Ross Petty

Ross Petty is a Canadian actor and performer, born in Winnipeg. He has been married to former National Ballet of Canada dancer Karen Kain since 1983 [http://archives.cbc.ca/arts_entertainment/dance/topics/1002-5644/] . The couple reside in Toronto. He has an eponymous production company which concerns itself with producing "panto" plays in Toronto every holiday season and has become a beloved tradition on Toronto's theatre calendar. Last year's production featured former Olympic skater Kurt Browning as Peter Pan to soaring reviews on TV [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071130/browning_peter_pan_071130/20071203/] , and in print [http://www.stageandpage.com/peter%20pan.htm] .

Early Career

In Europe, Ross sang at the Lido in Paris and appeared with Betty Grable in the London West End musical Belle Starr. In the U.S., he made his Broadway debut in Arthur Kopit's Wings, created the role of Eddie Dorrance on All My Children, and co-starred with Ginger Rogers and Sid Caesar in a national tour of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes.

Ross appeared in the U.S. and Canada in the title role of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, directed by Hal Prince. Among his many film and TV credits, Ross counts Extreme Measures with Gene Hackman and Hugh Grant, [F/X 2,] [48] Perry Mason, , Monk and Martha Inc: The Martha Stewart Story.

Later Career

Since 1996 [http://www.aislesay.com/ONT-ROBIN.html] , Ross Petty Productions [http://www.rosspetty.com] have been producing what they call “Fractured Fairy Tale Musicals” at Toronto’s Elgin Theatre. The shows are firmly in the old English pantomime tradition, incorporating many of that style’s elements—broad comedy, winking asides that break the “fourth wall”, audience participation, and, of course, a man in a dress. Another key component is the "guest star". These productions have adhered to that tradition:

Chronological List of Productions and Notable Guest Stars

1996 ROBIN HOOD Karen Kain, Frank Augustyn

1997 JACK AND THE BEANSTALK Heath Lamberts

1998 ALADDIN Ernie Coombs

1999 CINDERELLA Juan Chioran

2000 PETER PAN Sheila McCarthy

2001 SNOW WHITE Graham Abbey

2002 ROBIN HOOD Rex Harrington

2003 CINDERELLA Erin Davis, Don Harron

2004 ALADDIN Bret "The Hitman" Hart

2005 SNOW WHITE Alan Frew, Sean Cullen

2006 ALADDIN touring version

2007 PETER PAN Kurt Browning

2008 CINDERELLA Paula Brancati, Jake Epstein

http://www.rosspetty.com

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0678811/