Eleri Ward

Eleri Ward (born August 10, 1994) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor, best known for her Sufjan Stevens-inspired indie folk renditions of the works of composer Stephen Sondheim. Since garnering attention with covers posted to Instagram and TikTok, Ward has released two albums in this vein, A Perfect Little Death and Keep a Tender Distance (2022), both on Sh-K-Boom Records' Ghostlight imprint, as well as two self-released pop EPs, Prism (2020) and Friction (2021). In summer 2022, she toured with singer Josh Groban. As a stage actress, she has performed in productions for The Muny and MCC Theater.

Early life Ward grew up in the Burr Ridge suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Her mother was an interior designer and real estate broker, while her father was a consultant. and began singing lessons at age 8. At a young age, she saw Sweeney Todd performed at the Drury Lane Theatre and attended a Sondheim talk with critic Frank Rich. Encouraged by the cover's positive reception and urged on by a friend, she began posting a series of such covers, beginning with "Johanna (Reprise)" from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, first posted the following day. In August 2020, Ward was one of 30 semi-finalists of Playbill 's Search for a Star competition, for which she performed "The Miller's Son" from A Little Night Music.

To promote the album, Ward and Ghostlight held two album release shows at Rockwood Music Hall in Manhattan.

Keep a Tender Distance Ward's covers gained wider attention following Sondheim's death in November 2021. The album was released digitally by Ghostlight on September 16, 2022, Singles released from the album included "No One Is Alone" from Into the Woods and "Not While I'm Around" from Sweeney Todd.

A national tour to promote the album was launched with a December 2022 show at Sony Hall, where Ward performed with surprise guests including Laura Benanti, Julia Murney, Jennifer Simard, Company's Bobby Conte and Six's Samantha Pauly. In September 2021, she performed at the venue 54 Below as part of Ryan Scott Oliver's "RSO: Monday the 13th", alongside Kathryn Allison, Jackie Cox, Jay Armstrong Johnson, and Bonnie Milligan. She contributed an essay to When The Lights Are Bright Again, a book about the impact of the pandemic on the theater industry, and attended the book's launch party alongside Cody Renard Richard, Jonathan Cerullo, Kate Baldwin, and Arian Moayed. In May 2022, she performed at the 10th annual "Night of a Thousand Judys", a Judy Garland tribute concert hosted at Joe's Pub, which benefitted the Ali Forney Center and also featured Frances Ruffelle, Nathan Lee Graham, Kathryn Gallagher, Bonnie Milligan, and Hilary Kole.

Ward made her off-Broadway debut as an understudy in MCC Theater's 2022 production of Only Gold, a musical with songs by Kate Nash and a book by Andy Blankenbuehler, which starred Nash, Terrence Mann, Karine Plantadit, and Ryan Steele.

In the summer of 2024, she was featured as Jordan Baker and understudied the role of Daisy Buchanan in the world premiere of Florence Welch's Gatsby: An American Myth at the American Repertory Theatre.

Artistry and recognition Ward is primarily known for covering the work of Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim in an acoustic indie folk style inspired by Sufjan Stevens. Rob Weinert-Kendt of The New York Times wrote that she had "fused an emo Sondheim register with a familiar coffeehouse folk sound....In her hands, it’s not hard to imagine these songs as the creation of an especially gifted — if occasionally bloody-minded — indie singer-songwriter." Pope also noted her "fondness for keys that are more modal than either major or minor...a perfect match for the frequent ambivalence of some of Sondheim's more brittle lyrics," and that, in addition to folk, the album featured electronic, waltz, bossa nova, and fandango elements on some songs. folk, and experimental pop, For her part, Ward described this music as a combination of Sara Bareilles, Dua Lipa, and Maggie Rogers.

Discography

Studio albums Title Album details A Perfect Little DeathReleased: June 4, 2021 Label: Sh-K-Boom, Ghostlight Format: CD, LP, digital download Keep a Tender DistanceReleased: September 16, 2022 Label: Sh-K-Boom, Ghostlight Format: CD, LP, digital download

Live albums Title Album details Acoustic Sondheim: Live from BrooklynReleased: June 2, 2023 Label: Sh-K-Boom Format: digital download

EPs Title Album details PrismReleased: May 1, 2020 Label: Self-released Format: digital download FrictionReleased: June 18, 2021 Label: Self-released Format: digital download

Singles

Music videos +YearSongDirector2020"Mind ReaderEleri Ward"Take Me To Your Garden"2021"Mess"Gabrielle Carrubba"Johanna (Reprise)"Katie O'Halloran"More"2022"Not While I'm Around"Bailie de Lacy"Move On"Eleri Ward