Anna-Jane Casey is an English singer, dancer and actress best known for her work in musical theatre.
Personal life
Casey was born in Salford, Lancashire, England. Her sister Natalie Casey is also an actress best known for her television roles in Hollyoaks and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. Casey married fellow actor Graham MacDuff in 1998. The pair started dating whilst on the national tour of West Side Story and have two daughters together.
Stage career
Casey trained at Lupino Dance School in Bury. She made her West End debut at age 16 as Rumpleteazer in Cats at New London Theatre. After two years with Cats she then went on to Children of Eden at the Prince Edward Theatre. In 1993 Casey performed in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium in the role of Reuben's Wife. In 1993 she played Barbara-Lou and Rizzo in Grease at Dominion Theatre. She spent two years in Starlight Expressat the ApolloVictoria Theatre playing the roles of Buffy, Dinah and Pearl. In 1998 Casey fulfilled a lifelong ambition by playing Anita in West Side Story, both at the Prince Edward Theatre and on the national tour. It was during this tour she met her husband, Graham MacDuff. Casey made her first appearance in Chicago as Velma Kelly in 1998, a role she has reprised on numerous occasions. In 2003 Casey landed the role of Frankie Frayne in the London revival of On Your Toes at the Southbank Centre. In 2005 she won the TMA Award for Best Performance in a Musical playing Mabel in Mack & Mabel at the Watermill Theatre. She originated the role of Dot in the London revival of Sunday in the Park with George at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2005. After that she went on to play Maggie in Hobson's Choice from May to July 2006 at Watermill Theatre before giving birth to her daughter. During 2009 she appeared in Forbidden Broadway at the Menier Chocolate Factory. She spent the Christmas period in the title role of Aladdin at Hackney Empire. Casey returned to Chicago from February until 24 April 2010 playing Velma Kelly alongside Ruthie Henshall. Casey appeared in the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park production of The Comedy of Errors as the Courtesan, in the summer of 2010. She appeared in the BBC Prom celebrating the music of Rodgers & Hammerstein. The concert was broadcast on the BBC on Saturday 28 August 2010. Casey appeared as 'The Lady of the Lake' in Spamalot, at the Playhouse Theatre in London. From May 2013 Casey appeared as Mrs Wilkinson in Billy Elliot the Musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London. From July 2014 Casey appeared in the London edition of the revue Forbidden Broadway at the Vaudeville Theatre. From July to September 2015 Casey played the role of Lottie in a revival of musical Mack & Mabel at Chichester Festival Theatre. From December 2016 Casey played the eponymous Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun at the Sheffield Crucible. In 2017 she recorded two songs for the albumWit & Whimsy - Songs by Alexander S. Bermange, which reached No. 1 in the iTunes comedy album chart. In March 2017 it was announced that Casey will step into the role of Mavis in Stepping Out at the Vaudeville Theatre in London after Tamzin Outhwaite, who was supposed to play the role, fractured her foot during rehearsals. Casey will play the role until Outhwaite is able to return. Her sister Natalie Casey also appears in the play. In January 2018, it was announced that Casey would play the role of Annie in the UK tour of Calendar Girls, which opens at the Leeds Grand Theatre on 16 August.
Television roles
She has starred in roles on EastEnders, The Bill, Heartbeat and Holby City.