Adrienne Warren
Encyclopedia
Adrienne Lefon Warren is a professional singing, acting and dancing performer.
, studying theater and musical theater, and graduated in May 2009. She graduated from Western Branch High School
in Chesapeake, Virginia
, and the Governor's School for the Arts
.
Adrienne is a 2005 graduate of Ann Reinking
's Broadway Theater Project. She is of African American
ethnicity. She is a member of the labor union Actor's Equity.
, a musical performance group that performed the music of songwriter Jim Steinman
. With this group she has recorded studio vocals on the songs "Safe Sex" and "We're Still The Children We Once Were". This project has not performed or been active in public since 2006, aside from having a website and Myspace page.
In live shows with The Dream Engine
, Adrienne has performed solo vocals on the songs "Safe Sex", "The Future Ain't What It Used To Be", and "Angels Arise". She performed the songs "Not Allowed To Love" and the revised "Braver Than We Are" (alternate titles have been "An American Elegy" and "God's Gone AWOL") as duets with Rob Evan
, the other lead singer in The Dream Engine
. She also performed one of the four vocal parts in the song "We're Still the Children We Once Were".
Adrienne had a television appearance on September 16, 2006. This was part of the annual ceremony for the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, where her group, The Dream Engine
was a guest and performed two songs. Adrienne sang backup vocals on the song "What Part of My Body Hurts The Most" and one of the four lead vocal parts in the song "We're Still The Children We Once Were". This award show was televised via Georgia Public Broadcasting
.
Adrienne had a live singing appearance on December 3, 2006. She appeared at an All Star Holiday Broadway Concert, hosted by Rob Evan
and Neil Berg
. She and Rob Evan
sang a duet version of the song "Total Eclipse of the Heart
" by Jim Steinman
.
Pageant as a performer with the Governor's School for the Arts
.
In 2008, Adrienne performed on the Trans-Siberian Orchestra
's East Coast tour of North America. She sang solo vocals on the songs "Promises to Keep" and "Christmas Canon Rock".
Adrienne guest-starred on The Wendy Williams Show
on November 4, 2009 as Lorrell from Dreamgirls along with the other girls that play the dreams. The show also featured Paris Hilton
, "Warren was 6 when she realized she wanted to act. Her parents had taken her to see the play The Princess and the Pea
. She had been singing since she was 2 and dancing at 3, so it just seemed natural".
The October 6, 1997 issue of Jet Magazine had an article about Adrienne in the "Newsmakers" section. The article discussed the production of the musical Annie
with the Hurrah Players in Hampton Roads
, Virginia
. In it, Adrienne played the title role while also being of African American
ethnicity. According to an October 9, 2008 article by Roy Bahls in The Virginian-Pilot
, Adrienne was "the first African American to play "Annie" in a regional production". She began performing with Hurrah Players at age 6, first performing in the show Aladdin
.
In Summer of 2007, Adrienne played two roles in a production of Dreamgirls at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia
. The roles were of members of the performance groups "The Stepp Sisters" and "Les Style". The production also featured Jennifer Holliday
. Adrienne was the youngest person in the musical. Adrienne also performed in Dreamgirls in a high school production, as "Effie".
Other musical theater performances of hers include one in Babes In Arms
with Mercury Summer Stock in Cleveland, Ohio
, as Angel in Frank Wildhorn
's For The Glory Tribute of the Majestic Theater in Gettysburg, PA, as Aida in Aida
, Demeter in Virginia Musical Theater's production of Cats
, as Ronette in Little Shop of Horrors
, as Dorothy in The Wiz
, in Ragtime
, and in .
According to the August 6, 2007 article by Jaedda Armstrong in The Virginian-Pilot
, Adrienne said "I love performing live, I love stage and theater. I just want to show people that Broadway is more than The Lion King
".
Adrienne was in the cast of an Off-Broadway production of The Wiz
, running from June 12 to July 5 of 2009, at the New York City Center
. This was one of their Encores!
Summer Stars productions. The director was Thomas Kail
, and opening night was June 18, 2009. The cast also featured Ashanti
, LaChanze
and Orlando Jones
. Ashanti
played the lead role of Dorothy, and Adrienne was the understudy for Dorothy.
In 2009-2010, Adrienne will perform in a touring production of Dreamgirls. She will play the role of Lorrell Robinson, a member of the Dreams. This production begins November 7, 2009 at the Apollo Theater
in Harlem
, and continues there through December 5, then begins a national tour. Robert Longbottom
will be director, Shane Sparks
a choreographer, and Robin Wagner
, Ken Billington
and William Ivey Long
designers.
Personal
Adrienne Lefon Warren on May 6, 1987. She was a student at Marymount Manhattan CollegeMarymount Manhattan College
Marymount Manhattan College is an urban, coeducational, independent, private, liberal arts college located in Manhattan, New York City, New York with a focus in performing arts. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse student body by fostering intellectual...
, studying theater and musical theater, and graduated in May 2009. She graduated from Western Branch High School
Western Branch High School
Western Branch High School is a suburban high school in Chesapeake, Virginia, USA. Established in 1968, it currently has the largest school population in Chesapeake with over 2200 students. The two feeder schools of WBHS are Joliff Middle School and Western Branch Middle School...
in Chesapeake, Virginia
Chesapeake, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 199,184 people, 69,900 households, and 54,172 families residing in the city. The population density was 584.6 people per square mile . There were 72,672 housing units at an average density of 213.3 per square mile...
, and the Governor's School for the Arts
Governor's School for the Arts
The Governor's School for the Arts is a regional secondary arts school sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education and the public school divisions of Chesapeake, Franklin, Isle of Wight County, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Southampton County, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach...
.
Adrienne is a 2005 graduate of Ann Reinking
Ann Reinking
Ann Reinking is an American actress, dancer, and choreographer. She has worked extensively in musical theatre, both as a dancer and choreographer, as well as appearing in film.-Biography:...
's Broadway Theater Project. She is of African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
ethnicity. She is a member of the labor union Actor's Equity.
Jim Steinman
She was lead vocalist for The Dream EngineThe Dream Engine
The Dream Engine is the name of a music performance group created by Jim Steinman and Steven Rinkoff, first publicly presented in 2006. They only performed songs written or co-written by Steinman...
, a musical performance group that performed the music of songwriter Jim Steinman
Jim Steinman
James Richard "Jim" Steinman is an American composer, lyricist, and Grammy Award-winning record producer responsible for several hit songs. He has also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer...
. With this group she has recorded studio vocals on the songs "Safe Sex" and "We're Still The Children We Once Were". This project has not performed or been active in public since 2006, aside from having a website and Myspace page.
In live shows with The Dream Engine
The Dream Engine
The Dream Engine is the name of a music performance group created by Jim Steinman and Steven Rinkoff, first publicly presented in 2006. They only performed songs written or co-written by Steinman...
, Adrienne has performed solo vocals on the songs "Safe Sex", "The Future Ain't What It Used To Be", and "Angels Arise". She performed the songs "Not Allowed To Love" and the revised "Braver Than We Are" (alternate titles have been "An American Elegy" and "God's Gone AWOL") as duets with Rob Evan
Rob Evan
Rob Evan is a singer and actor, best known as a lead performer in numerous Broadway musicals, a performer in national and international tours of musical productions, and a featured vocalist on several music albums.-Personal:...
, the other lead singer in The Dream Engine
The Dream Engine
The Dream Engine is the name of a music performance group created by Jim Steinman and Steven Rinkoff, first publicly presented in 2006. They only performed songs written or co-written by Steinman...
. She also performed one of the four vocal parts in the song "We're Still the Children We Once Were".
Adrienne had a television appearance on September 16, 2006. This was part of the annual ceremony for the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, where her group, The Dream Engine
The Dream Engine
The Dream Engine is the name of a music performance group created by Jim Steinman and Steven Rinkoff, first publicly presented in 2006. They only performed songs written or co-written by Steinman...
was a guest and performed two songs. Adrienne sang backup vocals on the song "What Part of My Body Hurts The Most" and one of the four lead vocal parts in the song "We're Still The Children We Once Were". This award show was televised via Georgia Public Broadcasting
Georgia Public Broadcasting
Georgia Public Broadcasting is the public broadcasting radio and television state network in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is operated by the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission....
.
Adrienne had a live singing appearance on December 3, 2006. She appeared at an All Star Holiday Broadway Concert, hosted by Rob Evan
Rob Evan
Rob Evan is a singer and actor, best known as a lead performer in numerous Broadway musicals, a performer in national and international tours of musical productions, and a featured vocalist on several music albums.-Personal:...
and Neil Berg
Neil Berg
Neil Berg is an American composer/lyricist best known for the hit off-Broadway musical "The Prince and the Pauper." He is the creator and co-producer of Neil Berg's "100 Years of Broadway," a Broadway concert touring over 120 cities in 2010/2011...
. She and Rob Evan
Rob Evan
Rob Evan is a singer and actor, best known as a lead performer in numerous Broadway musicals, a performer in national and international tours of musical productions, and a featured vocalist on several music albums.-Personal:...
sang a duet version of the song "Total Eclipse of the Heart
Total Eclipse of the Heart
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" is a song written and produced by Jim Steinman and recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler for her fifth studio album, Faster Than the Speed of Night...
" by Jim Steinman
Jim Steinman
James Richard "Jim" Steinman is an American composer, lyricist, and Grammy Award-winning record producer responsible for several hit songs. He has also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer...
.
Other non-theater
Adrienne had a television appearance on the Miss VirginiaMiss Virginia
The Miss Virginia competition is a scholarship pageant for women, with the titleholder representing Virginia in the Miss America pageant. The competition was founded in 1953 as a scholarship contest for young women, although women had represented Virginia in the Miss America pageant since the 1930s...
Pageant as a performer with the Governor's School for the Arts
Governor's School for the Arts
The Governor's School for the Arts is a regional secondary arts school sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education and the public school divisions of Chesapeake, Franklin, Isle of Wight County, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Southampton County, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach...
.
In 2008, Adrienne performed on the Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra is an American progressive metal band founded in 1993 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to form the core of the creative team. Since then, TSO sold nearly 8...
's East Coast tour of North America. She sang solo vocals on the songs "Promises to Keep" and "Christmas Canon Rock".
Adrienne guest-starred on The Wendy Williams Show
The Wendy Williams Show
The Wendy Williams Show is a syndicated talk show hosted by Wendy Williams that premiered on July 14, 2008, as six-week sneak peek, in Detroit, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York City. The test run was picked up for a full season that began its run on July 13, 2009 in over 70% of the country in...
on November 4, 2009 as Lorrell from Dreamgirls along with the other girls that play the dreams. The show also featured Paris Hilton
Musical theater
According to an August 6, 2007 article by Jaedda Armstrong in The Virginian-PilotThe Virginian-Pilot
The Virginian-Pilot is a daily newspaper based in Norfolk, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, southeastern Virginia, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina. The flagship property of Landmark Media Enterprises, The Pilot is Virginia's largest daily...
, "Warren was 6 when she realized she wanted to act. Her parents had taken her to see the play The Princess and the Pea
The Princess and the Pea
"The Princess and the Pea" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a young woman whose royal identity is established by a test of her physical sensitivity. The tale was first published with three others by Andersen in an inexpensive booklet on 8 May 1835 in Copenhagen by C.A...
. She had been singing since she was 2 and dancing at 3, so it just seemed natural".
The October 6, 1997 issue of Jet Magazine had an article about Adrienne in the "Newsmakers" section. The article discussed the production of the musical 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...
with the Hurrah Players in Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. In it, Adrienne played the title role while also being of African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
ethnicity. According to an October 9, 2008 article by Roy Bahls in The Virginian-Pilot
The Virginian-Pilot
The Virginian-Pilot is a daily newspaper based in Norfolk, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, southeastern Virginia, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina. The flagship property of Landmark Media Enterprises, The Pilot is Virginia's largest daily...
, Adrienne was "the first African American to play "Annie" in a regional production". She began performing with Hurrah Players at age 6, first performing in the show Aladdin
Aladdin (musical)
Aladdin, is a musical/pantomime written by Sandy Wilson for the inaugural Christmas Pantomime at the newly refurbished Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith...
.
In Summer of 2007, Adrienne played two roles in a production of Dreamgirls at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. The roles were of members of the performance groups "The Stepp Sisters" and "Les Style". The production also featured Jennifer Holliday
Jennifer Holliday
Jennifer-Yvette Holliday is an African-American singer and Tony Award-winning actress. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as Dreamgirls, and later became a successful recording artist...
. Adrienne was the youngest person in the musical. Adrienne also performed in Dreamgirls in a high school production, as "Effie".
Other musical theater performances of hers include one in Babes In Arms
Babes in Arms
Babes in Arms is a 1937 musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a teen-age boy who puts on a show with his friends to avoid being sent to a work farm.- Production history:...
with Mercury Summer Stock in Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, as Angel in Frank Wildhorn
Frank Wildhorn
Frank Wildhorn is an American composer known for both his musicals and popular songs. He is most known for his musical Jekyll & Hyde, which ran four years on Broadway, and for writing the #1 International Hit song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?" for Whitney Houston.-Early years:Wildhorn was born in...
's For The Glory Tribute of the Majestic Theater in Gettysburg, PA, as Aida in Aida
Aida (musical)
Aida is a musical with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, and David Henry Hwang, and produced by Walt Disney Theatrical....
, Demeter in Virginia Musical Theater's production of Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
, as Ronette in Little Shop of Horrors
Little Shop of Horrors (musical)
Little Shop of Horrors is a rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman...
, as Dorothy in The Wiz
The Wiz
The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A...
, in Ragtime
Ragtime (musical)
Ragtime is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty.Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in America, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; Mother, the matriarch of a WASP family in...
, and in .
According to the August 6, 2007 article by Jaedda Armstrong in The Virginian-Pilot
The Virginian-Pilot
The Virginian-Pilot is a daily newspaper based in Norfolk, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, southeastern Virginia, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina. The flagship property of Landmark Media Enterprises, The Pilot is Virginia's largest daily...
, Adrienne said "I love performing live, I love stage and theater. I just want to show people that Broadway is more than The Lion King
The Lion King (musical)
The Lion King is a musical based on the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name with music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice along with the musical score created by Hans Zimmer with choral arrangements by Lebo M. Directed by Julie Taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well...
".
Adrienne was in the cast of an Off-Broadway production of The Wiz
The Wiz
The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A...
, running from June 12 to July 5 of 2009, at the New York City Center
New York City Center
New York City Center is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival theater located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall...
. This was one of their Encores!
Encores!
Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert is a program that has been presented by New York City Center since 1994. Encores! is dedicated to performing the full score of musicals that rarely are heard in New York City...
Summer Stars productions. The director was Thomas Kail
Thomas Kail
Thomas Kail is an American film and theatre director, known for directing the Broadway and Off-Broadway productions of the musical In the Heights.- Person life :...
, and opening night was June 18, 2009. The cast also featured Ashanti
Ashanti (singer)
Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, actress, and model. She rose to fame in the early 2000s. Ashanti is most famous for her eponymous debut album, which featured the hit song "Foolish", and sold over 503,000 copies in its first week of release...
, LaChanze
LaChanze
LaChanze is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical in 2006 for her role in The Color Purple....
and Orlando Jones
Orlando Jones
Orlando Jones is an American comedian and film and television actor. He is notable for being one of the original cast members of the sketch comedy series MADtv and for his role as the 7 Up spokesman from 1999-2002.-Early life:...
. Ashanti
Ashanti (singer)
Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, actress, and model. She rose to fame in the early 2000s. Ashanti is most famous for her eponymous debut album, which featured the hit song "Foolish", and sold over 503,000 copies in its first week of release...
played the lead role of Dorothy, and Adrienne was the understudy for Dorothy.
In 2009-2010, Adrienne will perform in a touring production of Dreamgirls. She will play the role of Lorrell Robinson, a member of the Dreams. This production begins November 7, 2009 at the Apollo Theater
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...
in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, and continues there through December 5, then begins a national tour. Robert Longbottom
Robert Longbottom
Robert Longbottom is a dancer, choreographer, and director, primarily for the stage. He has received a Tony Award nomination for his choreography....
will be director, Shane Sparks
Shane Sparks
Shane Sparks is an award-winning hip-hop choreographer best known for his work as a choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance and judge on America's Best Dance Crew. He won an American Choreography Award for his work as co-choreographer on 2004 film You Got Served...
a choreographer, and Robin Wagner
Robin Wagner (designer)
Robin Wagner is an American scenic designer.Born Robin Samuel Anton Wagner in San Francisco, he attended art school and started his career in theatres in that city with designs for Don Pasquale, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Tea and Sympathy, and Waiting for Godot, among others...
, Ken Billington
Ken Billington
Ken Billington is an American lighting designer. He began his career in New York City working as an assistant to Tharon Musser....
and William Ivey Long
William Ivey Long
William Ivey Long is an American costume designer for stage and film. His most notable work includes The Producers, Hairspray, Nine, Crazy for You, Grey Gardens and Young Frankenstein.-Early life and education:...
designers.
External links
- http://www.thedreamengine.comOfficial website for The Dream EngineThe Dream EngineThe Dream Engine is the name of a music performance group created by Jim Steinman and Steven Rinkoff, first publicly presented in 2006. They only performed songs written or co-written by Steinman...
]