 | About Mary Carrick: Known for her lush, expressive vocals and charming personality, Mary Carrick grew up in a small, southeast Iowa community, where her musical parents owned and operated a restaurant. As a young girl, she remembers live combos playing in the restaurant lounge, customers feeding the juke box, and the sounds of rollicking piano in the house. She was destined to be an artsy kid. She studied piano, flute, and violin into her teens but found her real voice through song and theatre. She began vocal study at age 15, fell in love with community theatre, and enrolled at Illinois Wesleyan University, where she graduated with a degree in vocal performance and studied theatre arts. Today, she's a multi-faceted and versatile performer who is equally at home with cabaret, musical theatre, opera, jazz, art song, contemporary musical styles, and as a stage actor. Her influences span many musical spectrums, including jazz greats, opera divas, Broadway legends, and contemporary |
stylists. She finds joy in putting her personal spin on standards from the Great American Songbook and musical theatre, and uncovering obscure tunes and great songs from emerging composers.
Mary performs frequently throughout the Midwest region with arts organizations, arts councils, cabaret venues, and theatres. She makes her home in Omaha, Nebraska where she's a familiar face across the metropolitan area on stage with Opera Omaha, the Omaha Symphony, Rose Theatre, one of the largest professional children’s theaters in the country, and the Omaha Community Playhouse, among many others.
Most recently, she is the recipient of the 2013 Omaha Entertainment & Arts Award for her role as “Sour Kangaroo” in the Rose Theater’s production of SEUSSICAL: THE MUSICAL. She also received critical acclaim and multiple award nominations for her performance at the Rose as “Mother Abbess” in THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Her next appearance will be as a featured soloist in the annual OMAHA PRESS CLUB SHOW at the Holland Performing Arts Center.
Mary is currently touring the Midwest region with several cabaret shows, including ON MY WAY, SONGS WITH A TWIST OF LIME, and LOVE NOTES, along with her pianst and cabaret partner, Todd Brooks. Together, they made their Chicago cabaret debut at Davenport's Piano Bar & Cabaret in October 2012.
Other awards include the Outstanding Cabaret Award from the Omaha Theatre Arts Guild in 2008. She is also the recipient of Theatre Arts Guild Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress (2007) for her role as “Jessie” in ‘NIGHT, MOTHER and Outstanding Featured Actress (2003) for her role as “Joan” in THE MARRIAGE OF BETTE & BOO.
Over the course of her career, Mary has studied voice with Mary Creswell, Dawn Harris, Barrington Coleman, & Lucinda Sloan and currently coaches with Betty Buckley and J. Gawf. Mary continues to hone her craft and says that beauty of being an artist is you never stop learning and the beauty of a song is you can always make it your own.
Mary makes her home in Omaha, Nebraska where she and her husband, Ben, have two children.
