Nancye Hayes
WithTodd McKenney inSix Dance Lessons in Six Weeks
Born	Nancye Lee Hayes January 1943 (age 82) Sydney, Australia
Other names	Nancye Bertles (married name)
Occupations	Actress dancer singer director/choreographer
Years active	1962–present
Spouse	Bob Bertles

Nancye Lee BertlesAM (néeHayes; born January 1943), billed under her maiden name asNancye Hayes, is an Australian actress, dancer, singer and choreographer/director and narrator. She has been a leading figure in Australianmusical theatre since the 1960s. Although her roles have been almost exclusively in theatre, she has briefly worked in television as a character actress, filling in forJudy Nunn on the soap operaHome and Away.

Nancye Hayes was born in January 1943.^[1] She grew up in theSydney suburb ofManly, an only child.^[2] At the age of seven, she had an operation to remove a growth in her hip joint, and the recovery included strapping her leg with irons. After her father died in a car crash when Hayes was eleven, her mother became a barmaid at the old Pacific Hotel in Manly.^[3]Nancye attendedStella Maris College, Manly, a Catholic school conducted by theSisters of the Good Samaritan.

She began dancing lessons at age nine at Hazel and Violet Meldrum's studio. Hazel had been achoreographer for the leading Australian theatrical firmJ. C. Williamson's.^[4]

Hayes, aged eighteen, left a job at a Sydney office to join the chorus of an Australian production ofMy Fair Lady.^[5] From 1963 she understudied or played small roles in productions such as the musicalHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, My Fair Lady, Promises Promises,Hello, Dolly! andThe Boys from Syracuse for J. C. Williamson's. She also performed inKiss Me, Kate,Brigadoon,Annie Get Your Gun andLittle Me at the Menzies Theatre Restaurant in Sydney.^[6]

In 1967, Hayes received wide notice playing the title role in the original Australian cast ofSweet Charity.

Over the next thirty years, she performed leading roles in Australian casts of many musicals including Fastrada inPippin (1974), Lily St. Regis inAnnie (1978–1979),Roxie Hart inChicago (1981–1982), Miss Adelaide inGuys and Dolls (1986–1987), Mrs Lovett inSweeney Todd (1987), Liliane La Fleur inNine (1987–1988) and Dorothy Brock in42nd Street (1989–1993). She later played supporting roles including Aunt Eller inOklahoma! (The Production Company, 2005), Mrs Higgins inMy Fair Lady (Opera Australia, 2008), Madame Armfeldt inA Little Night Music (Opera Australia, 2009) andEdith Bouvier Beale inGrey Gardens (The Production Company, 2011).^[7]

Since the 1980s Hayes has also appeared in many Australian-written musicals. These includeSongs from Sideshow Alley (Classic Corporation, 1980),Variations (Nimrod Theatre, 1982),Summer Rain (Sydney Theatre Company, 1989),Jonah Jones (STCSA, 1991),Eureka! (Essgee, 2004) andMetro Street (STCSA, 2009). She appeared in theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation television special on Australian musicalsOnce In A Blue Moon and its soundtrack recording.

Her drama credits for Australia's major theatre companies and commercial producers includeBorn Yesterday,Danton's Death,Same Time, Next Year,Going Home,Dusa, Fish, Stas and Vi,The Glass Menagerie,Steel Magnolias,Stepping Out, andThe Importance of Being Earnest. Her cabaret show,Nancye with an E, toured Australia in 1992. In 2006, she performed withTodd McKenney in his first non-musical role in theEnsemble Theatre's production ofSix Dance Lessons in Six Weeks at thePlayhouse Theatre in theSydney Opera House.^[8] It became the theatre's most successful play ever, and the pair re-united ten years later for another season along withSandra Bates in her final directorial role.^[9][10]

Hayes was a fill-in forJudy Nunn, in the seriesHome and Away, whilst Nunn was unwell, briefly taking over her character ofAilsa Stewart.^{[citation needed]}

Roles in miniseries includeElsie Curtin inThe Last Bastion and secretary toMinisterRex Connor inThe Dismissal. Roles in TV series^[1] includeConsider Your Verdict,Carson's Law,Rafferty's Rules,G.P.,Blue Heelers andHouse Husbands^[11]

Hayes was married to jazz saxophone musician and bandleaderBob Bertles, whom she met when he played in the band ofChicago, in which she starred.^[12] Her married name is Nancye Lee Bertles, but she uses her maiden name professionally.^[1]

Hayes was granted aMedal of the Order of Australia (OAM) on 8 June 1981 "for service to the performing arts".^[13][14]

She was appointed aMember of the Order of Australia (AM) on 26 January 2014 "for significant service to the performing arts, particularly musical theatre, as an actor, choreographer and director".^[15]

TheHayes Theatre in Potts Point, Sydney which has a focus on small-scale musical theatre and cabaret is named after her.^[16]

Hayes, alongside her showbiz contemporariesJill Perryman andToni Lamond, has been named a "Grand Dame of Theatre".^[17]

^[19][20]

• Living people
• 1943 births
• Australian musical theatre actresses
• Helpmann Award winners
• Members of the Order of Australia

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