Mary McCandless

Mary McCandless spent over 40 years fulfilling her dream of being a professional singer and character actress. She played everything from Simon of Legree in King & I, the Devil's seductress in Damn Yankees, the Reverend Mother, a rainbow of religiosity in Nunsense, the "most beautiful woman ever accused of murder" in Chicago, a perfectly detestable, baton twirling Scout Leader in Cakewalk and every bag lady, cockney washer woman, Irish landlady and Duchess in between.
This has taken her to musical theatre stages, concert halls and churches around the world. Recording studios, singing into closets with microphones, church basements, gymnasiums, fire halls, senior residences, film and television studios, have also become familiar friends. Her inspired recordings of “Mary Christmas” and “Lipstick Legend”, have lead the way to a series of meditation CD’s.
She became a professional starving artist playing Aunt Eller in a touring production of Oklahoma in Muskoka, Ontario. She was thirty.
The Valiant Tailor, a children’s show, the dual roles of Dame Adenoid (a six foot Dame with a Cyrano-like nose) and Queen Forget Me Not (a rather wide, 5’2” Elizabeth Taylor look-a-like who had been caught in a wind tunnel), were memorable.
The following years were spent at the renowned Charlottetown Music Festival, under the direction of visionary Jacques Lemay and Musical Director, Fen Watkins, appearing in Canada’s most beloved musical, Anne of Green Gables as “Miss Stacey”. In the Shooting of Dan McGrew, “Gertie” became a cigar chomping, poker playing miner in the Yukon. Mary was awarded the Charlottetown Festival’s 1993 Peter Mews Award.
The Tony-Award winning production of Showboat, under the direction of Hal Prince, launched her career in mega-musicals in her hometown of Toronto, and later introduced her to a life upon the wicked stage touring the US.
Cast as a Character Swing in the World Premier Cast of Tony Award Winning Ragtime, the Musical, she learned the rolls of five people and understudied one of the leads, Emma Goldman. In previews, she stepped in for Camile Saviolla without any rehearsal and was touted as “storybook wonderful”.
The six months spent in London’s West End, she was featured in the Hal Prince/Livent Tony Award winning production of Showboat, with award-winning Choreographer, Susan Stroman, and while there was asked to performed at England’s Talk of London. Returning home, she toured the US with Ragtime.
Tom Kneebone of Smile Theatre Company asked her to portray The Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrova in a one-woman show, “Lilacs in the Snow”. This new musical celebrated the remarkable life of her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Olga of Russia, Daughter of Tsar Alexander III, sister of Tsar Nicholas II and Aunt to the Grand Duchess Anastasia.
Following this success, she created the character of Ragtime Rosie, who lived on the street and genuinely believed she was Audrey Hepburn’s twin.
On the set of “Hairspray, the Movie”, under the direction of Adam Shankman, John Travolta and she spent the wee small hours of the morning at Mr. Pinky’s Hefty Hideaway, acting LARGE. Her hair was the bomb and the pink and white smock makes her look over 300 pounds.
At Sudbury Theatre Center, she took on the “Kaye Ballard” role in “The Full Monty”, a tough, chain smoker, seen-it-all, showbiz musician who “shows up, piano and all”.
One of the highlights of her career, has been the 13 years she was Guest Soloist on Christmas Eve at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto.