Carole Demas

Carole Demas, born May 26, 1940, in Brooklyn, New York, is an American singer and actress who originated the role of Sandy Dumbrowski in the 1971 Broadway production of Grease and the title role in the 1976 production of The Baker's Wife. She is also recognized for her long-running work on the children's television program The Magic Garden and for appearances in hundreds of television commercials.

Demas grew up in Brooklyn, where she attended P.S. 198 and later Midwood High School. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Vermont, where she also competed as a candidate for Miss Vermont in the Miss Universe pageant, and subsequently studied at the New York University Graduate School of Education. She spent a period working as a teacher within the New York City Board of Education, including a semester at P.S. 198, the same Brooklyn school she had attended as a child.

Her theatrical career began in 1963 with the ingenue lead in Morning Sun, an early musical by Fred Ebb produced Off-Broadway, in which she appeared opposite Bert Convy and Patricia Neway. Prior to that professional work, she had made her theatrical debut with the Champlain Shakespeare Festival and performed for four seasons with the New York Shakespeare Festival Elizabethan Singers, where she was part of a quartet that included Paula Janis, Jonathan Rosen, and Alex Demas. It was during those festival appearances that she was noticed by theatrical agents. Additional Off-Broadway credits include Rondelay, How to Steal an Election opposite Clifton Davis, and a run of more than two years as the replacement for the role of Louisa in The Fantasticks at the Sullivan Street Playhouse. Her association with The Fantasticks creators Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt extended to the Portfolio workshop and to originating the female lead in their production of Philemon.

On Broadway, Demas appeared in A Race of Hairy Men before being cast as Sandy in the original Broadway production of Grease, which opened in 1972. At 31, she was the oldest member of the principal cast. She collaborated with writers Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey to shape the role, which had originated in a darker form in the Chicago production on which the musical was based. Following her run in Grease, she joined the cast of The Baker's Wife, a new musical produced by David Merrick that was being developed in Los Angeles ahead of a planned national tour and Broadway opening. The production encountered persistent difficulties, and Demas was ultimately replaced by Patti LuPone; the show never reached Broadway.

Regional and stock theatre credits include Barefoot in the Park with Joan Bennett, Enter Laughing, Absence of a Cello as Hans Conried's daughter, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum as Philia, Oh What a Lovely War, Another Part of the Forest as Regina at the Pennsylvania State Repertory Theatre, and Celebration as Angel at ACT in Seattle. She was also among the performers assembled by Lorimar Productions for a taping of memorable Broadway moments that aired as part of the PBS series Great Performances.

While performing in Grease, Demas and Paula Janis began starring in The Magic Garden, a daily children's television program on WPIX-TV in New York City that ran from 1972 until 1984. Together they formed CAP Productions, Inc., through which they produced three children's records — Paula and Carole in the Magic Garden, Tales from the Storybox, and Musical Goose on the Loose — selling over 100,000 copies. They also wrote, produced, and starred in A Magic Garden Christmas, a one-hour television special that received a local Emmy nomination. Their live concert work connected to the program included more than 100 appearances at venues such as Town Hall, Symphony Space, the Paper Mill Playhouse, the McCarter Theatre, and the Walt Whitman Theatre.

Demas guest-starred on numerous prime-time television programs, among them Barnaby Jones, Kojak, Mannix, Fantastic Journey, The Man from Atlantis, and The Edge of Night, and played the recurring role of Hannah Lafferty on As the World Turns. She appeared in more than 200 television commercials, on several occasions performing the jingle on camera.

In 2017, Demas and fellow Broadway performer Sarah Rice, who originated the role of Johanna in Sweeney Todd, began developing a show honoring Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt. The production, Thank You for Your Love, premiered at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in 2018 and received a Bistro Award. In 2019, the show was expanded to two full acts and presented at the John Engeman Theatre on Long Island. In 2020, Demas launched a monthly livestream concert series titled Live from Skylight Run. She has also performed in cabaret settings internationally, including engagements in Barbados, St. Croix, and French Polynesia, as well as at New York venues including Feinstein's 54 Below, the Laurie Beechman Theatre, Don't Tell Mama, and Urban Stages. Demas is married to sound designer, recording engineer, and producer Stuart J. Allyn.