|
Who's Who in Musicals: Addendum 2011-12
by John Kenrick
(Copyright 2011-12)
Butz, Norbert Leo
Actor, singer
b. Jan. 30, 1967 (St. Louis, MO)
The seventh of eleven children, this handsome and personable baritone made
his Broadway debut in 1996 taking over the role of Roger in Rent.
He received his first Tony nomination for playing Camille Raquin in the
ill-fated Thou Shalt Not (2001), where his barefoot song and dance
was a highlight. He toured as the
Emcee in Cabaret, created the role of Jamie Wellerstein in Jason
Robert Brown's off-Broadway hit The Last Five Years (2002), and
originated the role of Fiyero in the Broadway hit Wicked (2003).
Butz achieved stardom with his performance as the conniving Freddy in Dirty
Rotten Scoundrels (2005) winning the Tony and Drama Desk awards for
Best Actor in a Musical. After impressive non-musical performances in such
Broadway productions as Is He Dead? (2007), the revival of Speed-the-Plow
(2008) and Enron (2010), the versatile Butz won a second set of
Tony and Drama Desk awards for originating the role of FBI agent Carl
Hanratty in Catch Me If You Can (2011).
Chenoweth, Kristin
Actress, singer
(b. Kristi Dawn Chenoweth)
b. July 24, 1968 (Broken Arrow, OK)
After making her professional debut in the Paper Mill Playhouse revival of
Animal Crackers (1993), this vivacious, petite (she stands 4'
11") and vocally arresting coloratura soprano received favorable
attention in several off-Broadway roles before winning the coveted Theatre
World award for her performance as Precious Maguire in Kander & Ebb's
short-lived Broadway musical Steel Pier (1997). After appearing in
the Encores revival of Strike Up the Band (1998) and the original
cast of William Finn's A New Brain (1998), Chenoweth received rave
reviews and a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Sally in the Broadway
version of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown (1999). After starring
in the short-lived Broadway comedy Epic Proportions (1999), she won
fresh praise as Daisy in the Encores presentation of On a Clear Day You
Can See Forever (2000). While dividing her time between stage
and TV engagements over the next few years, she turned out the highly
acclaimed solo CD "Let Yourself Go" (2001).
Chenoweth enjoyed her greatest stage triumph to date originating the
role of Galinda in Wicked (2003). After a stint in the hit NBC series The
West Wing, she made a triumphant appearance as Cunegonde in a 2004 NY
Philharmonic concert production of Candide. After starring to great
acclaim in the revival of The Apple Tree (2006) and the Encores
productions of Stairway to Paradise (2007) and Music in the Air
(2009), she appeared as Fran in the Broadway revival of Promises,
Promises (2010). Admired by fans and colleagues, she is one of the
brightest talents on the musical stage today.
Fierstein, Harvey
Actor, singer, librettist, playwright
(b. Harvey Forbes Fierstein)
b. June 6, 1952 (Brooklyn, NY)
With an extraordinary comic flair, this raspy voiced Brooklyn
native rose to fame as a female impersonator in New York nightclubs before winning twin Tony
Awards as author and star of the hit play Torch Song
Trilogy (1982). He proved the perfect choice to write the
libretto for Jerry Herman's La Cage Aux Folles (1983), which
brought him a third Tony for Best Book of a Musical. After appearing in
the brief Broadway run of his play Spookhouse (1987), he took
over as book writer for Legs Diamond (1988), but was unable to
breathe much life into that ill-conceived project. Fierstein developed a
national following with roles in such films as Mrs. Doubtfire,
Bullets Over Broadway and the screen version of Torch Song
Trilogy. He became one of the most widely recognized and eloquent
advocates for gay civil rights, and a led efforts to raise awareness of
the HIV-AIDS epidemic and assist those affected by it.
Fierstein returned to Broadway as "Edna Turnblad,"
the overweight and infinitely
loving mother in Hairspray (2002) -- for which he received his
fourth Tony, becoming the only person ever to win Best Actor in a
Musical while playing a female role. In 2005, he proved his versatility
by taking over the role of "Tevye" in a revival of Fiddler on the Roof,
winning widespread praise. He provided the libretto and played the role
of "Uncle Winston" in the short-lived musical version of
A Catered Affair (2008), and has delighted fans by joining
the cast of the Tony-winning Broadway revival of La Cage
Aux Folles in 2011 to at long last play the role of "Albin." He
has written the new libretto for a stage adaptation of the Disney screen
musical Newsies (2012).
Foster, Sutton
Actress, singer, dancer
b. March 18, 1975 (Statesboro, GA)
One of the most popular musical stars of our time, this versatile actress with a powerhouse belt voice left high school
in 1993 to
appear in the national tour of The Will Rogers Follies. After
making her Broadway debut understudying Sandy Dumbrowski in the first
Broadway revival of Grease in 1996, she joined the NY ensemble of Les
Miserables, appeared as Star to Be
in the first revival of Annie (1997), then joined the ensemble of The
Scarlet Pimpernel. During out of town tryouts, she took over the
title role in the stage adaptation of Thoroughly Modern Millie
(2002), and her acclaimed performance brought her the Tony for Best
Actress in a Musical. During the run, she met Christian Borle when he took
over the role of Jimmy; they married in 2006, but have since separated.
After playing Jo March in the
short-lived musical version of Little Women (2005), she
originated the role of starlet Janet van de Graaff in the musical spoof The
Drowsy Chaperone (2006). She created the role of Inga in the musical
adaptation of Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (2007), then was the
original Princess Fiona in Shrek The Musical (2008). At a time
when Broadway careers are increasingly difficult to maintain, Foster had
managed the astounding feat of originating five leading roles on
Broadway in just six years. After
she portrayed Nurse Apple in the Encores 2010 concert production of the
cult classic Anyone Can Whistle, she received rave reviews as
Reno Sweeney in a smash revival of Anything Goes (2011), winning
her second Tony for Best Actress in a Musical. Sutton is the sister of
actor and librettist Hunter Foster.
O'Hara, Kelli
Actress, singer
b. April 16, 1976 (Oklahoma)
This attractive, blonde soprano appeared in the Broadway ensemble of Jekyll
& Hyde (2000) and the first revival of Follies (2001),
before originating the role of Susan in Sweet Smell of Success
(2002). After appearing in the title role of the off-Broadway musical Life
With Albertine (2003), she played Lucy in the disastrous Dracula,
The Musical (2004), she won praise playing the beautiful but
unstable Clara Johnson in The Light in the Piazza (2005). O'Hara
earned raves as Babe Williams in the Roundabout Theatre revival of The
Pajama Game (2006). After appearing as Eliza Doolittle in a NY
Philharmonic concert staging of My Fair Lady (2007), she
triumphed as Nellie Forbush in the smash hit Lincoln Center revival of South
Pacific (2008). She then starred as Ella Peterson in the Encores
concert production of Bells Are Ringing (2010).
Salonga, Lea
Actress, singer
(b. Maria Ligaya Carmen Imutan Salonga)
b. Feb. 22, 1971, Angeles City, Phillipines
Although small in physical stature, a powerhouse voice and extraordinary
dramatic vulnerability have made this gifted woman the most popular
Asian musical star of her time. After making her professional debut at age
seven in a production of The King and I, she
appeared in numerous Phillipine stage productions, including a run in
the title role of Annie. At 17, she was chosen
to originate the role of Kim in the London production of Miss Saigon
(1989), and received an Olivier Award for her acclaimed performance. She
repeated the role in the 1991 Broadway production, winning the Tony
and Drama Desk Awards.
Salonga's film credits include
providing the voices for two beloved Disney animated heroines, Princess
Jasmine in Aladdin (1992) and the title character in Mulan
(1998). When Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song returned
to Broadway in 2002 with a new libretto by David Henry Hwang, Salonga
won fresh praise originating the reconceived role of Chinese immigrant
Mei Li. She has starred in numerous productions in the Phillipines,
where she debuted an extended international tour of Rodgers and
Hammerstein's Cinderella in 2008. A popular concert and recording
artist, she has been a columnist for the Phillipine Daily Enquirer. Her US
television appearances have included the recurring role of Lien Hughes
in the U.S. soap opera As the World Turns, and a guest role on
the popular medical drama ER.
Todd, Michael
Producer
(b. Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen)
b. June 22, 1909 (Minneapolis, MI) - d. Mar. 22, 1958 (Grants, NM)
One of nine children in a poor immigrant family, his siblings made fun
of him for mispronouncing the word "coat" -- resulting in his
nickname "Todd." Expelled from 6th Grade for running an
in-school crap game, he got his first taste of theatre presenting The
Mikado in his high school. Todd dropped out, and after various odd
jobs, made and lost his first million dollars in real estate. An
inveterate gambler, he would eventually make and lose several fortunes. After some
success in night clubs, he made his Broadway debut producing two
short-lived comedies, then presented The Hot Mikado (1939) starring
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Todd's racy revue Star and Garter
(1942) co-starring burlesque veterans Bobby Clark
and Gypsy Rose Lee was a
major wartime hit, as was his lavish production of Cole Porter's Something
for the Boys (1943) with Ethel Merman. A
true showman, Todd's seventeen Broadway productions ranged in style from
the high camp of Mae West as Catherine the Great (1944) to the high
art of Maurice Evans as Hamlet (1945). His musicals included Cole
Porter's raucous Mexican Hayride (1944) and Sigmund
Romberg's elegant Up in Central Park (1945). After the
death of his first wife Bertha, he was married to actress Joan Blondell from
1947 to 1950. The handsome and charismatic Todd was also romantically linked to various celebrities,
including Gypsy Rose Lee.
Bucking the post-Oklahoma trend toward artistically integrated
musicals, Todd found success presenting "tall dames and low
comedy" in As the Girls Go (1948) and the blatantly titled Michael
Todd's Peep Show (1950). In 1952, the 8200 seat Jones Beach Amphitheatre
opened with Todd's spectacular outdoor staging of A Night in Venice,
running for two summers. After that mammoth effort, Todd concentrated on
film projects, promoting the Cinerama and Todd-AO wide-screen technologies,
and producing the epic Around the World in 80 Days (1956). In 1957,
he married actress Elizabeth Taylor. Just over a year later, 48 year old Todd was
killed when his private plane crashed in New Mexico. He was
portrayed by Mike Burstyn in the unsuccessful semi-fictional musical Ain't
Broadway Grand (1993).
Back to: Who's Who In Musicals
|