Cast Phantom of the Opera

London Cast 2004

John Owen-Jones
(The Phantom)

John originally comes from Burry Port in Carmarthenshire, South Wales. He trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating in 1994 with a B.A. in Acting. John has worked extensively in theatre and most recently was seen at the Palace Theatre playing the role of Jean Valjean in Les Mis�rables. This is a show John has been closely associated with for several years having played Jean Valjean in London, on the UK tour and on television (in an excerpt shown on Tonight at The London Palladium). John also appeared in, and on the recording of the Les Mis�rables Tenth Anniversary Concert at The Royal Albert Hall.

John was part of the 2000 season at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and played Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance and Friar Francis in Much Ado About Nothing (which also toured the Middle East). Both of these productions were nominated for several Olivier Awards.

He has also worked at the Royal National Theatre, appearing as Mr Erlanson, a liebeslieder, in the Olivier Award winning production of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music.

Other theatre work to date includes Antipholus of Ephesus/Antipholus of Syracuse in The Boys from Syracuse and Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice at Harrogate Theatre; Herr Zeller in The Sound of Music, Cl�ante in The Hypochondriac and Val�re in Le M�decin Volant at The West Yorkshire Playhouse; Uprooted at The Tricycle Theatre and The Ladies' Paradise at the RNT Studio.

Television work includes The Bill; The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby; The South Bank Show (ITV); The Margaret Williams Show; and Heno (S4C);

Backstage; Pebble Mill (BBC). Concert credits include Pirelli in the Twentieth Anniversary Concert of Sweeney Todd at the Royal Festival Hall, and numerous other concerts around the UK

Katie Knight-Adams
(Christine Daa�)

Katie trained at The Arts Educational School, Tring Park, Laine Theatre Arts and The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. She has recently finished playing the role of Eliza Doolittle in the National Theatre production of My Fair Lady at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, directed by Trevor Nunn; and received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Maria in West Side Story at the Prince Edward Theatre, directed by Arthur Lawrence. Other West End credits include Jemima in Cats and Sunset Boulevard. National UK tours include Maria in West Side Story and Jemima and Rumpleteazer in Cats. Katie is a singer/songwriter and is currently working with various writers and producers on her own material. She is delighted to be playing Christine Daa�. www.katieknightadams.com

Ramin Karimloo
( Raoul, Vicomte de Changy)

Ramin began his career in his hometown of Toronto singing in rock bands, one being a tribute to his all time favorite, The Tragically Hip. During this time he played the roles of Jay Kurntiz in Lost in Yonkers and Hadley in Back of the Net both in rep at the Annex Theatre. From there he set sail and became part of the theatre companies for the M.S. Carousel (Airtours) and M.V. Oriana (P&O Criuses). He then based himself in the UK and had his first experience of panto by playing Aladdin in Chatham. From here he embarked on a national tour of Joseph Papp's The Pirates of Penzance, which opened at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, as a Pirate/Policeman, covering the Pirate King. He assumed the role of Pirate King during its run in Bath, Theatre Royal. Soon after he played the role of Artie Green and covered and played Joe Gillis in the first national tour of Sunset Boulevard. Ramin spent the next year playing Fueilly and covering the roles of Marius and Enjolras in Les Mis�rables (Palace Theatre). Ramin is now very excited to make his West End leading debut as Raoul. Workshops: Steve in Going Once (Old Vic), Menalaus in Helen of Troy (Prince Edward Theatre), Fransico in Zorro - The Musical, (The Venue). TV and Film: Paul in Flipside, Various (Discovery Channel). Ramin would like to thank his family both here and overseas for their endless love and support. MGA, for being the best, and Mandy for her patience and unconditional love. This one is for Little Gryphyn! www.raminkarimloo.net

Sam Hiller
(Monsieur Andr�)

Sam trained at Guildford School of Acting, where he was awarded the school's singing cup. Theatre credits include: Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Chichester Festival Theatre); Judd in Another Country (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford); Mudgekeevis in Hiawatha (Cleveland Theatre Company, Billingham Forum); Carl in The Unexpected Host and Little John in Babes in the Wood (both at York Theatre Royal); Shere Khan in The Jungle Book (Nuffield Theatre, Southampton); Ivan in The Ten Commandments (Mercury Workshop, Place Theatre). West End credits include: Grantaire and cover Javert in Les Mis�rables (Palace Theatre); Hugo and cover Alex Dillingham in Aspects of Love (Prince of Wales); Weber in Miss Saigon (Theatre Royal, Dury Lane); Reuban in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Labatts Apollo); Jack in Review (London Palladium). UK tours include: Aspects of Love, Les Mis�rables and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Grantaire in Les Mis�rables in Concert (Odyssey Arena, Belfast). Directing credits include: Resident Director Les Mis�rables (Palace Theatre), A Celebration of Musical Theatre with Clive Anderson, Masters of the Musicals (UK tour), Peter Corry in Concert (Belfast Opera House). Resident Director Les Mis�rables in Concert (Scandanavian tour), The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber (R.T.E, Dublin), Assistant Director Les Mis�rables in Concert (Odyssey Arena, Belfast). Sam joins the cast of The Phantom of the Opera after covering and playing Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane). Sam has two young children, Olivia (5) and Joshua (3) who keep him fit... and tired!

Judith Gardner Jones
(Carlotta Guidicelli)

Judith Gardner Jones has sung the roles of Gretel in Hansel and Gretel at The Buxton Festival, Micaela in Carmen (Opera on a Shoestring) for Glasgow's West End Festival, Liu in Turandot (Leeds Civic Theatre), Adina in l'elisir d'amor (Pegasus Opera), Sandra in The Two Barons of Rocca Azzurra (Bampton Classical Opera), Mercedes in Carmen (Opera del Mar), Pamina in The Magic Flute (Opera Box's Opera School Wales), Krista in The Makropoulos Case (Scottish Opera Go Round), Flora in La Traviata and Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly (Opera on a Shoestring). Opera on a Shoestring's touring opera shows, A Bite at the Opera and An Evening in Paris, saw her perform throughout Scotland singing roles from Musetta in La Boh�me to Cunegonde in Candide. On the music theatre stage she played Carrie in Carousel and created the role of Princess Slayer to critical acclaim in the Star Wars spoof Opera Galactica at the Festival Fringe. A graduate of Edinburgh University and of the Royal College of Music; Judith was awarded a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship for opera by the Royal Warrant Holders. She has studied with Patricia Hay, Nicholas Powell and at the Vienna Volksoper with Klaus Busch. Judith featured in broadcasts for BBC Radio Scotland. She recently sang Ellen in Peter Grimes in the Write an Opera workshop programme for The Royal Opera Covent Garden. Judith's comprehensive oratorio repertoire includes a Brahms Deutsches Requiem at the Mary Wakefield Festival for Brian Kay and the premier of Bryan Kelly's Africa at the South Bank and amongst other concert engagements sang the premier of Jonathan Dove's Five Am'rous Sighs at the Garrick Club.

Jim Heath
(Ubaldo Piangi)

Jim was born in Surrey, England and studied Electronics and Electrical Engineering at Technical College in Guildford. He spent most of his teenage years and early twenties playing drums and singing in rock bands before deciding to change direction and move into rock musicals, then Operetta and Grand Opera. He has worked with such companies as Opera North, Scottish Opera, Pavilion Opera, Garsington Opera, English Festival Opera, Carl Rosa Opera, Longborough Festival Opera and The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company with whom he has also recorded. Some of his operatic roles have included Pinkerton (Madame Butterfly), Rodolfo (La Boh�me), Cavaradossi (Tosca), The Duke (Rigoletto), Manrico (Il Trovatore), Macduff (Macbeth), Italian Singer (Der Rosenkavalier), Pedrillo (Il Seraglio), 1st Armed Man (Magic Flute), Gastone (La Traviata), Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Des Grieux (Manon Lescaut), Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus) and Rodriguez (Don Quixote). During the 2002/2003 season he sang the role of Rodolfo for Scottish Opera in their production of La Boh�me. Since then he has toured the USA with London City Opera, singing Pinkerton in their production of Madam Butterfly in association with Columbia Artists and performed the role of the Duke in Rigoletto in Tokyo with Pavilion Opera. He has also performed the role of Ralph Rackstraw for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Jim has also performed widely on the concert platform, performing recitals and concerts in such countries as Holland, Tokyo, the United States of America, Belgium, Tunisia, Hungary, Austria and the United Kingdom. He is currently covering the role of Alfredo in La Traviata for Opera North in Autumn 2003, and performing the role of Ubaldo Piangi in The Phantom of the Opera marks Jim's debut in the West End in 2003/2004.

Heather Jackson
(Madame Giry)

Heather first joined the cast of Phantom in 1996. She spent four very happy years playing Madame Giry, leaving the show in November 2000. She then enjoyed performing in many concerts and was seen on television as the face of Woman and Woman's Own magazines in their last advertising campaign. Before joining Phantom she was in the West End Revue at the Talk of London. Her other theatre work includes: Andy in Stepping Out (Perth Rep); soloist in Broadway Dusseldorf, created by Arlene Phillips; Fiona McScratchit in Mr McScrooge (Glasgow Pavilion); Prince Charming in Cinderella (Borderline Theatre Co.); Princess in Aladdin (MacRobert Art Centre); and the national tour of My Fair Lady with Edward Fox, directed by Simon Callow. Heather has also cruised the world with P&O, performing her own classical concerts and also as a member of the Stadium Theatre Co., playing parts as diverse as Tina Turner and Eliza Doolittle. On television she has played Margaret Thatcher in a party political broadcast and Catherine Galbraith in Scottish Television's High Road. On radio she has guested on the Judy Speirs Show for Radio 2. In May 2003 Heather and her husband, who is also an actor, were involved in the biggest and most important production of their lives... the birth of their first child, a boy! Heather is now thrilled to be back in the show and relishes playing the role of Madame Giry again.

Heidi Ann O'Brien
(Meg Giry)

Heidi was born in London. She began her dance training at the Thomas Raynor School of Classical Ballet and made her professional debut with the Bolshoi Ballet's production of The Sleeping Beauty at the London Coliseum aged 11. She later studied at Central School of Ballet under the tuition of Carole Gable, where she graduated in her final year with British Gas Ballet Central's UK and Channel Islands 10th Anniversary tour. Heidi is delighted to be playing the role of Meg Giry at Her Majesty's Theatre as she has strong connections with The Phantom of the Opera, having appeared in productions in Edinburgh, Hamburg and on the UK tour. Other theatre credits include: Northern Ballet Theatre's Cinderella at Sadler's Wells, Northern Ballet Theatre's Gala Huddersfield, Walt Disney's Spectacular for the film premiere of Hercules in Rome. Heidi would like to thank her husband and family for their continued love and support.

Nicky Adams
(Christine Daa� at certain performances)

Nicky most recently played Ellen in the original British national tour of Miss Saigon. Other theatre credits include, Dandini in Cinderella (Derby Playhouse), Yum-Yum in The Mikado (Stoke and Scarborough), Rizzo in the national tour of Grease, Pascal in The Red Balloon (National Theatre and Birmingham Rep), Christine in The Phantom of the Opera (Edinburgh Playhouse), Cosette in Les Mis�rables (Palace Theatre), Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio (both Birmingham Rep) and Dolly in Valentine's Day (Globe Theatre).

Television drama includes, EastEnders (BBC), Doctors (BBC) and London's Burning (LWT). Nicky has extensive concert experience, notably A Night of a 100 Stars (Palladium), a national tour of Taiwan, a Royal Gala for the Earl & Countess of Wessex in Doha, New Year's Eve in New York, Some Enchanted Evening a series of open-air concerts and a Stadium concert for Cellnet in Middlesborough. This year Nicky will be performing in five open-air summer concerts for the National Trust and short concert tours of Russia and the USA.

Earl Carpenter
(The Phantom (Standby))

Born in Southampton Earl trained at the Jellicoe Theatre, Bournemouth and Poole College of Further Education. Earl's West End credits include Darryl Van Horne in The Witches of Eastwick (Prince of Wales); Ed Parsley in the original company of The Witches of Eastwick (Drury Lane); Standby Beast and Gaston in the original company and finally Beast in Disney's Beauty and the Beast (Dominion); Courfeyrac in Les Mis�rables (Palace). His regional credits include Archibald Craven in The Secret Garden (Byre Theatre, St Andrews); Gaston in Disney's Beauty and the Beast (UK tour); Joe Gillis in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard (original UK tour); Roger Flint in Alan Ayckbourn's Between the Lines (Palace Theatre, Westcliffe-on-Sea); Mozart in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Bournemouth Winter Gardens); King of Dreams and Sultan of Morocco in Dick Whittington (Theatre Royal, Plymouth); Jazzer in Her Benny (Empire Theatre, Liverpool); Simeon in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Thorndike Theatre, Leatherhead) and King Richard and Robin Hood in Robin Hood, Prince of Sherwood (UK tour). Over the last ten years Earl has also been involved with producing and directing. He has been responsible for projects such as Les Mis�rables in Concert (Bournemouth International Centre); West End at Home (Southern Counties); Bootleg Blues Brothers (Secombe Theatre, Sutton); Ovations (Winter Gardens, Bournemouth); Little Shop of Horrors (Theatre Royal, Brighton); West Side Story (Winter Gardens, Bournemouth); A Man for all Seasons (Southern Counties) and numerous revues - A Note on Their Own, And That's Comedy, A Note to Remember and Sincerely Yours. His next ventures over 2003/4 include Chess, Les Mis�rables and Jesus Christ Superstar, all in concert presentation with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, in addition to Little Shop of Horrors for the Holders Season in Barbados. As well as performing in numerous concerts and appearing on television for relevent musicals Earl can be heard on the soundtracks of Disney's Beauty and the Beast and The Witches of Eastwick (both original London cast), and a promotional recording of Sunset Boulevard for the UK tour..