Alex Brightman

Last updated

Alex Brightman
Alex Brightman Photo Op GalaxyCon Oklahoma City 2024.jpg
Brightman at GalaxyCon Oklahoma City in 2024
Born
Alexander Michael Brightman

(1987-02-05) February 5, 1987 (age 37)
Santa Clara, California, U.S. [1]
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
Years active1998–present
Known for
Spouse
Jenny Ravitz
​
(m. 2018)​

Alexander Michael Brightman (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor and singer, best known for his work in musical theatre.

Contents

In 2015, he originated the role of Dewey Finn in the musical adaptation of School of Rock , earning him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2016. In 2019, he originated the role of the titular character in Beetlejuice The Musical , getting him another Tony nomination in 2019.

Since 2020, he has voiced Robo Fizz and Fizzarolli in the adult animated musical series Helluva Boss , and since 2024, he has voiced Sir Pentious and Adam in Hazbin Hotel .

Early life

Brightman grew up in Saratoga, California and is Jewish. [2] His father founded Apple's Worldwide Disabilities Solutions Group, and his mother ran a kidney dialysis clinic. He attended Bellarmine College Preparatory, an all-male Jesuit high school in San Jose, California, and graduated in 2005. [3] In addition, he performed with Children's Musical Theater San Jose during his youth. In 2007, Brightman performed in "Mrs. Sharp" by Ryan Scott Oliver at N.Y.U. under the direction of Ryan Mekenian, with Ali Stroker and Scott Evans also in the cast.

Career

Broadway

Brightman first worked on Broadway in 2008, as an ensemble member and understudy in Glory Days , which closed after only one performance. Brightman never performed in the show. Thereafter, Brightman was cast as the munchkin Boq and made his Broadway debut in Wicked . He stayed with the show for two years. His next Broadway role was in 2012 in Big Fish as an ensemble member and an understudy for a main role. Later in 2013, Brightman was cast as Michael Wormwood in Matilda the Musical . [4]

In 2014, Brightman joined Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, School of Rock , adapted from the 2003 film of the same name. Initially, Brightman played various roles that were meant to be played by child actors but were performed by adults for the workshops. Brightman was cast in the starring role of Dewey, first, in the show's concert performances, and then, in his first starring role, in the Broadway production. Brightman performed as Dewey Finn at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway. [5] For this performance, Brightman received a nomination for the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. [6] Brightman played his final performance as Dewey on November 5, 2016 and returned to reprise the role for a limited run in April 2017. [7] He returned to Broadway in 2019 to play the title role in Beetlejuice (based on the film of the same name), and reprised the role in 2022. He was again nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical at the 73rd Tony Awards ceremony. From August 10 to November 19, 2023, he joined Colin Donnell and Ian Shaw in The Shark Is Broken as Richard Dreyfuss. [8]

From January 9 to April 7, 2024, he reprised his role of Sir Lancelot in a Broadway revival of the musical Spamalot . [9]

Other work

Brightman is a member of the comedy group, The (M)orons , along with fellow Broadway actors/writers, Andrew Kober, F. Michael Haynie, and Drew Gasparini.

Brightman and Gasparini developed The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers in 2016. [10]

Brightman is currently developing two new musicals entitled The Whipping Boy , based on the book, and It's Kind of a Funny Story (based on the novel of the same name), with Gasparini, for which Brightman wrote the script. Brightman made an appearance on Impractical Jokers during Brian "Q" Quinn's musical punishment that's based on the latter's real-life experience as a firefighter and leaving that life behind for TV fame. In October 2019, it was announced that Brightman will be joining the cast of the Billy Crystal helmed comedy film Here Today. [11] In 2020, Brightman began voicing the character Fizzarolli, and his robotic doppelganger Robo Fizz, in the animated web series Helluva Boss . In addition, he voiced Pugsley and the demon possessing him, Temeluchus, in the Netflix animated series Dead End: Paranormal Park .

In the tenth season of The Blacklist , he plays Herbie Hambright, a father and forensic scientist.

Since 2024, he has starred as the voices of Sir Pentious and Adam in Hazbin Hotel .

Personal life

Brightman married casting director Jenny Ravitz on May 21, 2018 at a ceremony in Brooklyn. [12]

Brightman has revealed that he utilizes ventricular fold phonation, allowing him to create the signature gruff voice of Beetlejuice and Fizzarolli without strain on his vocal cords. [13] [14]

During a 2023 interview for The Shark Is Broken, Brightman revealed that he has bipolar disorder. [15]

Stage credits

YearProductionRoleCategoryLocation
2008 Glory Days u/s Will; u/s JackBroadway Circle in the Square Theatre
2008–2010 Wicked Boq Gershwin Theatre
201235MM: A Musical ExhibitionEnsembleOff-BroadwayGalapagos Art Space
2013 Big Fish Zacky Price, Ensemble; u/s Will BloomPre-Broadway Oriental Theatre
Broadway Neil Simon Theatre
2014–2015 Matilda the Musical Michael Wormwood Shubert Theatre
2015–2016 School of Rock Dewey Finn Winter Garden Theatre
2017
Assassins Giuseppe Zangara Off-Broadway Encores! New York City Center
2018 Beetlejuice Lawrence Beetlejuice Shoggoth Pre-BroadwayNational Theater
2019–2020Broadway Winter Garden Theatre
2021Goosebumps the Musical: Phantom of the AuditoriumEmileOriginal Studio Cast RecordingN/A
2022–2023 Beetlejuice Lawrence Beetlejuice ShoggothBroadway Marquis Theatre
2023Lewberger & The Wizard of FriendshipKeith’s Dad
(One night cameo)		Off-BroadwayTheatre Row
Spamalot Sir Lancelot / The French Taunter / Knight of Ni / Tim the EnchanterRegional Kennedy Center
The Shark Is Broken Richard Dreyfuss Broadway John Golden Theatre
Gutenberg! The Musical! Producer
(One night only)		 James Earl Jones Theatre
2024 Spamalot Sir Lancelot / The French Taunter / Knight of Ni / Tim the Enchanter St. James Theatre
2024 The Comedy of Errors Dromio of SyracuseRegional Shakespeare Theatre Company
2025 Schmigadoon! Josh SkinnerRegional Kennedy Center

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1998The FaceJacobShort film
2009Red HookRoy
2014The Forrest BoysRodneyShort film
2021 Here Today Justin
2024 The Union Gary

Television

YearTitleRole(s)Notes
2009 Important Things with Demetri Martin Various characters2 episodes
2011 Royal Pains Chic GeekEpisode: "The Shaw/Hank Redemption"
2016 Impractical Jokers HimselfEpisode: "Stage Fright"
2017 SMILF JesseEpisode: "A Box of Dunkies & Two Squirts of Maple Syrup"
2018 The Good Fight Carter BloomEpisode: "Day 436"
2019 Documentary Now! KennyEpisode: "Original Cast Album: Co-Op"
2020 Teen Titans Go! Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice)Voice role; episode: "Ghost With the Most"
2020–present Helluva Boss Robo Fizz Voice role; main, season 2 part 2–present; recurring, season 1–season 2 part 1
Fizzarolli
2021 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Gabe MillerEpisode: "Turn Me on Take Me Private" [16]
2021 Blue Bloods Ralph LamontEpisode: "The Common Good"
2022 Dead End: Paranormal Park PugsleyMain voice role
Temeluchus
2022–2023 The Blacklist Herbie HambrightRecurring role
2024 Hazbin Hotel Sir Pentious Main voice role
Adam

Awards and nominations

YearAssociationCategoryNominated workResult
2016 Fred and Adele Astaire Awards Fred and Adele Astaire Award for Best Male Dancer School of Rock Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Actor in a MusicalNominated
Tony Award Best Actor in a Musical Nominated
Drama League Award Distinguished PerformanceNominated
Broadway.com Audience Choice AwardsFavorite Leading Actor in a MusicalNominated
Favorite Funny PerformanceNominated
Favorite Onstage Pair (with Sierra Boggess)Nominated
Favorite Breakthrough PerformanceNominated
2019 Tony Award Best Actor in a Musical Beetlejuice Nominated
Drama League Award Distinguished PerformanceNominated
Broadway.com Audience Choice AwardsFavorite Leading Actor in a MusicalNominated
Favorite Funny PerformanceNominated
2024Broadway.com Audience Choice AwardsFavorite Featured Actor in a Play The Shark is Broken Won
Favorite Funny PerformanceNominated
Favorite Replacement (Male) Spamalot Nominated

Related Research Articles

<i>Spamalot</i> Musical comedy play by John Du Prez and Eric Idle

Spamalot is a stage musical with score by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, with lyrics and book by Idle. Based on the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the musical offers a highly irreverent parody of Arthurian legend, with the title being a portmanteau of Spam and Camelot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunter Foster</span> American actor

Hunter Foster is an American musical theatre actor, singer, librettist, playwright and director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Beach</span> American actor (1947–2018)

Gary Beach was an American actor of stage, film and television. His roles included Roger De Bris in both the stage and film productions of The Producers, which won him a Tony Award, and Lumiere in the stage musical version of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Borle</span> American actor (born 1973)

Christian Dominique Borle is an American actor and singer. He is a two-time Tony Award winner for his roles as Black Stache in Peter and the Starcatcher and as William Shakespeare in Something Rotten!. Borle also originated the roles of Prince Herbert, et al. in Spamalot, Emmett in Legally Blonde, and Joe in Some Like It Hot on Broadway, earning Tony nominations for the latter two. He starred as Marvin in the 2016 Broadway revival of Falsettos, which also earned him a Tony nomination. His first leading role on Broadway was Jimmy Smith in Thoroughly Modern Millie. He would later also star as Bert in Mary Poppins and Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He also portrayed Orin Scrivello in the Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors. Borle starred as Tom Levitt on the NBC musical-drama television series Smash and Vox in the adult animated black comedy musical series Hazbin Hotel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Fitzgerald (actor)</span> American actor and singer (born 1972)

Christopher Cantwell Fitzgerald is an American actor and singer. He is known for his role as Boq in the musical Wicked, Igor in the musical Young Frankenstein, and Ogie Anhorn in the musical Waitress. He earned Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and Tony Award nominations for his performances in Waitress and Young Frankenstein and won the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance in Waitress.

Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer is an American musical theatre actress and singer. She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in the Broadway revival of Spamalot. Since 2024, she has voiced Rosie in the adult animated musical series Hazbin Hotel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Petkoff</span> American stage actor

Robert Petkoff is an American stage actor known for his work in Shakespearean productions and more recently on the New York City musical theater stage. Petkoff has performed on Broadway, the West End, regional theatre, and done work in film and television. Petkoff was featured as "Perchik" in the Tony award-nominated 2004 revival cast of Fiddler on the Roof but is perhaps best known for his role as "Tateh" in the 2009 revival of Ragtime on Broadway. Petkoff has also provided the voices for over two dozen audiobooks, winning awards for his reading of Michael Koryta's So Cold the River. Married to actress Susan Wands, Petkoff has lived in New York City for the last twenty years, and often performs in benefit concerts for theater-district-related charities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984)</span> American actor & singer

Jeremy Michael Jordan is an American actor and singer. He has performed on Broadway, in television and film, in concert, as well as in other theatrical productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Kazee</span> American actor and singer

Steven Michael Kazee is an American actor and singer. He is best known for starring as Guy in the musical Once for which he was awarded the 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Kazee began his professional acting career in the mid-2000s, and from 2005 until 2013 acted in a series of Broadway productions including Spamalot, 110 in the Shade, and Once. Following the success of Once, Kazee acted on multiple television series, most notably playing Gus Pfender in the fifth season of Shameless. Kazee returned to theater in 2018, starring as Edward in the Chicago tryout of Pretty Woman: The Musical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drew Gasparini</span> American songwriter

Drew Gasparini is a songwriter and musical theatre composer/lyricist, best known for his work in musical theatre. Including writing songs for season 2 of Smash, as well as the scores for the Broadway musicals The Karate Kid, Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical, It's Kind of a Funny Story, and more..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob McClure</span> American actor (born 1982)

Rob McClure is an American actor and singer, best known for his work on the Broadway stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryce Pinkham</span> American stage and screen actor (born 1982)

Bryce Allen Pinkham is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in the PBS period drama Mercy Street. On Broadway, he played Monty Navarro in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. For this role, he received nominations for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and a Grammy. He is a Leonore Annenberg Arts Fellow and co-founder of Zara Aina, a not-for-profit children's theater company in Madagascar. He voices Stolas in the adult animated web series Helluva Boss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Monroe Iglehart</span> American actor (born 1974)

James Monroe Iglehart is an American actor, singer and comic book writer. He is perhaps best known for his Tony Award-winning performance as the Genie in the original Broadway production of Aladdin. Iglehart assumed the roles of the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the Broadway cast of Hamilton in April 2017. He recreated the role of King Arthur in the 2023 Broadway revival of Spamalot, created the role of Louis Armstrong in the Broadway company of A Wonderful World and played Billy Flynn in Chicago. He can be heard as super producer Steve Jones in As The Curtain Rises, Broadway's first original podcast soap opera. More recently, Iglehart joined the casts of animated webseries Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel, as well having written for Marvel Comics, primarily one-shots featuring Spider-Man.

<i>School of Rock</i> (musical) Rock musical

School of Rock is a rock musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Glenn Slater and a book by Julian Fellowes. Based on the 2003 film of the same name, written by Mike White, the musical follows Dewey Finn, an out-of-work rock singer and guitarist who pretends to be a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. After identifying the musical talent in his students, Dewey forms a band of fifth-graders, in an attempt to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands contest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Kober</span> American stage and screen actor (born 1984)

Andrew Kober is an American stage and screen actor, best known for playing the role of Margaret Mead in the 2009 Broadway revival of Hair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophia Anne Caruso</span> American actress

Sophia Anne Caruso is an American actress, singer and dancer best known for originating the role of Lydia Deetz in the Broadway musical Beetlejuice, a role for which she won a Theatre World Award. She also portrays Sophie in the film The School for Good and Evil, in 2022. Other theatre credits include Girl in Lazarus (2015-17) and Iris in The Nether (2015).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Goldner</span> Musical artist

Justin Goldner is an American music producer, songwriter, arranger and session musician based in New York City, originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

<i>Beetlejuice</i> (musical) Musical by Eddie Perfect, Scott Brown and Anthony King

Beetlejuice The Musical. The Musical. The Musical., or simply Beetlejuice, is a musical with music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect and book by Scott Brown and Anthony King. It is based on the 1988 film of the same name. The story concerns a deceased couple who try to haunt the new inhabitants of their former home and call for help from a devious bio-exorcist ghost named Betelgeuse, who is summoned by saying his name three times. One of the new inhabitants is a young girl, Lydia, who is dealing with her mother's death and her neglectful father.

<i>Helluva Boss</i> American adult animated musical web series

Helluva Boss is an American adult animated musical comedy web series created by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano. It revolves around the misadventures of the employees of I.M.P., a company in Hell that offers hitman services in the realm of the living. The pilot was released on November 25, 2019, while the first episode of the first season was released on October 31, 2020. Set in the same fictional universe as Hazbin Hotel, the show is produced by SpindleHorse Toons. The first season was released exclusively on Medrano's YouTube channel, as she has done for other animations. The second season premiered on July 30, 2022. On March 27, 2023, the show was confirmed to be renewed for a third season, in active production. On April 26, 2024, a spin-off short series of Helluva Boss titled Helluva Shorts was announced at LVLUP Expo, with the first short being released on the same day.

References

  1. ↑ "Alex Brightman". Playbill . Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Celebrity Jews". J. June 9, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Bellarmine Theatre Alumnus Receives Tony Award Nomination". Bellarmine College Preparatory. May 9, 2016. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  4. ↑ Itzkoff, Dave (January 3, 2016). "Alex Brightman Rides a 'School of Rock' Wave". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  5. ↑ Rosky, Nicole. "BWW Interview: He's Ready to Rock! Meet Broadway's New Leading Man, SCHOOL OF ROCK's Alex Brightman". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  6. ↑ Coverage, BWW Special. "2016 Tony Awards Nominations - HAMILTON Breaks Record with 16! And the Nominees Are..." BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  7. ↑ Gans, Andrew. "Alex Brightman Returns to Broadway's School of Rock". Playbill. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  8. ↑ Harms, Talaura (June 20, 2023). "Alex Brightman and Colin Donnell Board Broadway's The Shark is Broken" . Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  9. ↑ Russo, Gillian (September 26, 2023). "Taran Killam, Alex Brightman join 'Spamalot' Broadway cast". New York Theatre Guide. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  10. ↑ Gioia, Michael (April 6, 2016). "Double Dare Host Marc Summers Crossed Paths With Broadway, and Now He's Got a Solo Show". Playbill. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Laura Benanti & Alex Brightman to Join Billy Crystal in His New Film Here Today". Broadway.com. October 8, 2019. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  12. ↑ Staff, Playbill (May 22, 2018). "Alex Brightman and Jenny Ravitz Tie the Knot in NYC". Playbill. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  13. ↑ "How Does Beetlejuice Create His Signature Voice? | Sean Parker Institute for the Voice".
  14. ↑ HELLUVA BOSS CAST LIVE Q&A AND LIVE AUTOGRAPH SIGNING!!. VivziePop . November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021– via YouTube.
  15. ↑ Alex Brightman Tells Us About On-Stage Panic Attack in "The Shark is Broken" | New York Live TV. New York Live. August 23, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023– via YouTube.
  16. ↑ TV, BroadwayWorld. "BWW Exclusive: Eva Noblezada & Alex Brightman Star in a Clip From LAW & ORDER: SVU". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.