Tina Walsh; From 'Jubilee!' To 'Phantom' In Just 19 Years!

Written by Carolyn Weaver

Tina Walsh is enjoying being in "Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular"... - it only took her 19 years to get there!

I met Tina Walsh at a luncheon held at the old Debbie Reynolds Hotel. They were called "brown bag" luncheons back then. We got to eat and hear local entertainers perform. Since then, Tina and I come across each other off-and-on through the various shows she has done. As Tina said, "brown bag, no money, but great fun!"

Recently, I went backstage and had my photo taken with Tina, in costume for the role of Madame Giry. We later had a chance to catch up on all her shows leading up to what she calls a great experience, finally being in "Phantom."

Tina has paid her dues through the years, especially in Las Vegas.

An army brat, she was born in Heidelberg, Germany. She is the daughter of an army colonel and her mother was a singer. Besides Germany, she lived in Turkey, and also various states in the US.

Her memories of Europe focus on Turkey. Her playground was part of an old castle. It was just around the corner from where they lived.

Her father retired to Dallas, Texas and she attended the University of Texas in Dallas. That is where she got her degree. While attending the university, she worked doing national conventions, voice overs, etc.

Remembering her early days, Tina thinks that Turkey was when she was inspired to start dreaming of being a performer, by acting out her fantasies on the castle grounds with her playmates.

She loved living in Turkey and started her ballet training there between five and eight years old. Tina enjoyed the music and sites of Turkey, and found it different from other places she had lived.

Tina also mentioned that seeing Julie Andrews in "Mary Poppins" inspired her to get into the field of entertainment.

She started out as a dancer (ballerina and then into other types of dancing) and has now been a dancer for 26 years.

She would sneak around and listen to her mother's Broadway show albums. Her family did not know she could sing.

When Tina was in high school in Texas, a Catholic priest /teacher who grew up on Broadway was her biggest inspiration. She spoke of him fondly as the one who got her to try out for musicals in school. Her first high school musical was "My Fair Lady," playing the role of Eliza Dolittle.

A friend of Tina's told her about open auditions for "Jubilee!" here in Las Vegas. She drove to Las Vegas from Texas to audition. At the time, she was also up for a touring production. She came to Las Vegas anyway, not expecting to get a job, but she did! Las Vegas is lucky that this lovely lady did move here in 1985. Tina is 5' 9" and of course they saw her as a dancer, but she really wanted to be a singer. She got that part, but as an understudy at first. They had four understudies and she was hardly in the show. She longed to do other things.

She did go for other auditions during that time and one was for "Phantom" in Los Angeles around 1989.

Tina auditioned for a chorus position, not a lead back then. She just wanted to be in the show. Any opening would do. It did not matter - she wanted to be a part of this famous history-making musical. She did not get the part and came back to Las Vegas.

She was in "Jubilee!" until 1994.

Tina then went into EFX! (Las Vegas) in 1995. She had the role of Morgana/Bess Houdini co-starring opposite Michael Crawford (the original Phantom) until 1996.

Tina said of Michael Crawford, "He was good to me. He was the first big star I worked with and taught me so much in the short time we worked together."

She came back to EFX! and starred with Tommy Tune and Rick Springfield between 1998 and 2002. She enjoyed working with Tommy Tune; after all she started out as a dancer!

Tina was in the original company of "Mamma Mia!" Las Vegas (as Donna Sheridan) from 2003 to 2005. She was one of our best Donnas.

Her other credits from her "Playbill" bio include: "Just Another Man" (Audrey Coles) directed by Larry Moss. Other theatre favorites include Hugh Jackman in "Time" (Dame/standby), "Jerry Springer The Opera" and "Closer Than Ever." Commercials and voice-overs complete her resume. You can also find Tina's profile in Jim Bickford's book, "Las Vegas Dreams," on 70 of the most fascinating people of Las Vegas.

Tina finally gets into "Phantom" after 19 years! She is in the role of Madame Giry, which I think is a wonderful role for her. She has been in the show for about a year and a half. She started in February of 2008. My opinion is that Tina is one of the best Madame Girys I have seen.

Tina has a teenaged son whom she loves very much and being a working mother keeps busy with "Phantom," singing at charity events and other events in Las Vegas.

I asked Tina what she thought about working in "Phantom" here in Las Vegas. Tina said one thing is the creative team is so great, and her cast mates are wonderful to work with every night.

She talked about how it was working in a beautiful theatre, especially here in Las Vegas. We have so few. She said she enjoys working every night and it feels new again each performance.

One thing that stands out is the roar from the audience at curtain calls. She said the audience does not wait for the leads to come out - they start applauding immediately and the sound just vibrates onto the stage. She said they always have good audiences.

It makes her feel amazing when the crowd roars as she is standing with her cast mates. Then after the Phantom (Anthony Crivello) comes out and they all take hands and rush to the front of the stage and the audience roars again; well, that is what it is all about when you perform. Tina said there is nothing like that rush after the show. Again, she says she is very happy to finally be working in "Phantom," after all these years.

Book your tickets now to see Tina and the other great cast members in "Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular."

Also, check out the "Phantom" gathering here in Las Vegas in September. It sounds like it will be great fun. Click here for more information about the fan gathering.

 

Photo: Carolyn Weaver and Tina Walsh
Photo Credit: Tom Donoghue