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Louise Pitre—Canada’s First Lady of musical theatre—has made audiences fall in love with her for decades. Best known for originating the role of Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia! on Broadway, Pitre will star as the titular Kimberly Akimbo in Montreal (Nov. 23–Dec. 21) and Toronto (Jan. 15–Feb. 8) this winter.
Pitre’s first big show was the 1989 Toronto production of Les Misérables in which she played Fantine. “It was the only show my parents came to the opening. I didn’t have to explain the story,” says Pitre. She went on to perform the role in Montreal, and then, Paris. For Pitre, whose mother tongue is French, she says, “I do believe an extra part of my heart and gut opens up when I’m singing in French.”
In 1992, Pitre played Edith Piaf in Piaf, a character she would return to in 2018 in The Angel & The Sparrow at Montreal’s Segal Centre, which became Piaf/Dietrich in Toronto with Mirvish Productions. On her process for discovering Piaf, Pitre says, “I don’t have to think of anyone else when I’m portraying her, because that person I’ve known my whole life.”
She was introduced to Piaf through her mother, who would sing the French singer’s music at home. Pitre’s version of Piaf comes from her soul, but also from her physicalization of a phenomenal great-aunt who looked just like the chanteuse. Pitre sings Piaf with a mixture of her own “French-Canadian heart,” while keeping Piaf’s idioms. “The way she phrases, the way she holds a note, the way she jumps—those things, I love.”
Pitre’s Mamma Mia! audition was a whirlwind process. After driving through a hurricane to audition for a different show, Pitre was recommended to audition for Donna. She went through multiple rounds, but during her third callback, Pitre was told she had won the role of Donna Sheridan. The callback had not been for Donna herself, but so that Pitre could read to help cast the character’s best friends, Rosie and Tanya. “I went, ‘What? That never happens.’ And I just got up from my chair and hopped around. I couldn’t believe it.”
After she left Mamma Mia! on Broadway, Pitre played Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd at Calgary Opera. At Pitre’s last show as Donna, Company Manager Nina Lannan gifted her with Angela Lansbury’s rolling pin, from the original Broadway Sweeney Todd, to use in Calgary.
In comparing opera and musical theatre, Pitre says, “We are crazy in the musical-theatre world, because we do eight shows a week! And all the opera people think we are insane, and it is insane, because that’s why you don’t have a life; so many people have vocal problems, it’s insane!” She also particularly enjoyed the opportunity to sing with an orchestra, as “Broadway musicals have had such a hard time keeping actual musicians.”
After Crow’s Theatre’s original 2023 run of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, in which Pitre played Marya, was extended from eight to 16 weeks, the show’s popularity led to a rerun with Mirvish Productions in summer 2025. When asked if she had expected the phenomenon of the Great Comet, Pitre responded, “No. That was a mind-blowing thing, and it developed this insane following. People who had never been to Crow’s were coming, and people were coming to see the show again and again and again. I give such credit to Chris Abraham. He really just had a vision that was wacky, crazy, take your breath away, non-stop.”
Pitre’s next project, Kimberly Akimbo, by Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire, tells the heartwarming story of a teenage girl whose rare medical condition gives her the appearance of an elderly woman. Says Pitre, “This might be the most perfect role for me, ever. I love that I’ll be able to play a young 16-year-old girl looking like this, because I really am that young on the inside.”
When the show opened on Broadway in 2021, multiple friends wrote to Pitre, telling her what an absolute fit the role would be. Pitre then went to Brian Sewell, from Mirvish Productions, and pitched Kimberly Akimbo. At the time, the rights were not available, but as soon as the Broadway run announced their closing, Lisa Rubin (also from Mirvish) called Pitre, saying “Louise? Mirvish Productions and the Segal Centre would like to do Kimberly Akimbo with you.”
Pitre simply oozes passion for the show. “It’s one of the best scripts I will have the chance to do in a musical in my entire career,” she says. “It is so funny! And so irreverent, and touching, but never, ever does it wallow.” When asked for a highlight from the show, Pitre says, “I love the ending. There is the best philosophy of life right there, sung for you at the end of this show, in the most heartwarming, beautiful, [moment]. Oh, my God, I feel like the world needs this show.”
Kimberly Akimbo runs at Montreal’s Segal Centre from Nov. 23–Dec. 21 and at Toronto’s CAA Theatre from Jan. 15–Feb. 8
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