racey launched her career as a stage actress in numerous plays on the Liverpool and London scene from 1978-1982. In a short span she appeared in shows such as "Talent", "It's A Madhouse", and "Zack" with "Liverpool Everyman" and "Gloo Joo" and "Dracula" in London. Most memorable performances included Kate Hardcastle in "She Stoops To Conquer" at London's Lyric Theater, Henrietta in "Bows and Arrows" at London's Young Writer's festival and Beverly in "Four in a Million" at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs for which she won the London Theatre Critics' Award for Most Promising New Actress of 1981.

Paul Middleton from Cardiff, South Wales tells me he worked as the sound mixer with Tracey back in 1978 during their run in "Elvis, The Musical". Here's what he wrote:

"Unfortunately my memories have somewhat faded since then. At the moment, all I can remember is that Tracey was officially just one of the chorus / backing singer girls, but I think that at a later stage she moved on to becoming choreographer as I do remember one occasion where the whole company was summoned by Ray Cooney to be given a pep talk on discipline. He pointed out that standards on the show were slipping by people not turning up for rehearsals and that it made it very difficult for people such as Tracey to keep dance routines up to scratch. I don't have any other anecdotes I'm afraid as the Stage Staff such as myself didn't get much occasion to mix with the performers. "

Just goes to show you that even at 18, Tracey was dedicated and professional to the bone.

"Elvis, The Musical" cast photo (Can you spot Tracey?)

racey also appeared in productions of "Grease" as Frenchie and Janet in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" between 1978 and 1982. In the summer of 1990, she played Kate opposite Morgan Freeman as Petruchio in "The Taming Of The Shrew" in New York's Central Park. Set in the American Wild West, Joseph Papp's innovative production was a rootin tootin success. Read Tracey's book, "Tracey Takes On..." to see how she cemented this role!

In April 1991, I had the great pleasure of traveling to New York to see Tracey Ullman star in a one-woman show, "The Big Love". This was the first (and so far, last) time I saw a Broadway play, and I got to see it from front row center seats. I was very fortunate to see it when I did, for the show closed five days later, no doubt thanks to a scathing review from the NewYork Times.

"The Big Love" was about Florence Aadland, whose daughter Beverly was once romantically linked with Errol Flynn(she was only a teenager at the time). It was based on Florence's memoirs, also entitled "The Big Love".

Going into the play, the storyline was not that interesting to me. I would not have seen this play on the plot alone. In fact, I wouldn't have been interested in it all had it starred any other actress. My sole reason for seeing the play was to see Tracey Ullman, who was and still is my favorite actress. And she gave a magnificent performance! She was playing a woman who would have been twice her age, and it was completely believeable. She drew me into the story and made me interested in Florence, made me care about her and her daughter. That is the mark of magnificence.

Certainly, the rest of the audience must have thought the same thing, because we gave her a standing ovation which lasted for three curtain calls. She returned the favor in the last curtain call with a "Go Home!"bounce. If it had been up to us in the audience, the show would have stayed open for a few more weeks, at least.

Looking back on it from today, the character of Florence reminds me of Ruby Romaine, the makeup artist from "Tracey Takes On..." Their voices are very similar to each other, they both have a Hollywood background,etc. I wonder how much of Florence is in Ruby.

I hope I get the chance to see Tracey on stage again in the future. Television seems to be her ideal medium, but she's no slouch on stage -- or in any medium, for that matter.

Tracey talks about The Big Love