Biography
Kay Cole is an American actress, director and choreographer best known for originating the roles of Maggie in A Chorus Line (Broadway, 1975) and Madame Thenardier in the Los Angeles production of Les Miserables, opposite Gary Beach (Shubert Theatre, 1988).
Growing up on the road, Kay took dance classes from the best teachers in every city she drove through. At the age of six, a director saw her in a ballet class and asked her to audition for his show Me, Candido!. She booked the role and the rest is history.
Kay has performed in numerous award-winning Broadway shows. She made her debut as Sad Girl in Bye Bye Birdie (Broadway, 1960-1961). Kay went on to originate many roles including Strawberry Fields in the Beatles musical Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band On the Road (Broadway, 1975) and Urchin in The Roar of the Greasepaint - the Smell of the Crowd (Broadway, 1965). She portrayed Veronica in Jesus Christ Superstar (Broadway, 1971-1973), Jeannie in Hair (Broadway, 1968-1972), and then originated the role of Crissy in the Los Angeles production of Hair (Aquarius Theatre, 1968).
Off-Broadway credits include The Girl in the original production of Rainbow (Orpheum Theatre, 1972), Mike Jagger/Joan Baez in National Lampoon: Lemmings (Village Gate, 1973) and Minerva Brooks in Best Foot Forward (Theatre 73, 1963) alongside Liza Minelli and Christopher Walken. She also played the role of Babs in Road to Hollywood (Theatre Genevieve, 1984) and starred in One Man Band (South Street Theatre, 1985).
Los Angeles theatre credits include Zen Boogie (Solari Theatre 1978), Nurse Preen in Man Who Came to Dinner, originating the role of Cheryl in I'm Getting My Act Together And Taking It On the Road (James A. Doolittle Theatre,1980-1981) and Maria in Havana Music Hall the Musical (Odyssey Theatre, 2017).
On-screen, Kay has appeared in dozens of film and television productions including The Carol Burnett Show (CBS), Grace and Frankie (Netflix), The Phil Donahue Show (national syndication), It Takes a Thief (ABC) and Switched at Birth (ABC).
Kay is also an experienced director and choreographer.
She directed the world premiere of the comedy Desperate Writers (Edgemar Centre for the Arts, 2007), as well as its Off-Broadway run at Union Square Theatre. Other directing credits include The Dining Room at the Victory Theatre Centre (2009), the musical I Only Have Eyes For You - the Life and Lyrics of Al Dubin at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre (2006)--which she directed and choreographed, and In a Booth at Chasens at the El Portal Theatre (2018).
Kay choreographed three iterations of the musical Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks: the world premiere starring Uta Hagen and David Hyde Pierce (Geffen Playhouse, 2001), the Broadway premiere (Belasco Theatre, 2003), and the film adaptation of the same name.
She released her debut solo album Souvenir in 2020, produced by Kritzerland Records.
Kay Cole is based in Los Angeles.
