John O'May is an American-born Australian actor, best known for his stage performances.
John O'May | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1947 |
| Education | Patapsco High School |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, writer |
| Years active | 1972–current |
Early life
editO'May was born at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, one of four children. He grew up with a love of reading and literature. At university he dabbled in theatre, learning acting, stagecraft and building sets. He became a teacher at Patapsco High School, where he himself had attended high school. He taught English literature for two and a half years. He eventually travelled overseas, and after visiting his sister in Australia and ended up staying.[1][2][3]
Career
editIn 1972, O'May auditioned for the role of Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind. He took singing lessons and found an agent. In 1973, he was offered an audition and role in Godspell, replacing John Waters as Judas. He created and performed in the revues Gershwin (with John Diedrich) in 1975 and The 20s and All That Jazz (with Diedrich and Caroline Gilmer) in 1977.[4]
O'May played Che Guevara in the original Australian cast of Evita which opened in Adelaide in April 1980.[5] In the 1980s he was a regular performer with the Melbourne Theatre Company, and played Bobby in Company for the Sydney Theatre Company in 1986 and Captain Corcoran in H.M.S. Pinafore for the Victoria State Opera in 1987.[6]
He directed and starred in the musical Seven Little Australians in 1988.[7]
O'May played Monsieur André in the original Australian cast of The Phantom of the Opera which opened at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne in December 1990. He later performed each of the two manager characters in various productions over the subsequent decades.[1]
Other notable roles include Marvin in Falsettos in 1994 for the Sydney Theatre Company, Nick Arnstein in Funny Girl in 1999, John Wilkes Booth in Assassins in 1995, and Fredrik Egerman in A Little Night Music in 1997, both for the Melbourne Theatre Company. For the latter, he received a Green Room Award for male artist in a leading role.[2] In 2014 he appeared as Doctor Tambourri in Sondheim's Passion.[2] In 2022, he portrayed the Mysterious Man and Cinderella’s Father in Into the Woods in North Melbourne, Australia.[8]
Film credits include supporting roles in the films Starstruck and Rebel and the television opera The Divorce (2015).[9] In 2000, O’May guest-starred in season 2, episode 11, "Sponsorship and Media Discontent", of the ABC mockumentary, The Games.
Acting credits
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Between Wars | William Faulkner | Feature film |
| 1982 | Starstruck | Terry | Feature film |
| 1983 | Skin Deep | Roger Crane | TV movie |
| 1985 | Rebel | Benie | Feature film |
| 1988 | Georgia | Mr Leonard | Feature film |
| 1988 | The Four Minute Mile | Bill Easton | TV movie |
| 2001 | Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story | Louis B. Mayer | TV movie |
| 2011 | A Heartbeat Away | Desmond Fyfe | Feature film |
| 2020 | The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee | Earl of Spencer | Feature film |
| 2023 | Late Night with the Devil | Walker Bedford | Feature film |
| 2024 | Better Man | Terry Swinton | Feature film |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | The Sullivans | Yank Sergeant | TV series, 4 episodes |
| 1983 | Carson's Law | John Kendall | TV series, 14 episodes |
| 1983 | Kings | Dick Manning | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1985 | The Flying Doctors | Michael | Miniseries, episode 3 |
| 1986 | The Lancaster Miller Affair | J.F. Russell | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1988 | The Flying Doctors | Max Prescott | TV series, season 3, episode 7: "Figures in a Landscape" |
| 1990 | The Paper Man | Victor Dove | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1992 | Cluedo | Buzz Bradshaw III | TV series, season 2, episode 3: "With a Smile on His Dial" |
| 1997 | State Coroner | Marcus Brophy | TV series, season 1, 2 episodes |
| 1998 | Good Guys, Bad Guys | Tyrone O'Keefe | TV series, season 2, episode 11: "Doof" |
| 2000 | The Games | George Birmingham | TV mockumentary series, season 2, episode 11: "Sponsorship and Media Discontent" |
| 2001 | Crash Zone | Phil Kurtz | TV series, season 2, episode 12: "Skin Deep" |
| 2007 | City Homicide | Peter Murdoch | TV series, season 1, episode 13: "Rostered Day Off" |
| 2015 | The Divorce | Jed | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
Theatre
editAs actor
editAs writer/director
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975; 1976 | Gershwin | Playwright | Arena Theatre, Melbourne, Total Theatre, Melbourne with Total Theatre, Production |
| 1977–1979 | The Twenties and All That Jazz | Playwright | Arena Theatre, Melbourne, Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne, Theatre Royal, Hobart, Regal Theatre, Perth, Canberra Theatre, Theatre Royal Sydney, Victorian regional tour, Her Majesty's Theatre, Brisbane, Orange Civic Theatre, The Griffith Duncan Theatre, Callaghan, Playhouse, Adelaide |
| 1977 | The Australian Travelling Patent Medicine Show | Director | Arena Theatre Company, Melbourne |
| 1977 | The Season Reason | Director | Victorian regional tour with Arena Theatre Company |
| 1977 | The Persecution and Assassination of Higher School Certificate Poetry as Performed by the Inmates of the Arena Theatre | Director | Arena Theatre Company, Melbourne |
| 1978 | Patrick's Hat Trick | Playwright | Playbox Theatre, Melbourne with Hoopla Theatre Foundation |
| 1978 | Makin' Wicky Wacky | Director | The Last Laugh, Melbourne |
| 1981 | A Couple of Strangers | Devisor | Nimrod Theatre, Sydney |
| 1982 | Patrick's Hat Trick | Playwright | Monash University |
| 1983 | The Twenties and All That Jazz | Playwright | The Hole in the Wall Theatre, Perth |
| 2000 | Being Alive | Devisor | Capers Cabaret, Melbourne |
| 1988–1989 | Seven Little Australians | Director | Theatre Royal, Hobart, Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Adelaide Festival Centre, University of Sydney |
| 2008 | The Light in the Piazza | Director / Producer | Lyric Theatre, Sydney |
References
edit- ^ a b Harris, Sarah. "Profile: John O'May | Confessions of a working actor". Weekly Review. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
- ^ a b c Drouyn, Coral (n.d.). "Maintaining The Passion". stagewhispers.com.au (2014). Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ https://issuu.com/anglesea_community_house/docs/newsangle_issue_146_final/s/12600621
- ^ "Do-it-yourself musical has had packed houses". The Canberra Times. Vol. 52, no. 14, 903. 11 October 1977. p. 13. Retrieved 23 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "'Wonder boy' Jim Sharman for 1982 Adelaide Festival". The Canberra Times. Vol. 55, no. 16, 220. 22 February 1980. p. 17. Retrieved 23 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "John O'May". ausstage.edu.au. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
- ^ Radic, Leonard (24 June 1988). "The winning ways of little Australians". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ Watch This: Into The Woods review
- ^ "The Divorce is a comedic opera, and unlike anything else on Australian TV" by Paul Kalina, The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 November 2015
- ^ https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/948
External links
edit- John O'May at IMDb
- Profile, markgogoll.com