Theatre Register

Arlene Phillips

Shows · Arlene Phillips

Choreographer b. 1943 On stage 1974

Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, theatre director, talent scout, former television judge, presenter, and dancer. She reached mainstream fame on television as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing (2004-2008) and So You Think You Can Dance (2010-2011). She has also achieved success as a stage choreographer on musicals including Starlight Express (1987), Grease (1993 and 2022), Saturday Night Fever (1998), and Guys and Dolls (2023).

On stage 1 production

1974 Flowers Biltmore Theatre · Original 24 perf.

Each row is a staging this name appears in the cast list of, read from the production record rather than from the person record. The person record names works instead, and a work cannot say which run somebody was in — that is how Elaine Stritch ends up filed under Show Boat 1927 when she was in the 1994 revival. No row here says what part was played, because no cast list records it.

Also credited on1 work

Starlight Express

These come off the person record, which names a work and not a production. So we can say this name is attached to the work and we cannot say which staging, or in what capacity. For a composer or a writer that is the whole career we hold; there is no cast list to find them in.

In the literature2 passages

  • Music, Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics, Richard Stilgoe; Director, Trevor Nunn; Choreography, Arlene Phillips; Designer, John Napier; Lighting, David Hersey; Sound, Martin Levan; Musical Director. Paul Bogaev; Musical Direction/ Supervision, David Caddick; Orchestrations, David Cullen, Andrew Lloyd Webber; Casting, Johnson-Lilt Associates; Pr…theatre-pdfs/Theatre World/Theatre World, 1986-87 Season, v. 43 (Willis, John).txt
  • STARLIGHT EXPRESS with Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics, Richard Stilgoe; Musical Director, Paul Bogaev; Director/Choreography, Arlene Phillips. CAST: Mary Louise Bentley, Steven Cates, Renee Lynette Chambers, Dawn Marie Church, Eric Clausell, Dennis Courney, Ron DeVito, Steven K. Dry, Lori Flynn, Ronald Garza, Kimberly A. Gladman, Ja…theatre-pdfs/Theatre World/Theatre World, 1990-1991 Season, v. 47 (Willis).txt

Passages naming this person, found by keyword across 178 books. A keyword match is not a biography, and a common name will pull in the wrong one.

What this page does not know

  • What this person played. No cast list we hold records a character against a performer.
  • Which of the credits above the roles on this record — choreographer — apply to. The roles sit on the person and never on a credit, so a director who also acted looks the same here as one who did not.

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