was named The Stage's School of the Year in 2012[24] and 2017. The MTA closed in September 2022 after it failed to secure financial backing.[25][26]

As an accompanist, Thomas has worked with Maria Friedman, Liz Robertson, Patti Boulaye, Rachel Tucker, Mari Wilson, Diane Langton and Peter Polycarpou, amongst others.[27]

Thomas wrote for The Reviews Hub for several years. In 2015, she created her own blog which evolved into a vlogging channel on YouTube. She writes for Backstage.com and has staffed their Office Hours forum on occasion.[28] She has also contributed articles to The Stage,[29] Backstage.com[30] and Drama & Theatre.[31]

In March 2015, together with Angie Peake a dual-registered nurse practitioner and therapist. Thomas organised the first conference for UK drama schools to discuss mental health in the arts[32] which resulted in the #time4change Mental Health Charter. Launched by Mark Shenton in The Stage in July 2016, by December of the same year 115 major arts organizations had signed up.[33]

References

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  1. ^ Poynton, Kate (2014). Contacts 2014: Stage, Film, Television, Radio. London, UK: Spotlight. p. 172. ISBN 978-1907915062.
  2. ^ "Stage 100 Awards 2012: School of the year - Features". Thestage.co.uk. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  3. ^ "Annemarie Lewis Thomas". concordtheatricals.com. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Annemarie Lewis Thomas". maestramusic.org. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Annemarie Lewis Thomas". Youth Music Theatre UK. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Theatre Week". The Stage. London, UK. 10 December 1992. p. 12.
  7. ^ Paul Downey (9 January 1992). "The Wizard of Oz". The Stage. London, UK. p. 35.
  8. ^ "Production news". The Stage. London, UK. 17 August 1995. p. 55.
  9. ^ Paul B Cohen (23 November 2000). "Finborough". The Stage. London, UK. p. 15.
  10. ^ "Christmas Preview". The Stage. London, UK. 7 December 2000. p. 28.
  11. ^ Marjorie Bates Murphy (9 January 2003). "ARound the world in 80 days". The Stage. London, UK. p. 16.
  12. ^ "Man is Man". The Stage. London, UK. 2 May 2002. p. 47.
  13. ^ "Calendar". The Stage. London, UK. 6 September 2007. p. 35.
  14. ^ "Dangerous Daughters". origintheatrical.com.au. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Drama: Great Expectations". Richmond Resident. Richmond, UK: Eddie Pearce. August 2013. p. 17.
  16. ^ "Musical Director". annemarielewisthomas.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  17. ^ Patrick Newly (14 July 1994). "Not one for all the family". The Stage. London, UK. p. 23.
  18. ^ "Theatre week". The Stage. London, UK. 30 May 1996. p. 43.
  19. ^ "Theatre week". The Stage. London, UK. 5 December 1996. p. 51.
  20. ^ "Theatre week". The Stage. London, UK. 4 May 2000. p. 43.
  21. ^ "Musicals". The Stage. London, UK. 8 January 2004. p. 50.
  22. ^ John Thaxter (18 July 2002). "Talented duo shine through". The Stage. London, UK. p. 16.
  23. ^ ArtsTeam, UKP (2012). UKP Arts guide to performing arts 2012. Cambridge, UK: Prince Partnership. p. 64. ISBN 978-0955158162.
  24. ^ Elkin, Susan (2013). So you want to work in theatre?. London, UK: Nick Hern Books. p. 167. ISBN 978-1848422742.
  25. ^ MATTHEW HEMLEY. "Drama school the MTA to close at end of academic year after 14 years". thestage.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  26. ^ MATTHEW HEMLEY. "Validation body Trinity hits back at MTA closure claims". thestage.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  27. ^ "Annemarie Lewis Thomas – Composer | Lyricist | Musical Director - 2023" (PDF). fillinghamweston.com. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  28. ^ "UK Students: Consider This Before Spending £27,000 on a Degree". backstage.com.
  29. ^ Thomas, Annemarie (12 July 2016). "Drama schools urgently need a single, external regulating body". The Stage. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  30. ^ Annemaria Lewis Thomas. "Is a Performing Arts Degree Worth It? 4 Things for UK Student to Consider". backstage.com. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  31. ^ Annemaria Lewis Thomas. "Opinion with Annemarie Lewis Thomas". dramaandtheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  32. ^ Elkin, Susan (3 April 2016). "Susan Elkin: We must do more to promote mental health awareness | Opinion". The Stage. Archived from the original on 10 December 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  33. ^ Shenton, Mark (12 July 2016). "Mark Shenton: Is theatre doing enough to protect workers' mental health? | Opinion". The Stage. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
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