Kevin Colson
Encyclopedia
Kevin Colson is an Australian stage, film and television actor best known for his portrayal of Sir George Dillingham in the musical Aspects of Love
, for which he received a Tony nomination, and his early role as Cliff in the original London production of Cabaret
opposite Judi Dench
. He was a television presenter and stage actor in Sydney before moving to London. He left acting for 16 years from 1969, but returned to the stage in 1985.
at the Theatre Royal in 1960, and he had a part in the Glass Menagerie for the Elizabethan Theatre Trust in Sydney in 1961. He starred in French musical Irma La Douche with Judy Bruce from May 1961 as her young boyfriend. It was his first professional musical role, having previously played straight theatre roles. In October 1962, he starred as the hero in Carnival at Her Majesty's Theatre, and in 1963 he played the hero in Noel Coward's Sail Away
at Her Majesty's Theatre; Coward oversaw the rehearsals. In 1964, he played the college man in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
, he appeared in the Australian premiere of the Arthur Miller play After the Fall
, both at the Union Theatre,
and he had a role in And The Big Men Fly
as the hero's neighbour.
, which he performed for a year and a half at the Lyric Theatre. He then starred in Cabaret opposite Judi Dench. He retired from acting in 1969.
, and then as CIA agent Walter DeCourcey in the original London production of Tim Rice
's musical Chess
.
In 1989, Coulson starred in the Andrew Lloyd Webber
musical Aspects of Love
with Ann Crumb
. Coulson was originally the understudy for actor Roger Moore
in the part of George Dillingham, but Moore had reservations over his own singing voice and pulled out a month before the opening. He was nominated for a Tony Award
in June 1990 when the play reached Broadway. In 1991 he played Noah in Children of Eden
at the Prince Edward Theatre in London, and in 1998 he was a supporting lead in Maddie and he played Daddy Warbucks in Annie
. He played Joey Bishop in Rat Pack Confidential at the Whitehall Theatre in 2003, followed by The Woman in White
with Anne Hathaway in 2003 and Murderous Instincts as the butler Adolfo at the Savoy Theatre in 2004. In 2006 he played the leads in Dominic Mitchell's Acquaintances. He has appeared in many productions at the Finborough Theatre
, London
, including The Destiny of Me
(2002), Allport’s Revenge (2004), Van Badham's The Gabriels. (2006), Blackwater Angel (2006), Mass Appeal
(2006), The Beautiful People (2008) and His Greatness (2010). He was Rodion in 2007's Old World.
is his niece.
Aspects of Love
Aspects of Love is a musical/chamber opera with a book and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart. It is famous for the song "Love Changes Everything."...
, for which he received a Tony nomination, and his early role as Cliff in the original London production of Cabaret
Cabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
opposite Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
. He was a television presenter and stage actor in Sydney before moving to London. He left acting for 16 years from 1969, but returned to the stage in 1985.
Early career
Colson began his career as a television announcer on a religious programme on Sundays, and then became the Seven Network station compère and hosted Room for Two in 1959. His first theatre role was as a rancher in The Pleasure of His CompanyThe Pleasure of His Company
The Pleasure of His Company is a comedy film starring Fred Astaire and Debbie Reynolds, released by Paramount Pictures. It is based on the 1958 play of the same name by Samuel A. Taylor and Cornelia Otis Skinner.-Plot:...
at the Theatre Royal in 1960, and he had a part in the Glass Menagerie for the Elizabethan Theatre Trust in Sydney in 1961. He starred in French musical Irma La Douche with Judy Bruce from May 1961 as her young boyfriend. It was his first professional musical role, having previously played straight theatre roles. In October 1962, he starred as the hero in Carnival at Her Majesty's Theatre, and in 1963 he played the hero in Noel Coward's Sail Away
Sail Away (musical)
Sail Away is a musical with a book, music and lyrics by Noël Coward. The show was the last musical for which Coward wrote both the book and music, although he wrote the music for one last "book" musical in 1963. The story centers around brash, bold American divorcee Mimi Paragon, working as a...
at Her Majesty's Theatre; Coward oversaw the rehearsals. In 1964, he played the college man in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a play by Edward Albee that opened on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theater on October 13, 1962. The original cast featured Uta Hagen as Martha, Arthur Hill as George, Melinda Dillon as Honey and George Grizzard as Nick. It was directed by Alan Schneider...
, he appeared in the Australian premiere of the Arthur Miller play After the Fall
After the Fall (play)
After the Fall is a play by American dramatist Arthur Miller. The original performance opened in New York City on January 23, 1964, directed by Elia Kazan and starring Barbara Loden and Jason Robards Jr., with an early appearance by Faye Dunaway. Kazan also collaborated with Miller on the script...
, both at the Union Theatre,
and he had a role in And The Big Men Fly
And The Big Men Fly
And the Big Men Fly is an Australian-based play by Alan Hopgood, written in 1963. Its primary subject is about the old Australian rules football team, the Crows.- Plot summary :...
as the hero's neighbour.
West End and Broadway
In 1965, Coulson moved to London to train, but was immediately offered the part of Robert Browning in Robert and ElizabethRobert and Elizabeth
Robert and Elizabeth is a musical with music by Ron Grainer and book and lyrics by Ronald Millar. The story is based on an unproduced musical titled The Third Kiss by Judge Fred G. Moritt, which in turn was adapted from the play The Barretts of Wimpole Street by Rudolph Besier...
, which he performed for a year and a half at the Lyric Theatre. He then starred in Cabaret opposite Judi Dench. He retired from acting in 1969.
Later career
From 1970 and 1985, he ran an oil business and a TV production company, both ultimately unsuccessful. After the oil business ended in 1985 he appeared in FolliesFollies
Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies," a musical revue , that played in that theatre between the World Wars...
, and then as CIA agent Walter DeCourcey in the original London production of Tim Rice
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
's musical Chess
Chess (musical)
Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
.
In 1989, Coulson starred in the Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
musical Aspects of Love
Aspects of Love
Aspects of Love is a musical/chamber opera with a book and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart. It is famous for the song "Love Changes Everything."...
with Ann Crumb
Ann Crumb
Ann Crumb is an American actress and singer.The daughter of composer George Crumb and sister of composer David Crumb, she made her Broadway debut in 1987 as a member of the original cast of Les Misérables...
. Coulson was originally the understudy for actor Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
in the part of George Dillingham, but Moore had reservations over his own singing voice and pulled out a month before the opening. He was nominated for a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
in June 1990 when the play reached Broadway. In 1991 he played Noah in Children of Eden
Children of Eden
Children of Eden is a two-act musical play with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John Caird. The musical is based on the Book of Genesis. Act I tells the story of Adam and Eve, Cain, and Abel, and Act II deals with Noah and the Flood...
at the Prince Edward Theatre in London, and in 1998 he was a supporting lead in Maddie and he played Daddy Warbucks in Annie
Annie (musical)
Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...
. He played Joey Bishop in Rat Pack Confidential at the Whitehall Theatre in 2003, followed by The Woman in White
The Woman in White (musical)
The Woman in White is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Zippel with a book by Charlotte Jones, based on the novel The Woman in White written by Wilkie Collins...
with Anne Hathaway in 2003 and Murderous Instincts as the butler Adolfo at the Savoy Theatre in 2004. In 2006 he played the leads in Dominic Mitchell's Acquaintances. He has appeared in many productions at the Finborough Theatre
Finborough Theatre
The Finborough Theatre is a fifty seat theatre in the Earls Court area of London, United Kingdom , which presents new British writing, UK and premieres of new plays, primarily from the English speaking world including North America, Canada, Scotland and Ireland, music theatre, and rarely seen...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, including The Destiny of Me
The Destiny of Me
The Destiny of Me is a play by Larry Kramer. It focuses on Ned Weeks, a character introduced in The Normal Heart, as he checks into the National Institutes of Health to undergo an experimental treatment for AIDS...
(2002), Allport’s Revenge (2004), Van Badham's The Gabriels. (2006), Blackwater Angel (2006), Mass Appeal
Mass Appeal
Mass Appeal is a two-character play by Bill C. Davis. The comedy-drama focuses on the conflict between a complacent Roman Catholic pastor and the idealistic young deacon who is assigned to his affluent, suburban parish.-Plot:...
(2006), The Beautiful People (2008) and His Greatness (2010). He was Rodion in 2007's Old World.
Personal life
Colson comes from Sydney, and his father and brothers were taxi drivers. He was previously married, shortly after he took a break from acting in 1969. Sia FurlerSia Furler
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler or simply Sia, is an Australian pop, downtempo, and jazz singer and songwriter. In 2000, her single, "Taken for Granted" was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom. Her 2008 album, Some People Have Real Problems peaked in the top 30 on the Billboard 200...
is his niece.
Television
Man at the Top, Spytrap, First Among Equals, The Woman He Loved, Poor Little Rich Girl, Executive Stress, and Crossroads.External links
- Kevin Colson at Broadway World