At this place, it's '80s all the way

Madam Vintage offers fingerless gloves, other items to channel your inner Madonna

The Toronto Star Dec. 12, 2009
by Keith Beaty

 

The '80s are back in fashion in a big way. It's all about leggings, padded shoulders, over-the-knee boots and fingerless gloves.

 

Cara Leslie has it all covered at Madam Vintage & Nearly New at 168 Gladstone Ave., just south of Dundas.

 

It is well worth the schlep.

 

In her night job, Leslie is the female swing on Toxic Avenger, at the Danforth Music Hall through Jan. 3, taking over for leads Brittany Gray and Louise Pitre should they be indisposed or have auditions in New York.

 

Gray and Leslie bonded over a mutual love of vintage. Gray is at the shop auditioning New Year's Eve dresses.

 

"I love vintage glamour," Gray says. "In the '40s and '50s, they knew how to be women. I love that era's class and elegance."

 

Gray is rocking a $125 black sequined number with ruching, crinoline and poofy sleeves. Ivana Trump called and wants her dress back.

 

Leslie hails from Alberta so she has a great stock of cowboy boots. There are also houndstooth leggings, vintage Le Château paisley jeans, Madonna T-shirts, red plaid shirts, football-shouldered blazers, beaded gowns and a brown leather trench coat marked at $20 that is very Al Pacino in Carlito's Way.

 

"It is beaten up and needs a few stitches," Leslie explains.

 

So does Pacino these days.

 

Prices start at $5 and go to $300 for a white fox fur coat. Bags range between $35 and $45. There is a good collection of eel skin purses.

 

Leslie picked the '80s not because it is in the zeitgeist, but because no one else is carrying specifically '80s vintage and she is a big fan of the look.

 

"I grew up in the '80s and I have been collecting so long," she says.

 

"I like the colours. It is k.d. lang meets Bob and Doug meets Dynasty."

 

(Coincidentally, Mike Deschambeault, stage manager of Toxic Avenger, owns the vintage shop Style Commission in Welland.)

 

Gray loves to shop for skirts, tights and cowboy boots.

 

"I'm a boot girl. And I love '80s shoulders," she says.

 

She also loves leopard and zebra, something she inherited from her mom.

 

"Mom has amazing style. She is my go-to person on advice on what to wear. Her thing is, don't leave the house without heels on. You'll never catch her in flats."

 

Gray shops at Zara and H&M for staples. You'll also find her at Winners, Value Village, Kensington, Yorkville and Queen West and she and Leslie discovered Danforth shops such as Alchemy Fashions, Body Blue and Room 507 Clothing since they started working in the 'hood.

 

Gray plays Sarah, the sexy blind librarian who falls for the lead character, Toxie. They say love is blind. He tells her he looks like Brad Pitt. He looks more like Arm Pit.

 

"She falls in love with the toxic avenger, who is a 7-foot-tall green superhero," Gray says. "He tells her he is a Frenchman.

 

"Sarah is a blond, who is sexy in a nerdy way," adds Gray, a brunette.

 

Unlike Gray, Sarah has no fashion sense.

 

"She can't see, so everything she wears clashes. She dreams of being an author and wants Oprah to promote her book."

 

Gray dreams of having a career like Kristin Chenoweth's.

 

"She can do both theatre and film and goes back and forth."

Gray, 23, hails from Pickering. She has been dancing since age 3 and made her professional debut at age 15 in the film Chicago.

 

"I was dancer/singer/ensemble in the `Cellblock Tango' number with Catherine Zeta-Jones and with Richard Gere in `All I Care about Is Love,'" Gray says.

 

"Catherine Zeta-Jones was very motherly all the time. She sent us all individual Christmas cards."

 

They didn't know she was only 15.

 

"They were looking for late 20s to mid 30s," she recalls. "I looked 23; I went in full makeup."

 

Gray is a whiz at makeup and has her own makeup business Fancy Face (www.fancyface.ca).

 

"I hire freelance makeup artists and we do weddings, parties, photo shoots, head shots ... You have to have something on the side to balance the desperation of being an actor."

 

Gray also danced with Hilary Swank in a commercial sequence in the film Amelia; with Carol Burnett and Tracey Ullman in Once Upon a Time on a Mattress; was Case Model number 5 in Howie Mandel's Deal or No Deal; and landed her first villainous role as Hive in the Disney series Aaron Stone.

 

"She is part bee, part human and tries to take down Aaron Stone," Gray says.

 

"It is a lot of fun and so different from Sarah in Toxic."

 

Ford Focus was perfect when she was sixteen

Globe and Mail Oct 29, 2009
by Petrina Gentile

 

She's only 23, but has appeared in some of Hollywood's hottest flicks with top actors such as Catherine Zeta-Jones in the Oscar-wining movie Chicago, Hilary Swank and Richard Gere in Amelia, Lindsay Lohan in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and Julie Andrews in Eloise at the Plaza.

 

Now, actress and singer Brittany Gray is gearing up for The Toxic Avenger musical, based on the 1984 cult classic film by the same name.

 

She'll be driving to the Toronto premiere on Halloween night in a 2000 Ford Focus SE Sport.

 

It's Gray's first car; she bought it used in 2002, after her debut in Chicago when she was only 15; she named her car Roxie after lead character Roxie Hart.

 

"Chicago was my first professional job. It was such a good gig I ended up buying a car from it! Prior to that, I danced at shows at Wonderland - it didn't even compare to Chicago."

 

It was her first big purchase. "My parents didn't help me pay for it at all. It was my purchase.

 

 

"It felt really liberating. I had been dancing and singing my whole life - taking dance lessons 25 hours a week. It was payoff for working so hard," says Gray, who appeared in the Tony Award-winning musical The Producers, the Queen musical We Will Rock You and the TV show Deal or No Deal as Howie Mandel's Case Model No. 5. She has just landed another gig in the TV series Aaron Stone on Disney.

 

She liked the Focus for several reasons. "The price point was right. I liked how sporty it looked on the outside. I like that it had a spoiler on the back.

 

"I also liked that it was a Ford. My parents had Fords before and it just seemed like a good choice."

 

Her only big decision was the colour - red or green. "Just because of Chicago, I thought red is the perfect purchase. At that point red was my favourite colour. I love it."

 

"My particular car is nothing fancy, it's very economical. The gas per week isn't too high.

 

"It was a really good starter car for me especially when I was 16 years old.

 

"I got into a couple of fender benders and scratches on it when I was younger. It was a good car to learn the ropes on."

 

Parking and speeding set her back initially. "Parking and hitting my fender on a stone garbage can and then denting my car - silly things where you think, 'I can't believe I did that!'

 

"But it's all a learning process. It takes a little while to be fully comfortable in the car when you're young ...

 

"I used to drive fast, but I got a few speeding tickets which made me realize it's not the coolest thing to drive fast.

 

"Usually on the highway I'll do nothing more than 120 - I don't want to get pulled over. It's not worth it."

 

Gray got her licence at 16 on the first try. "As soon as I turned 16, I started getting weekly car lessons.

 

"When I turned 17, I got The Producers and I had to drive myself back and forth every night so I needed a car or I'd have to take the train. At 17, taking the train or subway at night isn't the best thing.

 

"Having that car helped me out a lot," says the single actress, who lives at home with her parents in Pickering, Ont.

 

But it wasn't just a commuter car; she also took a few road trips.

 

"The year I graduated high school, I drove a bunch of my friends to the cottage.

 

"I really loved taking the responsibility to drive our friends. We stopped in a whole bunch of different places.

 

 

 

"Without the car I wouldn't be able to do that. It was a good memory. It was a cool thing to do."

 

She shares an embarrassing moment as a passenger with her friend at wheel. "We were 16. It was her new car and she's driving stick. She was pulling up to the movie theatre outside the mall, which is the coolest hangout spot ever, and she's like 'Let's roll down the windows and turn up the music so people can see our cool car!'

 

"And all of a sudden she started stalling. We were shaking back and forth in front of everyone as we were pulling up," she laughs.

 

Behind the wheel, Gray rehearses. "I'll listen to the Toxic Avenger soundtrack. If I'm auditioning for something new, I'll listen to that.

 

"If I'm going to rehearsals, I'll pop in the CD from Elaine Overholt, she's a singing teacher. I'll do vocal warm-ups.

 

"I don't listen to the radio. I really like silence in the car after a show. If I'm driving a long distance it's my quiet time. It's the time when I can get all my thoughts together and just think and process everything that's going on in my life.

 

"I find the road really calming when there's no music."

 

Gray hopes her new gig will pay off like her first flick. Afterwards, maybe she'll buy her dream car - it's a toss-up between a white Mercedes-Benz E550 coupe and a white Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG roadster.

 

"I've always dreamed of a part in Toxic Avenger. So if I bought it in this contract, it would be representative of fulfilling my dream."

P ickering actor takes centre stage

Brittany Gray plays Sarah in "The Toxic Avenger

 

 

News Durham Region Oct 15, 2009
by Izabela Jaroszvnski

 

PICKERING -- When Brittany Gray first read the script for The Toxic Avenger, it was her character's comedic quality that she identified with the most.

 

"Sarah is the love interest in The Toxic Avenger. I fell in love with her right away," the 23-year-old Pickering native said. "She's got a great personality, is very upbeat and spunky. And she is actually very funny. I really loved that about her."

 

The Toxic Avenger, opening on Oct. 31 at Toronto's Danforth Music Hall, is the story of a man trying to clean up the most polluted town in New Jersey. When he is dumped into a vat of radioactive toxic waste by his enemies, he emerges as the Toxic Avenger -- New Jersey's first superhero.

 

Gray plays Sarah, a beautiful blind librarian who captures the superhero's heart.

 

"It is a challenge," Ms. Gray said about playing a blind character. "You have to really use your ears and react to everything you hear."

 

But Gray is no stranger to taking on challenging roles. In her decade-long career, she has pushed herself to continually take on roles that will challenge her in both the acting and the musical realm.

 

"It is easy to shy away from what you think you are not good at, but you have to work on your weaknesses to get better," she said.

 

She got her first taste of the industry in the Oscar-Award winning movie Chicago, where she was a dancer at the age of 15.

 

Since then, Gray has gone on to perform in the Tony-Award winning musical The Producers by Mel Brooks, the Queen musical We Will Rock You and films such as Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Eloise at the Plaza and Once Upon a Mattress. She also landed a lead role on the television series Aaron Stone. Gray's most recent role is in the move Amelia, which stars Hillary Swank and Richard Gere.

 

Quite the resume for someone who is just 23.

 

"The most important thing is to really surround yourself with people who believe in you," she said. "I've been very lucky in that regard.

 

While Gray said she enjoys working in both film and theatre, she finds them each challenging in their own way.

 

With film, it is all very technical, she said. You have to pick up the same prop, the same way for each take.

 

"It's very rigid in that sense," she added.

 

Theatre is much more liberating, but also has its challenges -- no second chances if you get it wrong.

 

"You get immediate feedback from the audience," she said.

 

But whether she is singing, dancing or acting, Ms. Gray said the past 10 years have been a dream come true.

 

"This is my passion, what moves me," she said. "This is what makes my heart go pitter-patter. This is what I do for no other reason than the fact that I love it."

 

Riding with her Roxie

Actress Brittany Gray's 2000 Focus is rehearsal space too

Metro News Toronto Oct 14., 2009
by Heather Buchan

 

I spend a ridiculous amount of time in my car,” declares actress, singer and dancer Brittany Gray. “I live in my car. It’s like my home away from home.”

 

The multi-talented 23-year-old, who’s been performing in theatre, television and film productions since she was a child, not only relies on her nine-year-old car to get her everywhere, but it’s in the driver’s seat that she preps on her way to rehearsals for shows like We Will Rock You and The Producers. “I have a vocal warm-up CD that I usually put on. (My car is) like my haven where I prep for shows and wind down afterwards,” she explains.

 

Gray’s big break came at 15, when she was cast in the Oscar-winning movie Chicago with Catherine Zeta-Jones, whom the Pickering native truly admires. “I’d like to follow a career like Catherine,” she says. “She’s someone who’s combined singing and dancing with acting, in both theatre and film.”

 

The year after starring in Chicago, Gray turned 16, and bought her red 2000 Ford Focus SE Sport. “It was a choice between a red one and a green one,” says Gray. She went with red, her favourite colour, and named the car Roxie, in homage to Roxie Hart, the lead character in Chicago.

 

Although Gray admits to racking up one-too-many speeding tickets after first getting behind the wheel as a teen, she has since slowed down on the road. “I learned quickly that it’s not the coolest thing to drive that much over the speed limit,” she says.

 

Aside from starring in the musical The Toxic Avengers, which opens in Toronto on Halloween, Gray also has a cameo as a dancer in the soon-to-be-released film Amelia, starring Hilary Swank, filmed in Toronto last year. “Roxie’s gotten me to a lot of rehearsals, a lot of shows and I couldn’t have lived without her,” she says of her car.

 

But looking to the future, she admits she would like to make a more luxurious auto upgrade. “I would love to have a white convertible Mercedes one day,” she says, adding. “And I would love to work with Charleze Theron.” Both possibilities seem within reach for this ambitious up-and-comer.

 

 

Dancap Productions Announces Casting
for the Canadian Premiere of
THE TOXIC AVENGER MUSICAL

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Book & Lyrics by Joe DiPietro
Music & Lyrics by David Bryan
Based on Lloyd Kaufman’s “The Toxic Avenger”
OPENING HALLOWEEN NIGHT 2009
The Music Hall, Toronto

 

Toronto (September 1, 2009) – Dancap Productions Inc. is tickled green to announce the
complete cast of the Canadian premiere of THE TOXIC AVENGER MUSICAL, opening 9pm
on October 31, 2009, at The Music Hall. THE TOXIC AVENGER is an eco-monster musical
comedy based on the 1984 Lloyd Kaufman classic cult film of the same name. Directed by
Tony Award®-winner John Rando, THE TOXIC AVENGER stars Dora Award-winner Louise
Pitre, Brittany Gray, Daren A. Herbert, Jamie McKnight and Evan Smith.

A Dancap discovery, Evan Smith will perform the role of Melvin Ferd the Third, a bullied
weakling turned fast and fierce hero. A recent graduate of the George Brown Theatre School,
Evan’s credits include Tony in West Side Story, Marius in Les Misérables, and Younger
Brother in Ragtime.

Louise Pitre, Canada's first lady of musical theatre, will play the dual-role of Mayor Babs
Belgoody, the evil Mayor of Tromaville, and Ma Ferd, mother of Melvin Ferd the Third.

Fresh off the stage of We Will Rock You, Brittany Gray is ready to tear hearts out as Sarah,
the sexy blind librarian. Brittany, a working professional since her debut in the film Chicago at
the age of 15, can also be seen in the upcoming film Amelia starring Hilary Swank and
Richard Gere.

Jamie McKnight teams up with Daren A. Herbert to perform 26 different roles between the
two. Jamie, who is no stranger to campy musicals (Aladdin the Magical Family Musical, Snow
White and the Group of Seven), returns to his roots after touring with vocal group The
Canadian Tenors throughout 2008. Vancouver’s Daren A. Herbert makes his Toronto stage
premiere in THE TOXIC AVENGER.
#2 The Toxic Avenger rel., pg. 2

"We are so pleased to present this extraordinary homegrown cast for the Canadian premiere
of The Toxic Avenger," remarked Dancap Productions President Aubrey Dan. "When we held
auditions, we were overwhelmed by the number of artists who turned out, and the breadth of
their expertise. It made it very easy to cast only the best actors for the roles and stay true to
our commitment of showcasing Canada's world class talent."

Melvin Ferd the Third wants to clean up Tromaville, the most polluted town in New Jersey
(just off Exit 13B on the Turnpike). Foiled by the on-the-take mayor’s bullies, Melvin is
dumped into a vat of radioactive toxic waste, only to reemerge as THE TOXIC AVENGER,
New Jersey’s first superhero.

THE TOXIC AVENGER features book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You’re Perfect,
Now Change; Memphis, All Shook Up; Over the River and Through the Woods) and music
and lyrics by David Bryan (Memphis, keyboardist and founding member of Bon Jovi).

 

Game show gig big deal for Durham foursome

News Advertiser - February 7, 2007
by Mike Ruta

 

DURHAM - On the first episode of Deal or No Deal, the first contestant was an Alberta firefighter who walked away with $109,000 after making a deal.

The first briefcase he chose was No. 5, held by Gray.

While Gray is honoured to have been picked as a model, she didn't exactly need to pad her resume. The St. Mary Catholic Secondary School grad's career blossomed at a young age.

"When I was in high school my first major gig, I think I was 15 years old, I landed an ensemble role in "Chicago" and that kind of kick-started everything," she says.

Gray danced in two scenes and the film went on to win the Academy Award for best picture. During the experience, she realized a career in show biz was for her.

Immediately after her high school graduation, she landed a role in "The Producers" and after other appearances on TV and in films, including a gig as the dance double for a lead character in "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen", Gray is now preparing for an ensemble role in the musical "We Will Rock You", which debuts this spring in Toronto.

As if that isn't enough, she is a certified makeup artist who formed Fancy Face.

"Being a makeup artist was something I always wanted to do since I was a little girl," she says. "I formed my own company and it's something I wouldn't mind falling back on. It's kind of my way to take a step back from the limelight."

As for Deal or No deal, Gray says she didn't know what to expect when she showed up for work on the first day. To a person, she found the other women "humble and polite" and not at all stereotypical, diva-like models.

Being a briefcase model might look like a sweet gig - beautiful clothes, face time on national TV, and all you do is open a case.

But, the razzle dazzle of TV doesn't tell the whole truth behind the hard work. Not only did they get to be the messengers of possibly horrible news (or positively life-changing), they were charged with occasionally entertaining the crowd on one of the many breaks during filming.

The clothes might be fabulous, but not too many people want to stand in a freezing studio for hours on end in a micro mini. And the shoes - well, the three inch stilettos might help the already towering ladies look Amazonian, but try standing in a pair for hours on end.

After the last episode was filmed on Jan. 25, several models were almost limping off the stage, and some returned in slippers to get souvenir photos.

In the end, it was all worth it. "I just feel very gratified and fortunate to be one of the girls," Gray says. "I think it's pretty cool."

She encourages young people to aim high and work hard. It's obviously worked for Gray.

"Shoot for your dreams and don't give up," she says. "You're happiest when work isn't really like work."

 

A little Gray in black comedy

Pickering teen earns dancing role in film product of "Chicago"

 

News Advertiser - January 9, 2002
by Al Rivett

 

PICKERING - APickering teen never believed she had a serious shot at landing a dream role among several of Hollywood's leading actors in a film project set to roll in Toronto this month.

The casting call for the film musical "Chicago", starring Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger and soul singer Mya, sought dancers in their 20's. As a 16-year-old dancer, Brittany Gray thought she was a little too young to be vying for a coveted spot in the production.

Using her talent and perhaps a little luck to her best advantage, the dancer put her best foot forward to beat out literally hundreds of other aspirants to land a part in the film.

"I've been dancing since I was three years old. It's everybody's dream to be able to do what you love to do. I'm a step closer to being a great entertainer and it's wonderful to be chosen for the role," said Gray, a dancer at the Denise Lester Dance Academy in Pickering.

Gray admitted, however, when the auditions began last November, she didn't hold out much hope.

"At the first audition they were calling for people 20 years and older. My mother didn't want me to go because it was for older dancers and she didn't think it would work out. I just wanted to go for the experience. I left there very much in awe of it. I didn't know what would happen or if I would get the part," she said.

A week later, she received a callback, which meant another two hours of performing in front of the movie's casting people in a Toronto rehearsal hall. Two weeks later, she was informed she would be in the movie.

Since then, she has attended several rehearsals in downtown Toronto during November and December in advance of the film shoots in Toronto from Jan. 16 to 18.

The film, a black comedy based on a successful musical theatre production, tells the story of Roxie Hart, a chorus girl who murders her unfaithful husband, then manages not only to avoid prison with the help of razzle dazzle lawyer Billy Flynn, played by Gere in the movie, but uses the trial to propel herself to show biz stardom along with another murderous chorus girl, Velma Kelly.

In the film, Gray is among the dance troupe that performs a number called "Cell Block Tango".

"It takes place in a jail cell and it's basically Catherine Zeta Jones and Renee Zellweger talking about how much they dislike their husbands. We're (the dancers) with them as inmates," said Gray.

During her time in rehearsal, Gray had the opportunity to meet all the cast members, including the stars. She noted they were genuine people and not typical Hollywood stars.

"It's funny that they appear so different when they're on stage, but off stage, they're average people just doing their jobs. They were very down to earth. They didn't seem into themselves; they were just doing their jobs," she explained.

It's been a whirlwind year of activity for Gray. In addition to landing the role in Chicago", she finished her first season as a working dancer, performing in "Graveyard Shift" at Paramount Canada's Wonderland this summer.

"It was a wonderful experience for me," she said. "It was amazing to make people smile and to interact with the audiences. It was a good feeling."

She also served as a backup dancer in two music videos by teen pop sensation Aaron Carter (younger brother of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys) this summer. One video was "Not Too Young But Not Too Old" and the other was "Leave It Up to Me". Both were filmed in Toronto.

Although Gray isn't sure when "Chicago" would make it's big-screen debut, all signs point to a December 2002 release.