Meet Lauryn Withnell!  Most toddlers start singing “Old Mcdonald” or “Mary had a Little Lamb”.  Lauryn went straight to Phantom of the Opera.  Born into a family of performing artists, she was destined to be on the stage.  At the age of seven, Lauryn joined her family to form the vocal quartet, The Withnells.  Things were right on track for this talented family when they were chosen to perform as artist on board across Canada on Via Rail for Canada’s 150^th birthday celebration.

Lauryn went on to study at the esteemed performing arts high school in Canada, the Etobicoke School of the Arts.  There was no role of fairy number three for this performing powerhouse.  She was one singular
sensation when she was given the leading role of Cassie from A Chorus Line.  The earth moved under her feet when she played Carole King in Beautiful. She graduated with awards and a scholarship.

The Boston Conservatory at Berklee welcomed Lauryn with open arms into their prestigious musical theatre program.  That led to roles in Cabaret and Pippin as well as dancing for Justin Timberlake and Tony nominee Constantine Maroulis.  Five agencies recognized her brilliance and made her offers.

Lauryn has played many juicy and substantial roles in her young career.  She shares some musical theatre and performance memories with us. 

Under the direction of a former Disney World Snow White, Fantasy Fables in Toronto, whose clients include Make A Wish and the Justin Bieber family.  She engaged young and old with hour-long performances as Disney princesses Elsa, Belle and Ariel.

Director Rachel Bertone hired Lauryn for the role of Graziella in West Side Story based on the strength of her singing, dancing, partnering and stage presence.  “This speaks to the top tier of training and talent that Boston Conservatory produces.  Our production of West Side Story received 8 Broadway World Regional Award nominations including Best Musical.”

When Lauryn was nine years old, she had the good fortune of being chosen to work with Tim Minchin, the Tony Award winning writer and composer of Matilda the Musical.  She got to revisit Matilda years later as an understudy for numerous parts, young and old, male and female.  She was up for the challenge with years of skill and experience under her belt. “This requires the highest level of a triple threat—our nickname in the show was “wonderstudy”!  With sometimes only two hours’ notice, I performed the show as a big kid and both male and female competition dancer, doing lifts and partnering.”

Fosse is to dance what Sondheim is to singing.  They are as complex as it gets.  For multiple roles in Pippin, Lauryn had to be fluent in Fosse.  “Having studied Fosse and performed Fosse choreography in Cabaret was an asset, as well as my vocal harmonizing adaptability.”

Lauryn said come to the cabaret when she was cast as Rosie in Cabaret at the Boston Conservatory.  “This show was directed and choreographed by renowned award-winning choreographer and Academy Awards director Otis Sallid.  Having worked with Broadway and Hollywood royalty (Aretha Franklin, Prince,
Stevie Wonder, Queen Latifah, Faith Hill, Debbi Allen), he expected us to be quick studies who were willing to push the envelope with our colourful, charismatic characters and marionette-like choreography.  He is a brilliant choreographer and visionary director, always seeking a new way of bringing a thought-provoking, authentic performance.  ”

What Lauryn did for love was take the role of Cassie in A Chorus Line.  This was a wise move. “Cassie is one of those roles that directors and choreographers instantly recognize.  She is multi-layered, gutsy, a powerful triple threat who commands the whole stage for a 9-minute solo, so they have a pretty good idea of your skill set!”

Lauryn tackled big roles in four mini musicals which included Beautiful and Rent.  “In Beautiful I played the leading role of Carole King.  I had to completely embody a famous, beloved icon – her look, her
voice, mannerisms and the way she is when she performs.  Not only was I singing stylistically like her, I had to accompany myself on the piano with complex chords.  My 10 years of Royal Conservatory classical piano training as well as pop vocals as a lead singer in The Withnells and Splash Show Choir were instrumental in winning and performing this role, as I knew how to read music well to learn these parts and play jazz and pop piano voicings.”

Lauryn never stopped believing and she got to sing “Don’t Stop Believin’” with the original star of Broadway’s Rock of Ages, Constantine Maroulis.  She also danced in his show Foreigeners Journey.  “This
was a concert at North Shore Music Theatre, so audiences were expecting a rock concert based on the music of Foreigner and Journey.  My musical theatre and dance emphasis training at Boston Conservatory as well as competitive dance in street funk and jazz were instrumental in being able to perform the jazz/commercial dance style required.”

Lauryn Withnell’s performance resume is already substantial and impressive.  There is much more to come from this bright multi-talented artist.  Having worked with and being hand-picked by top industry
professionals she’s proven her artistic worth and she’s ready for more.  Remember her name.  You’ll probably be seeing it in a playbill in the near future.