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the Arts Centre presents
Leading
Ladies
A Creative Development Initiative
Interview
| Biography
Nancye
Hayes
Nancye Hayes
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, May 2003
Nancye
Hayes was born in Sydney in 1944 and, at
the age of 16, began her career with J.C. Williamson
Theatres Ltd as a chorus member in My Fair
Lady. During the 1963-64 production of How
to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,
Nancye took over the part of Hedy La Rue, followed
in 1966 by roles in Hello, Dolly! and
The Boys from Syracuse. The following
year she won the title role in Sweet Charity
and her acclaimed performance quickly established
her as a musical theatre star.
Nancye
went on to perform in many major musical productions
including Dames At Sea (1969), Cabaret
(1971), Pippin (1974), Irene (1975),
Annie (1978), Chicago (1981-84),
Nine (1987), Sweeney Todd (1987),
42nd Street (1989 and 1992),
The Wizard of Oz (1992) and Showboat
(1998). Nancye’s performance as Mavis in Stepping
Out (1985) earned her a Green Room Award,
as did her role of Adelaide in Guys and Dolls
(1986), for which she also won the Sydney Theatre
Critics’ Circle Award for Best Actress and the
Norman Kessell Memorial Award. Nancye recently
featured as Lady Hotham in the musical Eureka!
(2004).
She
has performed in many musical productions and
straight plays for various theatre companies
throughout Australia. These include Tonight
at 8.30 (1972), Dusa Fish Stas and Vi
(1978) and The Glass Menagerie (1985)
for Melbourne Theatre Company; Going Home
(1977) and Variations (1982) for Nimrod
Theatre; The Conquest of Carmen Miranda
(1984) and Summer Rain (1989) for Sydney
Theatre Company; and The Mourning After
(1996) for Playbox Theatre. For St Martin’s
Theatre, Melbourne she appeared in Star Spangled
Girl (1972) and Cowardy Custard (1973),
and her work with the State Theatre Company
of South Australia includes Born Yesterday
(1971), On the Wallaby (1980) and
Jonah (1991). Nancye has performed with
Marian Street Theatre in Dames At Sea
(1988), Livingstone (1996), Death
Defying Acts (1997) and Broadway Bound
(2000), and with The Production Company in Funny
Girl (1999).
Nancye
Hayes has also made a significant contribution
to theatre behind the scenes. She has choreographed
productions such as Flash Jim Vaux (1982)
for Nimrod Theatre; My Fair Lady (1993
and 1996) for the Victoria State Opera; and
The Venetian Twins (1979), Noël
and Gertie (1988) and Falsettos (1994)
for Sydney Theatre Company. Nancye’s directorial
credits include Here Comes Showtime! (1997)
for Marion Street Theatre, Gypsy (2000)
for The Production Company, and Annie
and The Wizard of Oz (2001) for SEL/Gordon
Frost Organisation/Mack Productions. She has
been both director and choreographer for several
productions. Nancye also regularly shares her
knowledge and experience with students of tertiary
performing arts courses.
During
the 1990s, Nancye participated in the Legends
series at the Tilbury Hotel and Sydney Opera
House, and the celebrated Follies in Concert
for the 1993 Melbourne International Festival
of the Arts. She also performed with the Melbourne
Symphony Orchestra and the Western Australia
Symphony Orchestra for tours of Broadway
Ladies. Nancye’s own cabaret show, Nancye
with an E, written and directed by Tony
Sheldon, has played throughout Australia.
Her
numerous television appearances include guest
roles in The Sullivans (1978), The
Dismissal (1982), Carson’s Law (1982),
Rafferty’s Rules (1988), GP (1991),
Blue Heelers (1999) and Home and Away
(2000). Nancye also featured in the ABC TV musical
version of The Sentimental Bloke (1976)
and hosted Once In A Blue Moon (1994),
a television special on Australian musicals.
Nancye
Hayes was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia
(OAM) in 1981. She was the recipient of the
Variety Club Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997
and the Green Room Lifetime Achievement Award
in 2004.
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