Lisa Kelly might best be known to audiences as one of the soloists in ‘Celtic Woman’, but her background is purely steeped in the world of musical theatre. Her parents are both heavily involved in Ireland’s amateur theatre community and Lisa fit right in, staring in the musical “Bugsy Malone” at the age of 7. A talented actress as well as a singer, Lisa continued her studies in drama and was classically trained in both singing and piano.
Her heart always belonged to the theatre though, where she has had principal roles as "Velma Kelly" in Chicago, "Florence" in Chess, "Laurie" in Oklahoma and "Sandy" in Grease. Lisa has also performed in numerous concerts in Dublin's National Concert Hall, including "The Magic of Gershwin", "The Music of Cole Porter" and "From Romberg to Rodgers”. She has won many awards for singing and drama in Ireland, among them the Feis Ceoil R&R Cup, The Tomas Moore "Singer of the Year" and "Best Female Performer" in the Northern Ireland Musical Awards.
By day, Lisa was working in the computer industry when she decided to take a break to perform in the Christmas Pantomime “Jack and the Beanstalk” in Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre. That decision led to her being cast in 2000 as the lead female vocalist in ‘Riverdance – The Show’. “I feel so blessed,” she says. “It really was a case of being in the right place at the right time.” Initially, Lisa wasn’t sure if she was right for ‘Riverdance’. “I went into the show thinking I’d only last a couple of months. Even though ‘Riverdance’ is a huge show, it isn’t really a musical and it’s very much based on Irish music which was very different for me. Being there for so long opened my horizons for touring and heightened my appreciation for Irish music which is obviously really important for me now.”
Lisa toured the United States with the show for five years and met her husband whom she describes as “an Australian Irish dancer” in the cast. In 2002, Lisa was approached by Celtic Collections and asked to record a solo album with Music Director David Downes. The album, ‘Lisa’ was released the following year to critical acclaim and features songs such as ‘Lift the Wings’ from ‘Riverdance’, and ‘The Deer's Cry’ from ‘The Pilgrim’.
When Lisa took a break from touring for the birth of her second child, Downes approached her again. This time he said asked Lisa to become part of ‘Celtic Woman’ which was originally conceived to be a one-night show in Dublin’s Helix Theatre. “I wasn’t doing anything that day,” Lisa laughs. “I thought it was only going to be one night but that’s how wrong you can be. I didn’t know any of the girls at the time but the show is blessed with the girls they’ve picked.”
Lisa has nothing but praise for the show’s creators, Celtic Collections founder Sharon Browne and Downes. “David and Sharon were very insistent that all the girls remained individual in ‘Celtic Woman’. It’s quite rare to be in a show that didn’t ask us to change who we were as singers and performers. So, as much as it’s a group, each individual performance actually is that; individual. The songs that were picked for me are very much contemporary Irish songs and I’m always given the pop or the musical-themed songs.”
Although she’s developed a great appreciation for Irish music, Lisa retains her love of the theatre and the theatrical. “Barbra Streisand would be my biggest influence because she can cross over between pop and theatre very, very well. I was also a huge fan of Madonna,” she admits with a laugh. Her favorite role so far has been in ‘Chess’ due to it being in a rock opera format and admits that she’s performed ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ so many times that she could play almost any part.
But currently, she says “’Celtic Woman’ is fulfilling my ambitions. I’m very lucky and I’m living my dream in so many ways.” It helps that her husband and sons have been touring with her. “It wasn’t an option for me not to bring them with me,” she says. “My sons love being on the road more than I do now. They’ve seen the show and, of course, Chloe’s their favorite. They know all the words and all the songs. They’re both quite musical and seem to have good ears and they love the bodhran and the drums.”
Unlike many performing parents, Lisa says that she’d be more than happy for her children to follow in her footsteps. “My parents were very supportive yet, as much as I wanted to, it was just a flook that I ended up in this business at all. Honestly, I still can’t believe I get paid for what I do.”
More information about Lisa can be obtained on her website http://www.lisakelly.org
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2007
Jan 1
CW perform on The Brian Boitano Skating Spectacular on NBC at 3pm EST
2006
Dec 25
CW perfrom You Raise Me Up on DasErste Christams Gala in Germany
Dec 22
CW perform Let It Snow on the Megan Mullaly Show
Dec 18
CW CD is certified platinum in US
Dec 6
A Christmas Celebration at No 35 of BB Top 200 Charts
November 30
A Christmas Celebration is certified gold in S Africa
November 29
Return from S Africa
November 23
CW fly to S Africa for a weeks promotional tour
October 25
A Christmas Celebration is No 1 in the Billboard World Music Charts.
Celtic Woman is now at No 2
October 17
Japanese tour ends in Tokyo
October 10
Japanese tour starts in Fukuoka
October 3
Celtic Woman 'A Christmas Celebration' is released
Sept 10
DVD goes gold in Australia
Sept 4
CD hits Number 20 in the German charts
Aug 23 & 24
Celtic Woman film their new show, A New Journey, in Slane Castle
July 12
CW has been confirmed as No 1 in the Billboard World Music Charts for the 68th week. We now hold the record for the longest ever artist to be at No 1
July 11
Summer tour starts in a very wet Chicago
May 22
CD & DVD released in UK
May 12
CW record 'Beyond The Sea' for Toyota Estima Hybrid CM Ad - Japan only
May 8
Girls return to Ireland
May 7
Third US tour ends in Portland
April 1
CD is No 1 on Billboard World Music Chart for 52 weeks.
March 25
CD No 53 in the Billboard Top 200 Chart – New peak position
March 23
Gold in Japan
March 17 & 18
Sold out concerts in Radio City Music Hall
March 17
Performed live on Regis & Kelly
March 16
No 1 on the Japanese International Album Chart (Oricon)
March 15
Gold in South Africa
March 8
Third US tour begins in Toronto
March 4
Olympic figure skating gold medalist Shizuko Arakawa skated to
Your Raise Me Up
February 19
CW fly to Japan for a promotional tour
February 18
CW perform in the Point Depot in Dublin, Ireland
February 1
CW CD & DVD released in Japan
January 21
All CW solo albums enter the top 20 of the Billboard World Music
Charts with the CW still at no 1 for the 48th week
January 10
CW solo albums released
2005
December 6
CW Boxset availabe exclusively to PBS stations
December 1
CD certified gold & DVD certified platinum
November 18
CD & DVD released in Irealnd with CW performing on the Late Late Show
November 8
Perform in Carnegie Hall, New York
October 6
Perform in the Greek Theatre, LA
October 5
Fall tour starts in Phoenix
August 27
DVD No 16 in Top Music DVD Chart – New peak position
August 14
First US tour ends in Sacramento
August 10
DVD is certified gold
August 1
Perform in Wolf Trap, Vienna
July 26
Perform in Bank of American Pavillion, Boston
July 20
First US tour starts in Cleveland taking in 19 concerts in the whole tour
June 30
191 PBS stations aired the CW show during their June pledge with a total of 406 broadcasts
March 19
No 1 in Billboard World Music Charts & No 22 on New Artist Chart
March 18
CD & DVD No 1 on Amazon Charts
March 1
Celtic Woman CD & DVD released in the US
2004
September
The 1st ever Celtic Woman Show performed and recorded in the Helix, Dublin
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