Actor/singer/cabaret artist Sandy Campbell has performed in a wide range of productions and venues throughout Southern California, building an impressive list of credits. In 2006, Sandy appeared with a stellar cast of Broadway veterans in the world premiere of Lucy Simon's Zhivago at the La Jolla Playhouse, directed by multiple Tony-winner Des MacAnuff. Following the critical and commercial success of the La Jolla production, Sandy rejoined her castmates when Zhivago producers Waxman & Williams showcased the musical for producers in New York (December 2006) and London (January 2007). Earlier, she had garnered outstanding notices for her work as Rosabella in Moonlight Stage Productions' February 2006 production of The Most Happy Fella. More recently, she has scored successes in The Adoption Project: Triad (world premiere, Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company) and as Ruella in the acclaimed Cygnet Theatre production of Alan Ayckborn’s Communicating Doors, for which she received the 2007 San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Craig Noel Award for Outstanding Featured Performance. Communicating Doors also received a Best Production Patté Award For Theatre Excellence. In March 2008, she returned to Cygnet to perform the role of Charlotte Malcolm in Stephen Sondheim’s beloved musical, A Little Night Music. Her performace was praised as a standout by long-time San Diego theatre critic Anne Marie Welsh: "With her crystalline soprano, meticulous diction, and dry comic timing, Campbell proves brilliant - in the mournful comedy of "Every Day A Little Death", during her vengeful dinner scene, and in those painfully sincere moments when she reveals her real torment..." The show's extended run proved a hit with audiences and critics alike. Sandy followed A Little Night Music with her appearance as Signora Naccarelli in the Lamb's Players production of Adam Guettel's musical The Light In The Piazza. That production, a Southern Califonia Regional premiere, garnered similarly glowing notices.
(Photo: Seth Meyer Photography)
Sandy’s work as a cabaret artist, in collaboration with musical director G. Scott Lacy, has gained similar acclaim. Of her sold-out November 2006 appearance at Schroeder’s Club and Cabaret: “Perfectly attired in a stylish black number that accentuated and wrapped her svelte body for the entire show, Sandy started with 'As Long As I’m Singing' and let the audience know where she was gong to take us this evening: a little bit of class, a little bit of sass, and a lot of talent…the evening stirred the heart and underscored Sandy’s star quality and the reason she is asked to play in theatres all over San Diego and is much loved and respected not only as a singer but also as an actor.” - Cuactemoc Q. Kish, San Diego TheatreScene . Sandy and Scott had previously conceived and developed two cabaret shows: And I'll Be There: Songs of Love and Friendship, which premiered at North Coast Repertory Theatre in October 2003, and The Stories Go On, which received considerable audience acclaim in several engagements in the San Diego area (both shows are available for booking). In October 2004, Sandy and Scott brought a program of their finest material to Schroeder's Club & Cabaret, then returned to Schroeder's in June 2005 to celebrate the release of Sandy’s first studio recording.
Cast and creative and artistic teams of Zhivago in London, January 2007 (Enlarge photo)
That debut solo CD, CRAZY WORLD, has also received praise from listeners and critics alike. National showmusic critic Rob Lester offered: "It only took hearing the first few phrases sung to let me know the songs are in good hands...Sandy's voice is instantly appealing... She has an open and sweet quality, but with intelligent phrasing that keeps her safely far away from over-sentimentality. It's no surprise to learn that she has experience in theater and cabaret. It shows...Campbell and G. Scott Lacy crystallize the emotional potential of rich songs like these." - Talkin' Broadway. Produced and engineered by Eric Wilcox for TriTone Music Productions and released by Azahara Entertainment, CRAZY WORLD features stage and screen music from talents such as Mancini & Bricusse, Stephen Schwartz, Maury Yeston, and Stephen Sondheim. In 2006, her version of Peter Larson and Josh Rubins’ “Since You Stayed Here” was included in the compilation Oasis Pop Sampler, Vol. VI.
Sandy's other notable stage roles include Cinderella in Into the Woods at Starlight Musical Theatre, María in West Side Story, Amalia in She Loves Me, Shelby in The Spitfire Grill, Rosa Bud in The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Bella in Lost in Yonkers for Moonlight Stage Productions, Aldonza in Man of La Mancha at North Coast Repertory Theatre, Johanna in Sweeney Todd for The Fritz Theatre, Cordelia in Diversionary Theatre's production of William Finn's Falsettos and Abigail Adams in Lamb's Players Theatre's production of 1776. As a guest artist with CCT, Sandy was seen as Sarah in Guys and Dolls, Marian in The Music Man and Guenevere in Camelot. Other stage credits include: Annie (Grace Farrell) for Starlight Musical Theatre, Nunsense (Sister Mary Amnesia), Grease (Frenchy), Side By Side By Sondheim and Stepping Out for Limon-Carr Productions, and Ragtime (Ensemble, Mother u/s), The Secret Garden (Rose Lennox), and Fiddler on the Roof (Hodel) for Moonlight Stage Productions. At North Coast Repertory Theatre, she was also seen in The Batting Cage (Julianna) and in Stephen Sondheim's Marry Me a Little.
“Campbell sings with irresistible clarity and power…" - Los Angeles Times
In addition to 1776 and The Light In The Piazza, other credits with Lamb's Players Theatre - with whom she is an Associate Artist - include American Rhythm and Festivals of Christmas 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007. At Actors Asylum Productions, she appeared as Sally in Terrence McNally's Lips Together Teeth Apart and in Jason Robert Brown's Songs For A New World. At La Jolla Playhouse she understudied Susan Blakely as the temperamental Deanna Deninger in Diva.
(Photo: Mark Sutherland)
“Outstanding…a striking voice and presence...” - KPBS Radio
Other credits include Closer Than Ever at Poway Performing Arts Company, Pippin (Catherine), Godspell , Baby (Lizzie), and How to Succeed in Business… (Rosemary) for La Jolla Stage Company, and Merrily We Roll Along for Long Beach Summer Repertory Theatre. She has also appeared as Anne in A Little Night Music, Louise in Gypsy, Antonia in Man of La Mancha, The Narrator in Joseph And The Amazing Technocolor Dreamcoat, Pitti-Sing in The Mikado, Nadjira in The Apple Tree, Vittoria in The Gondoliers and Tracy in The Philadelphia Story. A member of the Actors Alliance of San Diego, Sandy performed in the 1997 San Diego Actors Festival as Brett in Tennessee Williams’ rarely performed I Rise in Flame, Cried the Phoenix. In the 2005 Festival, she appeared as Eve in The Apple Tree, Act I: The Diary of Adam and Eve, which earned a Best Ensemble nod from the festival judges for Sandy and castmates Danny Campbell and David Radford. On February 25, 2005, she was the featured guest of San Diego Theatre Scene On Air, webcast over World Talk Radio.
“Musical theatre heaven…there are echoes of Judy Collins in Campbell’s soprano.” - San Diego Union
In addition to her dramatic work, Sandy has an established profile as one of San Diego's premiere vocalists. She appeared as Anne Bronte in the concert version of the Steve Gunderson musical The Brontes, a production of the San Diego Ballet. Other concert and cabaret credits include Sunday In The Park With Sondheim and Totally Tonys! for Outcast Productions and The Greatest Songs You’ve Never Heard, a Joseph Grienenberger production. In March 2000 she sang the role of Beth in a concert version of Merrily We Roll Along at the Avo Theatre in Vista, California. She can be heard on the concept recordings of several original works, including Fate: A Musical and The White Arrow. In June 2005 she appeared in Cygnet Theatre's concert staging of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins.
With G. Scott Lacy (Photo: John Guth, courtesy of North Coast Repertory Theatre)
“Exceptional…Most remarkable…new levels of beauty and richness while filling her character with great tenderness, intelligence and emotion.” - San Diego Playbill
Vocal range: Soprano
Styles: Legit, Broadway, Belt Mix
Height: 5'4"
Eyes: Hazel Hair: Brown
Based in: San Diego, California
Sandy Campbell is a member of Actors' Equity Association.
