Andrea McArdle

The legendary original “Annie” brings her incredible talents to the concert world

Broadway and Beyond

A concert of Broadway and Classic Pop Tunes

The famous vibrato on the sustained notes is still there, but
Andrea McArdle has her Broadway belt well in hand …
Where she tackles more challenging songs with meatier lyrics
McArdle goes from entertaining to transforming.  Backstage

If you remember McArdle as the original “Annie,” you’ll find she has done considerable growing up.  The once little girl voice is now enveloped in clouds of whisky and smoke, and McArdle becomes a heartbreaker.      Miami Herald-Christine Arnold

 McArdle’s voice retains the often feisty, sometimes plaintive sound from her adolescence.  More importantly, those pipes now belong to an adult who can also infuse ballads with a sensitive, airy quality, as in Irving Berlin’s “They Say It’s Wonderful” or Billy Joel’s “James.”        NY Newsday 

Ms. McArdle is Broadway’s goddaughter and anyone who saw her in Annie can’t help feeling a sort of pride in how well she grew up…The voice is crisp and powerful.   NY Times – Talkin’ Broadway-Peter Marks

Andrea first captured the hearts of theatergoers everywhere in 1977 when she originated the title role in the mega-musical “Annie,” based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie.  Since then, she has starred in several Broadway musicals, in New York, nationally and internationally.  She has performed in concert Halls from Carnegie Hall to the Las Vegas Hilton to the Hong Philharmonic as well as several remarkable television appearances through the years.   She has honed her craft by working with some of the legends of the entertainment industry such as Ethel Merman, Liza Minnelli,  Julie Andrews, Bob Hope, Liberace, Frank Sinatra, Steve Martin and Martin Short, to name a few.

Andrea started out at nine years old with a gig as Wendy Wilkins on the popular daytime drama named, ironically, “Search for Tomorrow.” 

At an early age she was thrust into the spotlight not only for her incredible stadium-size crystal clear voice, but the indomitable spirit she portrayed. Her time as “Annie” was a launching pad for an incredible career that is still conquering new heights in a business that has been known to easily dispose of young talent.  As “Annie” she became the youngest performer ever to be nominated for a Tony Award as Best Lead Actress in a Musical.  She also received the Theater World and Outer Critics' Circle Awards for the girl with the red hair and big voice.  She subsequently conquered London with her portrayal of Orphan Annie in the West End. (fun fact: Catherine Zeta-Jones played young orphan Mollie in this production).

 Her appearances on television at this early stage made it clear that Andrea’s talent had much more to offer than the role of Annie required.   People noticed and Andrea proved she was more than a one-show wonder. Andrea was then tapped to portray Judy Garland in the NBC telepic “Rainbow” which proved that Andrea’s talents translated to film.

 McArdle has that one in generation belting out - melting out voice. 
 McArdle can also act.   Atlanta Star

 Andrea McArdle is a performer every bit as powerful in her own right as the legendary Garland.   
Indianapolis News

All The TV great talk and variety show hosts all noticed this redhead and her enormous talents; Andrea appeared on the Johnny Carson Show 3 times and as many as 16 times on the Merv Griffen Show and 15 times on the Mike Douglas Show.  Other appearances include the Dinah Shore Show and every morning show across the country; not only as a performer but as an ambassador for the March of Dimes; Her appearances on Great Performances on PBS include Broadway Plays Washington on Kennedy Center; My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies; Broadway's Lost Treasures; Listen to Her Heart: The Life and Music of Laurie Beechman.  Other network television appearances include Welcome Back Kotter as Doris Horshack;  Two For Two;  Mo & Joe and Annie;  as well as  Celebrity Jeopardy; Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade; and Turning Point (aka 20/20 Wednesday) Today Show/ Good Morning America.  She also appeared on the 31^st, 35^th, 41^st and 50^th Annual Tony Awards shows.

Having conquered the legit stage and television arenas, she set her sights on the concert halls and audiences welcomed her with open
arms and standing ovations. 

Andrea was Guest Artist in concert with Liberace in a national tour; and toured with many other headliners.  Andrea appeared at the MET in Lincoln Center with Bob Hope, George Burns and Ethel Merman.  She has performed three times at the esteemed Carnegie Hall, twice for PBS and once in performance with Wynton Marsalis.

Her legit musical stage career continued to thrive as well.  Taking a notable turn against her public stage persona, Andrea starred in the international hit The Vagina Monologues.   Her performances on the musical stage grew to include: starring in the Jerry Herman musical Jerry’s Girls, alongside Carol Channing and Leslie Uggams.  She portrayed the sassy Smoking Car, Ashley, in the original Broadway cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express; Esther, the Judy Garland role, in Meet Me In St. Louis; the offbeat lyric writer Sonia in  the Neil Simon/Marvin Hamlisch musical They’re Playing Our Song; The classic girl next door, Luisa in The Fantasticks; the actress made good as dictator’s wife, Eva Peron, in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita; the tragic figure Fantine in Les Miserables; Margy Frake, a woman set on true love,  in the original Broadway cast of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical  State Fair,  the good-hearted Nancy in Oliver; the Narrator, the seer of all facts, in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; the beautiful classic leading lady, Belle, in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast; the saucy Sally Bowles in Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret;  The gun toting Annie Oakley in Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun; and the quintessen­tial stage-mother in Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim’s Gypsy; as well as the excessively proper teenage ingénue, Sandy, in Grease.

Andrea has performed in the showrooms of many of the casino hotels in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and in cabarets such as the renowned Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre in New York, Odette's in New Hope, Pennsylvania and the King Cole Room at the St. Regis Hotel as well as Freddy's Supper Club in Manhattan.

Her CD, Andrea McArdle on Broadway, was arranged and produced by her husband, composer Edd Kalehoff, who also collaborated with her on an album of Christmas songs (“Andrea McAdle’s Family Christmas”) that was released in conjunction with her Family Christmas Show at the Tropicana Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Other recordings include My Favorite Broadway Leading Ladies, filmed at Carnegie hall (also on DVD); State Fair Original Cast album; Jerry's Girls Original Cast album and Annie Original Cast Album.

 The couple has one daughter, Alexis Kalehoff, who has performed in many shows, some alongside her mother, including her Broadway debut in Les Miz.

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