Career

McArdle was born in Philadelphia. While studying dance as a child, she was spotted by a talent agent who got her work in a number of television commercials, which led to her two-and-a-half year stint on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow. She also appeared on Al Alberts Showcase, a local televised talent show in Philadelphia.

McArdle's break came in early 1977 when she was pulled from the chorus of orphans to replace Kristen Vigard, the original Annie in the Broadway musical Annie, during rehearsals. The show was a critical and commercial smash, and she became the youngest performer ever to be nominated for a Tony Award as Best Lead Actress in a Musical. She lost to co-star Dorothy Loudon—who played Miss Hannigan—but did receive the Theater World and Outer Critics' Circle Awards for her performance. In April 1978, she opened in London's West End production. She appeared several times on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1977-79, on one occasion accompanied by Liberace. She also appeared more than once on the Mike Douglas Show, singing with Kristy McNichol, Stephanie Mills, Liberace and Don Rickles. She also appeared on Welcome Back Kotter, playing Arnold Horshack's younger sister.

In 1979, she sang the national anthems for both the United States and Canada at the Major League Baseball All Star Game in Seattle, Washington.

Her first assignment after returning to the States was the role of Judy Garland in NBC's telepic Rainbow, but throughout her career she has concentrated primarily on performing in musical theater and cabarets. Her credits include Les Misérables (both on Broadway and in the national tour), Jerry's Girls (a revue of Jerry Herman songs co-starring Carol Channing and Leslie Uggams), Beauty and the Beast, Starlight Express, Meet Me In St. Louis, The Wizard of Oz, They're Playing Our Song, and another celebrated Annie in Irving Berlin's classic, Annie Get Your Gun. She briefly appeared in the 1999 Rob Marshall-directed TV version of Annie, singing the "Star To Be" segment of the song "N.Y.C."

McArdle has performed in the showrooms of many of the casino hotels in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and in cabarets such as Odette's in New Hope, Pennsylvania and the King Cole Room at the St. Regis Hotel and Freddy's Supper Club in Manhattan. McArdle is once again starring in the musical Annie with the North Carolina Theatre Company, although she ironically now portrays the role of Miss Hannigan, at odds with her former character.

Her CD, Andrea McArdle on Broadway, was arranged and produced by her ex-husband, composer Edd Kalehoff, who also collaborated with her on an album of Christmas songs that was released in conjunction with her Family Christmas Show at the Tropicana Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Christmas show, "Andrea McArdle's Family Christmas" ran for three Christmases and featured dancers, singers and acrobats from Encore Productions in South Jersey. Divorced in August 2011, the couple had one daughter, Alexis Kalehoff (b.1988), a performer who has appeared with her mother in Les Miz.

McArdle returned to Annie at Musical Theatre West in Long Beach, California, as Miss Hannigan from October 29 - November 14, 2010. She took part in the New York Musical Theatre Festival's (NYMF) production of Greenwood the Musical in fall 2011.

In November 2012, McArdle was the "guest star" in Newsical.

On April 2nd 2014 Oceania Cruises announced a new “Life in the Theater” series featuring McArdle, for select sailings starting with a voyage aboard Riviera on October 29, 2014.

Stage work

Year	Musical	Role	Venue
1977	Annie	Annie	Broadway
1984	Jerry's Girls	Ensemble	tour
1985	The Wizard of Oz	Dorothy Gale	regional; Melody Top Theatre in Milwaukee
Unknown	The Vagina Monologues	Performer	regional
1987	Starlight Express	Ashley
1989	Meet Me In St. Louis	Esther Smith	regional; Melody Top Theatre in Milwaukee
1992	They're Playing Our Song	Sonia	tour
1993	Les Misérables	Fantine / Eponine	Broadway & tour
1995	State Fair	Margy Frake
1996	Oliver!	Nancy	regional
1996	Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat	Narrator	regional
1996	The Fantasticks	Luisa	regional
1997	Evita	Eva Perón	regional
1999	Beauty and the Beast	Belle
2000	Grease	Sandy	regional
2001	Cabaret	Sally Bowles	international tour
2006	Annie Get Your Gun	Annie Oakley	regional
2006	Cabaret	Sally Bowles	regional, Ogunquit Playhouse
2007	Gypsy	Mama Rose	regional
2008	Les Misérables	Fantine	regional, Ogunquit Playhouse
2010	Annie	Miss Hannigan	North Carolina Theatre
2010	Annie	Miss Hannigan	Musical Theatre West, Long Beach
2011	Blood Brothers	Mrs. Johnstone	Theatre Zone, Naples, Florida
2011	Urinetown	Penelope Pennywise	Connecticut Repertory Theatre
2011	Greenwood the Musical	Adult Sheila	New York Musical Theatre Festival
2013	Mame	Mame	Bucks County Playhouse New Hope, Pennsylvania & The Media Theatre, Media, Pennsylvania
2015	Hello, Dolly!	Dolly Levi	The Media Theatre, Media, Pennsylvania

Awards and honors

• 1977 - Theatre World Award - winner
• 1977 - Tony Award - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical - nominee

[ Source: Wikipedia ]