| Colby Thomas was born in Huntington, New York. At the age of thirteen she got her first part in a high- school production of Plain and Fancy in which she played the character of Ruth Winters. She later studied Singing and Drama at the New York State University in Oneonta. While studying there she performed in such shows as Der kauka- sische Kreidekreis by Bertolt Brecht, Mame, and The Elephant Man. After university she moved to NYC and worked for several Light Opera companies. She sang for the NY Gilbert and Sullivan Players, where she played in many of their operettas, including The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, and HMS Pinafore. Notable for Phantom fans, Colby also sang with in the Opera Ensemble of New York's production of A Little Night Music starring opposite Franc D'Ambrosio. Her regional theater and touring credits include Maria in West Side Story, Laurey in Oklahoma!, and most notably, Princess Tuptim in the National Tour of The King and I starring Stacey Keach. Her other credits include Luisa in The Fantasticks, Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof, Countess Olivia in Shakes- peare's Twelth Night, Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Molly in Agatha Christie's The Mouse-trap. Colby was also very successful in singing solo parts in Händel's Messiah, Mozart's Mass in c-Minor with the Concert Royal, and in Poulenc's Gloria accom- panied by the Catskill Symphony Orchestra. Before Ms. Thomas joined the production of Das Phantom der Oper in Hamburg in the spring of 1992 to perform as Princess and Christine Daaé under- study firstly, she was a member of the American Musical Company and toured all over Europe with Oklahoma! playing the role of Laurey Williams. From January 1993 to June 2001 she was the principal Christine Daaé and sang it in more than 1600 shows. In the United States, Colby is currently a member of the Syracuse Vocal Ensemble. |