Ainsley Melham

Ainsley Melham (born 2 December 1991) is an Australian actor, best known as a former member of Australian children's musical group Hi-5, and for playing the title role in Disney's Aladdin in Australia, and later on Broadway.[2][3]

Ainsley Melham
Born (1991-12-02) 2 December 1991[1]
Bathurst, New South Wales
OccupationSinger, actor, performer
Years active2012–present

Career

Ainsley Melham was born in Australia on 2 December 1991, and raised in Bathurst with his sister Nadia. He graduated from Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA),[4] graduating in 2012. He was also educated at the NIDA Open Program, the Australasian Tap Dance Academy and La Belle School of Dance. At WAAPA, Melham performed in a range of musicals, including Ragtime, Violet, Crazy For You, A Chorus Line, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Into The Woods.[5]

In January 2013, Melham joined the Australian children's musical group Hi-5 as part of a new generation, after successfully auditioning in late 2012.[6] He starred in the documentary style cinematic release, Some Kind of Wonderful, which depicted the audition process, and appeared in three television series of Hi-5 House.[7][8] After touring nationally and internationally for three years, Melham departed from the group in January 2016. He stated that he felt it was time to transition back into his theatre roots after "an incredible experience" with Hi-5.[9]

In March 2016, Melham starred as Sonny Malone in an Australian musical production of Xanadu for Matthew Management and Hayes Theatre Co.[9][10] Later in 2016, he was cast as the title role in Disney Theatrical Company's production of Aladdin in Sydney, Australia. He starred as the title character, Aladdin, and was nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Musical.[11] After departing from the Australian cast in late 2018, it was announced that Melham would star in the Broadway production of Aladdin from 19 February 2019 at New Amsterdam Theatre.[12] He rejoined Michael James Scott as Genie, and Arielle Jacobs as Princess Jasmine, the trio who formed the original Australian cast.[12]

In November 2020, Melham played the title role in Pippin at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.[13]

Theatre credits
Year Production Role Venue Dates Notes Ref.
2016 Xanadu Sonny Malone Hayes Theatre, Sydney 12 May 2016
2016–17 Aladdin Aladdin Capitol Theatre, Sydney August 2016 – March 2017 Original Australian cast
2017–18 Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne April 2017 – January 2018
2018 Lyric Theatre, QPAC, Brisbane February – June 2018
Crown Theatre, Perth July – October 2018
2019 New Amsterdam Theatre, Broadway, New York February – July 2019
Kiss of the Spider Woman Molina Southbank Theatre, Melbourne 18 November – 28 December 2019 Melbourne Theatre Company
2020 Aladdin Aladdin New Amsterdam Theatre, Broadway, New York Originally scheduled for March 2020 Did not take place[lower-alpha 1]
2020–21 Pippin Pippin Sydney Lyric Theatre 24 November 2020 — 24 January 2021

Filmography
Film roles
Year Title Role Note
2013 Hi-5 Some Kind of Wonderful Himself
2021 Aladdin: The Broadway Musical Aladdin Filmed recording of 2019 West End musical
Television roles
Year Title Role Notes
2013–16 Hi-5 House Presenter Series 1 to 3

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2016 Glugs Theatrical Awards Best Actor in Musical Theatre Ainsley Melham as Aladdin in Aladdin Nominated [14]
Most Outstanding Performance by a Newcomer Won [15]
2017 Helpmann Awards Best Male Actor in a Musical Nominated [11]

Notes
  1. This production was closed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performing arts, which saw all theatres on Broadway closed until May 30, 2021.

References
  1. "Ainsley Melham (@MelhamP3)". Twitter. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  2. "Hi-5 Star Ainsley Melham to star in Australian production of Aladdin". The Daily Telegraph. Australia. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  3. "Ainsley Melham: What it means to be Aladdin". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  4. "Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts" (PDF). Ecu.edu.au. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. McCabe, Kathy (16 March 2013). "Hi-5 new members Ainsley Melham, Mary Lascaris, Dayen Zheng unveiled". News.com.au. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  7. "Get ready for the next generation of Hi-5". Bugg Toys and Licensing. 22 March 2013. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  8. McCabe, Kathy (18 August 2013). "Hi-5 will head home to Australia for House Party tour after filming new series in Singapore". News.com.au. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  9. Hook, Chris (23 January 2016). "Xanadu: Musical revival in Sydney promises to be a thrilling, scary ride for actors". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  10. / Larry Heath (13 September 2016). "One Jump Ahead – Aladdin's Ainsley Melham on playing the lead role at Capitol Theatre – Arts on the AU". Arts.theaureview.com. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  11. Gartner, Annelies (20 June 2017). "WA shines at Helpmann Awards nominations". The West Australian. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  12. McPhee, Ryan (8 January 2019). "Ainsley Melham and Michael James Scott Will Join Broadway Cast of Aladdin". Playbill. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  13. "Pippin's Sydney Cast Announced Ahead of November Commencement". The Theatre Sphere. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  14. "2016 Glugs Theatre Award Nominations". Glugs.com.au. 6 December 2016. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  15. "2016 GLUGS THEATRE AWARDS". Stagewhispers.com.au. Retrieved 12 January 2019.


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