Ainsley Melham

Ainsley Melham was born on 2 December 1991, in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. He received his education at St Stanislaus’ College and further honed his craft in musical theatre at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), graduating in 2012. His early training also included the NIDA Open Program, the Australasian Tap Dance Academy, and La Belle School of Dance, where he engaged in various musical productions such as *Ragtime*, *Violet*, *Crazy For You*, *A Chorus Line*, *Xanadu*, *How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying*, and *Into The Woods*.

Melham began his professional career as a member of the Australian children’s musical group Hi-5 from 2013 to 2016. During this period, he toured nationally and internationally, starred in three series of *Hi-5 House*, and appeared in the documentary film *Some Kind of Wonderful*. Following his departure from Hi-5 in 2016, he transitioned back to theatre, taking on the role of Sonny Malone in an Australian musical production of *Xanadu* in March 2016. Later that year, he was cast as Aladdin in Disney Theatrical Company’s Australian production, a role he performed from 2016 to 2018 in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth. His portrayal of Aladdin earned him a nomination for a Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Musical.

His career gained international recognition when he made his Broadway debut as Aladdin at the New Amsterdam Theatre in February 2019, performing alongside his original Australian castmates Michael James Scott as Genie and Arielle Jacobs as Princess Jasmine. In November 2020, Melham played the title role in *Pippin* at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. He expanded his repertoire with roles such as Prince Topher in *Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella* (2022) and Dwayne in the pre-Broadway premiere of *Boop! The Musical* (2023), a role he is set to reprise for its Broadway debut in 2025. In July 2024, he joined the Australian production of *Wicked* as the Fiyero replacement.