The Westport Library is thrilled to announce that Tony Award winning actress Kelli O’Hara will present the 2021 Malloy Lecture in the Arts on Thursday, November 11 at 7:00 pm. O’Hara will be joined in conversation with renowned American theater director Bartlett Sher.
Kelli O’Hara has unequivocally established herself as one of Broadway’s great leading ladies. In 2015, Her portrayal of Anna Leonowens in the critically acclaimed revival of The King and I garnered her a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, along with Drama League and Outer Critics nominations. A native of Oklahoma, Kelli received a degree in opera from Oklahoma City University, fulfilling a lifelong dream to study voice with Florence Birdwell, and after winning the State Metropolitan Opera Competition in 1998, Kelli moved to New York City and enrolled in the Lee Strasberg Institute for acting. She made her Broadway debut in Jekyll & Hyde and followed it with Sondheim’s Follies, Sweet Smell of Success opposite John Lithgow, and Dracula. In 2003 Kelli committed to a production of The Light in the Piazza at Seattle’s Intiman Theatre. The show landed on Broadway in 2005 and earned Kelli her first Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations. She moved from one critical and commercial success to another when she joined Harry Connick on Broadway in the 2006 Tony award-winning production of The Pajama Game, for which Kelli received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Award nominations. Kelli starred in the Tony Award-winning revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center, enrapturing audiences and critics alike with her soulful and complex interpretation of Nellie Forbush, and garnering Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Award nominations. She later teamed up with Matthew Broderick in Broadway's musical comedy Nice Work if You Can Get it, earning Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nominations, as well as the Fred Astaire Nomination for dance. In 2014, her performance as Francesca in the musical adaptation of The Bridges of Madison County earned her Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle nominations. Additionally, she starred as Mrs. Darling in NBC’s live telecast of “Peter Pan” alongside Allison Williams and Christian Borle, and on New Year’s Eve, Kelli made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the production of The Merry Widow with Renee Fleming. She returned to the a Metropolitan Opera stage in 2018 in Cosi Fan Tutte. In 2019, Kelli landed her 7th Tony nomination as well as Outer Critics Circle and Drama League nominations for her performance in the title role of The Roundabout’s revival of Kiss Me Kate. She was given the Drama League’s 2019 Achievement in Musical Theatre Award. Next fall, Kelli will return to The Metropolitan Opera starring opposite Renee Fleming and Joyce DiDonato in a new opera based on Michael Cunningham’s “The Hours,” composed by Kevin Puts.
