Biography
Maria Friedman was born on March 19th, 1960, in Switzerland. She is the third of four children born to musical parents: Leonard, a violinist and co-founder of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Claire, a concert pianist and opera coach. All the children played piano, but her brother Richard became a violinist and conductor, her older sister Sarah was a flutist before pursuing a career as a university scientist, and her younger sister Sonia, who played cello and violin, is now a renowned producer in London's West End. Although Maria was expected to become a cellist, she disliked practicing. Ironically, her musical and vocal career started by chance. At 14, she saw Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music," but it wasn’t until five years later that she landed her first role. In 1980, she joined the chorus of the national tour of Oklahoma! after her then-boyfriend secured a part and recommended her. During the run, Maria understudied and performed the roles of Ado Annie and Laurey.
After various small roles, Maria's significant break came seven years later in "Blues in the Night" at the Piccadilly Theatre, which received a SWET nomination for Best Musical. The production later moved to the Donmar and earned excellent reviews.
She then portrayed Hayyah in The Ghetto at the Royal National Theatre, which won the Evening Standard Award for Best Play. It was here she met Jeremy Sams, her partner and father of her two children. In 1990, Maria landed her first Sondheim role as Dot/Marie in Sunday in the Park with George at the Royal National Theatre. The production won an Olivier Award for Best Musical, and Maria was nominated for Best Actress in a Musical. Co-star Phillip Quast won an Olivier for his role as George. Directed by Stephen Pimlot, who later worked on The Joseph video nine years later, with musical direction by Jeremy Sams, Maria had to audition seven times before securing the part.
Her second Sondheim show was Merrily We Roll Along in 1992, playing Mary at the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester. In 1994, Maria performed her one-woman show, "Maria Friedman by Special Arrangement," at the Donmar Warehouse in Covent Garden. The production was a major success, earning her the 1995 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment. After the birth of her first son, Toby, in November, the show transferred to the Whitehall Theatre as "Maria Friedman by Extra Special Arrangement," which also produced her first solo album.
Maria received widespread acclaim for her role as Fosca in the London production of Stephen Sondheim's Passion, performing opposite Michael Ball. She won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, a role that solidified her reputation despite initial doubts due to her comedic background.
In 1997, at the Royal National Theatre's Lyttleton Theatre, she played Liza Elliott in the first London production of Lady in the Dark, which took over 50 years to reach the London stage. The show earned rave reviews and garnered her another Olivier nomination as well as an Evening Standard Award. Following this, Maria took over the role of Roxie Hart in the hit London revival of Chicago. Though she initially declined the role, she was persuaded by choreographer Ann Reinking to take it on. Her performance was highly praised, with critics noting her vocal and comedic excellence, earning her an Olivier nomination for Best Actress in Chicago. She starred alongside Nicola Hughes and Valerie Pettiford.
In 1998, Maria took a break from Chicago to play the Narrator in the video production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, released in early 1999. This project introduced her to a global audience, especially in the United States. The cast included Donny Osmond, Joan Collins, and Sir Richard Attenborough, with Maria’s eldest son Toby making a brief appearance.
In 2000, Maria returned to the West End as Sukie in The Witches of Eastwick, which opened at Theatre Royal Drury Lane before transferring to the Prince of Wales Theatre. The new Cameron Mackintosh musical featured Maria alongside Joanna Riding and Lucie Arnaz. She concluded her run in June 2001, with the show closing in October.
Following The Witches of Eastwick, Maria made several concert appearances and appeared as senior police officer Gillian Raines in the BBC drama In Deep. She also performed in the BBC Radio 4 play Swan Song. In 2002, she gave birth to her second son, Alfie. That October, she appeared as Mother in Ragtime at the International Theatre Festival in Wales. The positive response led Maria and her sister Sonia, a producer at the Ambassadors Theatre Group, to bring the show to the West End. Opening in March, the initially twelve-week run was extended through September due to popular demand.
Maria later toured with her concert, Maria Friedman Live!, and made her U.S. debut at the Café Carlyle in New York, performing for three weeks at the invitation of Stephen Sondheim and Barbara Cook. The show was a hit and she also toured Spain and Switzerland. In February 2004, she won an Olivier Award for Ragtime and was set to appear that autumn in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical, The Woman in White, at the Palace Theatre in London.
