Fra Fee

Fra Fee
Fee in 2016 - Photo by Ruth Crafer
Fee in 2016
Born Francis Martin Fee
(1987-05-20) 20 May 1987
Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Occupation Actor
Years active 2009-present

Francis Martin "Fra" Fee (born 20 May 1987) is a Northern Irish actor and singer, best known for playing Courfeyrac in Tom Hooper's film adaptation of Les Misérables.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Background

Fee, born in Dungannon, County Tyrone and raised in rural Killyman, attended school at St. Patrick's Academy, Dungannon, read music at the University of Manchester[7] before studying at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating in 2009.[8] In 2014 Fee was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

Professional career

Fee appeared in numerous productions at Belfast's Grand Opera House in conjunction with the Welsh National Opera, including The Beggar's Opera, The Mikado, Sweeney Todd, as well as a production of The Elixir of Love as Nemorino, directed by John Doyle. In 2004, he was a guest soloist for Irish tenor Ronan Tynan in Tynan's Dublin concert, titled "The Impossible Dream". Immediately following his graduation from the Royal Academy of Music, Fee was cast as Billy Kostecki in the West End production of Dirty Dancing.[9]

He played Schlomo in the RTÉ Irish tour of FAME, before essaying the title role in Aladdin at Dublin's Gaiety Theatre. From June 2011 to 2012 he played Jean Prouvaire, and covered the roles of Marius and Enjolras in Les Misérables at the Queens Theatre, London. During his time in the West End production, Fee was cast as Courfeyrac in Tom Hooper's Les Misérables,[10] starring alongside Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean and Russell Crowe as Javert.[11]

From November to December 2012, Fee played Florizel in Howard Goodall's professional world premiere of A Winter's Tale.[12]

Fee played Young Buddy in Stephen Sondheim's Follies at the Toulon Opera in March 2013,[13] before playing Robbie in A Man of No Importance for Salisbury Playhouse.[14][15]

On 16 June 2013, he portrayed Henrik Egerman in a special concert performance of Sondheim's A Little Night Music at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford, starring alongside Janie Dee, David Birell and Joanna Riding.[16] On 2 August 2013, Fee was a guest soloist for BBC Radio 2's Friday Night is Music Night singing America's Greatest Broadway Hits.[17]

Fee starred in the title role of Candide at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London, alongside Scarlett Strallen as Cunegonde and David Thaxton as Maximillian, from November 23, 2013 to February 22, 2014.[18] He later starred as Philip Ashley in Dublin's Gate Theatre production of Dame Daphne du Maurier's My Cousin Rachel, adapted for the stage by Joseph O'Connor at the Dock Street Theatre in Charleston, South Carolina as part of the Spoleto Festival USA from 22 May to 8 June 2014.[19] In September 2014, he filmed the role of Kieran in Tom Lawes' forthcoming psychological thriller Monochrome, starring Jo Woodcock, Cosmo Jarvis and James Cosmo.[20]

On 26 January 2015, Fee reprised the role of Henrik Egerman in A Little Night Music for one night only at the Palace Theatre in London's West End, reunited with previous co-stars Janie Dee as Desiree, David Birell as Frederick, Joanna Riding as Countess Malcolm as well as new cast members Jamie Parker as Carl Magnus and Anne Reid as Madame Armfeldt.[21]

Fee made his Shakespeare debut as Romeo in Dublin's Gate Theatre's production of Romeo & Juliet directed by Wayne Jordan from March 2015 to May 2015.[22]

In June 2015, Fee returned to Belfast to take up the roll of Jamie in a production of Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years, working alongside fellow West End actress Amy Lennox.[23]

From September 2015 to 5 March 2016, Fee played the role of Amiens in Polly Findlay's production of As You Like It at the National Theatre in London starring Rosalie Craig as Rosalind.[24] During this period he also played Man 2 in Stephen Sondheim's review Putting It Together at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast (December 2015).[25]

Awards and Reviews

Year Award Category Film Result
2012 National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Best Acting by an Ensemble Les Misérables Won
Best Ensemble
San Diego Film Critics Society Best Ensemble Performance Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Ensemble, Motion Picture Won
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Acting Ensemble
2013 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated
(Source: IMDb.com)

Reviewing Candide for the New York Times, Ben Brantley wrote that "Mr. Fee proved himself a most ingenious practitioner of ingenuousness, with a glorious tenor voice."[26] Also reviewing for Candide Libby Purves noted that "Fra Fee from Dungannon is a real find: innocent elfin face but a voice so deep, honeyed and flawless that your heart melts.[27] Reviewing for "My Cousin Rachel" at the Dock Street Theatre, Charleston, Debra Charlton wrote "Playing the protagonist of this taut drama, Fra Fee portrays Philip's tormented journey through desire, guilt and suspicion with keen sensitivity and detail. His tour de force performance demonstrates immense emotional range and admirable control."[28] "Fra Fee as Philip Ashley does most of the heavy lifting in My Cousin Rachel. Rarely offstage during the entire two-plus-hour performance, Fee’s stamina is incredible. Without melodrama, he convincingly portrays his character’s appropriately gothic emotional swings and perfectly captures Philip’s tragic flaw of youthful impulsiveness." (Elizabeth Pandolfi - Charleston City Paper)[29]

References

  1. ↑ Adair, Gordon. "Les Miserables: Fra Fee on his role in the upcoming blockbuster". BBC News. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "Fra Fee profile". IMDb.com. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  3. ↑ Tyrone Times profile of Fee, tyronetimes.co.uk; accessed 26 June 2014.
  4. ↑ Profile of Fee at colekitchenn.com
  5. ↑ BBC reference to Fee
  6. ↑ "Tyrone man' starring role in Les Mis, bbc.co.uk; accessed 26 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "Music graduate Fra Fee stars in Les Mis, musicatmanchester.blogspot.fr, February 2013; accessed 26 June 2014.
  8. ↑ Fee's homecoming premiere at newsletter.co.uk
  9. ↑ Fee cast as Billy Kostecki in the West End production of Dirty Dancing, accessmylibrary.com; accessed 26 June 2014.
  10. ↑ Fee profile at classicfm.com
  11. ↑ Fra Fee profile, spotlight.com; accessed 26 June 2014.
  12. ↑ "Helena Blackman, Alastair Brookshaw, Fra Fee, and Pete Gallagher announced for A Winter's Tale", westend.broadwayworld.com; accessed 26 June 2014.
  13. ↑ Toulon Opera website; accessed 26 June 2014.
  14. ↑ Fra Fee in A Man of No Importance, whatsonstage.com; accessed 26 June 2014.
  15. ↑ Review of the musical version of A Man of No Importance, salisburyplayhouse.com; accessed 26 June 2014.
  16. ↑ "Fra Fee to feature with Holly Conrad, Austin Jones, Joanna Riding and Hadley Fraser in A Little Night Music", playbill.com; accessed 26 June 2014.
  17. ↑ Fee profile, bbc.co.uk; accessed 26 June 2014.
  18. ↑ Fra Fee to star in Candide, along with Scarlett Strallen, David Thaxton, Ben Lewis, and Cassidy Janson, playbill.com; accessed 26 June 2014.
  19. ↑ Spoleto Festival USA website; accessed 26 June 2014.
  20. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4078162/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1
  21. ↑ http://www.playbill.com/news/article/casting-announced-for-west-end-concert-performance-of-a-little-night-music-332927
  22. ↑ http://www.gatetheatre.ie/production/RomeoandJuliet2015
  23. ↑ http://www.lyrictheatre.co.uk/whats-on/specific/on-stage/the-last-five-years
  24. ↑ http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/as-you-like-it?cast
  25. ↑ http://www.bluntfringe.com/shows/2015/12/9/sondheims-putting-it-together
  26. ↑ http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/london-theater-journal-stripped-of-illusions-but-still-glittering-and-gay/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
  27. ↑ "http://theatrecat.com/tag/candide/
  28. ↑ http://www.broadwayworld.com/south-carolina/article/BWW-Reviews-Dublins-Gate-Theatre-Presents-MY-COUSIN-RACHEL-at-the-Spoleto-Festival-20140528
  29. ↑ http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/kissing-cousins/Content?oid=4926206

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