Connie Champagne

Connie Champagne
Connie Champagne as Judy Garland in the musical Judy's Scary Little Christmas
Born	Kelly Kay Brock (1959-11-23) November 23, 1959 (age 57)
Occupation	Actress
Website	conniechampagne.com

Connie Champagne, née Kelly Kay Brock, born November 23, 1959 is an American singer, song-writer and actor. She won the SF Weekly Wammie Award for Outstanding Cabaret/Lounge Performer. She is known for performing the character of actress, Judy Garland including Christmas With the Crawfords in 2001 and Imagine Judy Garland: An Evening With Connie Champagne in 2003. She won a 2007 San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Award (BACTC) for her role in Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Specializing in numerous styles of music and theater including cabaret, swing, jazz, rock and roll, and musical theater, Champagne performed in numerous venues throughout the US and Europe.

Champagne was born and raised in Roseville, California. She got her start at 9 years old singing with Bob Ringwald (father of film star Molly Ringwald) at the Placer County Fair. Despite a chaotic and sometimes painful childhood, her grandfather, former Detroit Lions football star Ernie Caddel encouraged her to pursue singing and acting as a career. After early attempts at singing with local rock bands, including 'The Innocents' with Ric Walz-Smith and featuring then boyfriend, Eric Martin, vocalist of the band, Mr Big. In Sacramento, Connie starred in a summer music workshop production of 'Jesus Christ Superstar' with Eric Martin. She starred in the role of Mary Magdalene as Kelly Brock. Champagne spent the early 80s as a vocalist for avant garde rock group Clocks of Paradise which featured Michael Belfer of The Sleepers, Mark Isham, Brian MacLeod, and Benjamin Bossi from Romeo Void, which led her to a stint is as a back-up for singer for Debora Iyall, and eventually Romeo Void. She toured extensively with Iyall, including tours with Cyndi Lauper and Jim Carroll. Champagne switched gears and decided to study acting, landing her first role at the San Francisco’s Magic Theater, in a play "Love In the 3rd Degree”, written by noted actress O-Lan Jones. After performances at Theater on the Square, Climate Theater, and Theater Artaud, Champagne decided to study acting formally and earned her MFA from the American Conservatory Theater, where she also taught acting to youth for a number of years. During this time met former Cockette Scrumbly Koldewyn and the 2 formed the neo-cabaret group “Connie Champagne and her Tiny Bubbles,” which won numerous accolades include the SF Wammie Award for Outstanding Cabaret Performer. She also graduated from Mills College with a BA in Theater Arts. Champagne was originally named “Kelly Brock,” but the nickname “Champagne” stuck and is now her legal name. Prior to Champagne’s irreverent approach to the “Great American Songbook,” cabaret artists primarily stuck to one genre, and Champagne “broke the rules.” Champagne’s unique repertoire incorporated more modern songs written by artists such as Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Lou Reed, and Patti Smith and has since been emulated by many artists who came later including Justin Bond and Paula West. In the 1990s she recorded and toured with swing pioneers The New Morty Show, featuring band leader Morty Okin and singer Vise Grip including a 1-year engagement at the New York New York Hotel in Las Vegas, celebrating the music of Keely Smith and Louis Prima, Anita O’Day, and Louis Jordan. She still sings occasionally with the group.