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McArdle is born
Andrea McArdle was born on this day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father was a statistician, and her mother was a legal secretary who had high hopes for her. She is also the oldest of two children. Other than this, not much is known about her family or childhood, since most of her life has been spent acting. -
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Early Interest in Performing
While the age she was enrolled in these lessons was not specified, McArdle was involved in singing and dancing lessons from an early age, most likely in this time frame, and she was spotted by an agent in some talent shows she was a part of during this time. -
First Appearance in a Production
When she was barely 7, McArdle appeared in a production of "The King and I" at the Downington Dinner Theatre. (Pictured is not the actual Playbill obviously) -
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Regular Appearances on "Search for Tomorrow"
For two and a half years, McArdle appeared on the soap opera "Search for Tomorrow," which earned her an award for best daytime juvenile actress. This no doubt led to her next big successes. -
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Son of Sam Terrorizes New York
While there was a lot going on in New York City in the time that McArdle was there, possibly the most terrifying was the presence of Son of Sam, a serial killer who shot and killed 6 people over the course of 2 years. This no doubt made everyone in the area anxious, since they never knew when he would strike, and while McArdle was very young at this time, the way people around her talked about it no doubt had an effect on her. -
Cast in her most famous role--Annie
In 1977, McArdle was cast in a group of girls that were a part of road tryouts for the new musical, Annie. McArdle ends up replacing the original Annie, who producers claimed looked to "sweet and delicate," since she fit the image of the character more. -
Nominated for a Tony--youngest ever for the time
After originating the role of Annie in 1977, McArdle became the youngest person to ever be nominated for a Tony for Best Lead Actress in a Musical. In addition, she won the Theatre World and Outer Critics' Circle Awards for her performance of "Tomorrow." -
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Several Appearances on the Tonight Show
After her huge success as Annie, McArdle appeared several times on the Tonight Show during this time frame, even accompanied by Liberace on a couple occasions. -
New York City Blackout
In July of 1977, New York City suffered a blackout (meaning, a power outage) that affected most of the city. It lasted about 2 days, and during this time, looting and vandalism skyrocketed in a time where crime was already high. This no doubt affected everyone living in the city at the time, since having crime get even worse in this time probably made everyone very anxious. -
"I Love New York" campaign is started
On this day, the now iconic "I Love New York" campaign was started by the New York State Department of Economic Development to promote tourism of the area after a very rough decade in the city's history. -
Cast in London West End Production
In 1978, McArdle again led the cast of "Annie," but this time in the production on the West End. -
Only Notable Appearance in Film
In 1978, McArdle made one appearance in the NBC television movie, "Rainbow," in which she portrayed a young Judy Garland. However, she would soon return to musical theatre. -
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A break from Broadway--regional theatres
During this time period, McArdle was absent from Broadway and the West End, and she instead made appearances in regional musicals. These included "Annie Get Your Gun" in California, "The Fantasticks" in Dallas, "Grease" in Philadelphia, and "Peter Pan" in Long Beach. -
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Appearances as a solo singer
In addition to her work on Broadway, McArdle also has been very active as a solo concert and cabaret singer in hotels all around the country, including but not limited to, The Metropolitan Room in New York City, the King Cole Room at the St. Regis, and the Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City. -
Part of "Jerry's Girls"
In 1984, she was part of the pre-Broadway touring version of "Jerry's Girls," which featured songs from Jerry Herman musicals. -
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Return to Broadway in Starlight Express
After her time in regional theatres, McArdle returned to Broadway in the original cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Starlight Express," in which she played the role of Ashley. -
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Marriage to Edd Kalehoff
McArdle married composer Edd Kalehoff, who arranged and produced her 1995 CD "On Broadway," with whom she had a daughter, Alexis Kalehoff. Her daughter has also appeared in Broadway productions, and she even appeared alongside her mother in "Les Miserables" at the age of 7, following in her mother's footsteps. -
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Some of her Last Notable Broadway Roles
Between these years, McArdle had her last notable roles on Broadway--those being a replacement for Fantine in "Les Miserables," and a replacement for Belle in "Beauty and the Beast." In addition, she was in an assortment of regional shows in this time. -
McArdle releases a CD
In 1995, McArdle released a CD called "On Broadway," which included covers of popular Broadway song, including "Tomorrow" from Annie. This CD was also produced by her then-husband, Edd Kalehoff. -
Appearance in Annie--not as Annie
McArdle made a brief appearance in the 1999 TV version of Annie, but instead of playing the title character, she instead sings the "Star to Be" part of the song "N. Y. C." -
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Another return to Annie
McArdle again returned to a production of Annie in 2010, this time playing Miss Hannigan, in Long Beach, California. -
Most recent appearance in a New York show
McArdle's most recent appearance in a show in New York City was in an Off-Broadway play called "2 Across." -
Most recent stage work
McArdle's most recent stage work was when she starred in "Anything Goes" as Reno Sweeney in Bellport, New York. -
Most recent updates on where she is now
The most recent event in her life I could find was that in November of 2021, it was announced that she would be in NBC's "Annie Live!" as Eleanor Roosevelt, but she had to drop out due to family issues, and the character was not recast. -
References
- https://masterworksbroadway.com/artist/andrea-mcardle/
- https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0564083/
- https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Andrea-McArdle/#bio
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_McArdle (used for easy access to timeline of stage credits)
- https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/andrea-mcardle-76718
- https://www.allmusic.com/artist/andrea-mcardle-mn0000032952/biography