Melissa Langton

Australian Musical Theatre and Cabaret Performer

The Australian

"Zest, irreverence and loads
of vocal power"

"The formidably larger than life
Melissa Langton was a
lively presence". (42nd St)

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Melissa’s versatility as an entertainer is highlighted by her unique performances in cabaret, music theatre and on the concert platform.

Her theatre appearances include Jesus Christ Superstar, Les Miserables, Crusade, The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, HMS Pinafore, Brigadoon, Marry Me A Little, Call Me Madam, Sideshow Alley, After the Beep, Eurobeat (onstage and as Assistant Musical Director), We Will Rock You (Killer Queen) in Japan and The Threepenny Opera for The Malthouse Theatre & The Victorian Opera. Her performances with The Production Company include Carousel (Nettie Fowler), 42nd Street (Maggie Jones), Follies (Stella Deems), Damn Yankees (Gloria Thorpe), Crazy For You (Patricia Fodor) and Sugar (Sweet Sue). In 2011 she performed the role of Vonny alongside John Wood, Peter Cousens and Colette Mann in the Australian premiere of Strange Bedfellows in Albury and also returned to The Victorian Opera in the role of Angel in the Australian premiere of Kathy Lette’s How To Kill Your Husband, for which she received a Green Room Award nomination for Best Female Performance in an Opera.

She is renowned for devising and performing her own cabaret shows alongside her husband and Musical Director, Mark Jones, including; I Got The Music in Me (1998), What’s New Pussycat? (1999), What Do You Think of Me So Far??? (2001), Me and Mr Jones (2002), A Walk on the Wild Side (2005), No Room to Swing A Cat (2006) and Can You Hear Me Up The Back? (2007). These shows have been presented at venues locally and internationally including; Don’t Tell Mama’s in New York, The Sugar Club in Dublin, Downstairs at The Maj in Perth, The Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Sydney Cabaret Convention, the Auckland Festival, The Melbourne Midsumma Festival, The Butterfly Club, Chapel off Chapel, Capers Cabaret and The Famous Spiegeltent at the Melbourne Festival.

In 2008 she performed in the Queensland tour of Flat on Your Bacharach and in 2009 co-presented Everybody’s Got Something to Hide (except for me and my monkey), a brand new show for The Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Her latest production, Get Back - The Lennon & McCartney Songbook, toured Australia throughout 2011, including The Victorian Arts Centre, The Adelaide Fringe Festival, The Sydney Recital Centre at Angel Place and Downstairs at The Maj in Perth.

Melissa enjoys workshopping new Australian musicals and performing in readings and has been involved in workshops of Strange Bedfellows (John Stephens/John Foreman/Dean Murphy), How To Kill Your Husband (and other handy household hints) (The Victorian Opera) (Alan John/Tim Daly/Kathy Lette), After the Beep (Craig Christie and Mark Jones), The Black Widow, Life By Drowning and Sideshow Alley (all by Gary Young and Paul Keelan), Halo (Marty Fields), Life’s A Circus (Anthony Costanzo), and Martin and Gina (Daryl Emerson). Most recently she appeared in High as a Kite (Nick Christo/Anthony Costanzo).

She is also a member of the popular girl group The Fabulous Singlettes, and has performed with the group regularly since 1998 at many events in Australia including The Sydney Olympics, The Australian Grand Prix, The Adelaide Cabaret Festival and The Melbourne Comedy Festival. The group is in constant demand in popular venues across Europe, most recently performing in Hamburg, Vienna and Verona with a yearly appearance at The Tipi in Berlin. In concert, she has appeared with The Aussie Pops Orchestra and is a regular soloist each year at Hats Off. She recently appeared as a soloist at the 2011 Rob Guest Endowment Concert at His Majesty’s Theatre, and in 2012 at Side By Side By Sondheim in Concert at The Theatre Royal in Sydney. Melissa also regularly appears in concerts for Stonnington City in the Park, including Musical Melodies and Carols by Candlelight.

Melissa has also been teaching singing privately since 1993. She has taught at most of the major dance and theatre schools around Melbourne, including Bartuccios, Patrick Studios Australia, The Dance Factory and Stage Left. From 2004 - 2008, she and Susan-ann Walker directed The Cabaret Showcases, which showcased young talent in Melbourne, and was performed every month at Capers Cabaret Venue.

She has also performed in children’s pantomime, including The Bilbies (Alexander Theatre), The Magic Faraway Tree (Gary Ginivan) and Thomas and the Hidden Treasure (Smile Inc.) which is touring the world throughout 2013.

Melissa received 2002 Green Room Awards for Best Cabaret Artist and Best Cabaret Ensemble (with Mark Jones) and was the winner of The 2001 Sydney Cabaret Convention.

On television she appeared on The ABC in The Damnation of Harvey McHugh and was a regular soloist on Good Morning Australia with Bert Newton. Other television appearances include: Denise, Hey Hey It’s Saturday and The Midday Show.

She has featured on a number of recordings including:
Get Back - The Lennon & McCartney Songbook (Cabaret Recording)
Jesus Christ Superstar (Cast Recording)
Eurobeat - Almost Eurovision (Cast Recording)
The Pirates of Penzance (Cast Recording and DVD)
HMS Pinafore (Cast Recording and DVD)
The Fabulous Singlettes Live in Berlin (Soloist)
Eddie Perfect’s - Welcome to the Inside of Ed’s Head (Featured Vocalist)
Eclipse EP (Featured Vocalist)
Loka (Featured Vocalist)

Melissa’s debut album When the Rain Falls Up was released November 2001.