David Nehls (born 28 April 1964) is an American actor, singer, composer and lyricist who, with Betsy Kelso, wrote The Great American Trailer Park Musical . Among other appearances he originated the role of Riff Raff in the 1996-2000 European tour of The Rocky Horror Show . [1] [2] Today he works as a Musical Director for various theatres across the United States.
Born as David Ronald Nehls and a native of Uniontown in Pennsylvania, he is the son of Ronald Nehls (1937-2008), a former Fayette County commissioner, and Darlene (née Duall), who worked at the Uniontown Hospital. In 1982 Nehls graduated from Laurel Highlands High School; he had studied piano for ten years before being accepted into the Shenandoah Conservatory, an arts college near Washington, D.C., where in 1987 he wrote his first musical, Starting Another Day. [3]
Following this Nehls began an acting career which included playing in American National Tours as Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors ; Lord Jasper Tring in Me and My Girl ; Sonny the Gangster in City of Angels , and Eddie Cantor in Ziegfeld: A Night at the Follies (1991). He originated the role of Don Wand in a Rock'n'Roll version of Beauty and the Beast. In regional theatre Nehls appeared as Cosmé McMoon in Souvenir ; Tom Sawyer in Big River ; Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar ; George M. Cohan in George M! ; and The Top Banana in Little Rhody's Big Burlesque opposite Gennifer Flowers. [4]
From 1996 to 2000 Nehls played Riff Raff in the European tour of The Rocky Horror Show [1] [2] and appeared on the soundtrack CD which was released by Lava Records/Polymedia International Music Service and which had been recorded in January 1996 at the Livingstone Studios in London. [5]
Among others, Nehls wrote the music and lyrics for Starting Another Day (1987), which premiered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1987; The Great American Trailer Park Musical (New York Musical Theatre Festival (2004), Off-Broadway Production (2005), National Tour (2007), the Edinburgh Festival (2008) and various regional productions across the U.S.), written with Betsy Kelso during their European tour of The Rocky Horror Show ; Broadway Bares; The Watercoolers (Off-Broadway Production (2002) and a 2007 National Tour); Breach (Evolution Theatre Company, 2011); [6] It's A Wonderful Life (National Tour (1993) and regional productions); Killer Wigs from Outer Space (animation project - GenCon Selection (2013), Terror Film Festival, Philadelphia (2013), New York Musical Theatre Festival (2017); [7] The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical (Stages Repertory Theatre 2016); Down on the Pharm; and Mommie Dearest (2017) in collaboration with Christina Crawford, produced by Out of the Box Theatrics in New York City. [8] [9] [10] He composed the score for the short Rogue Eagle Creek (2010). [11]
With Sheryl McCallum Nehls co-wrote Miss Rhythm – The Legend of Ruth Brown which is playing at the Garner Galleria Theatre in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts from May to October 2023. [12] Written during the COVID lockdown, and inspired by a chance meeting Nehls had with Brown on the streets of New York in his youth, [12] the "intimate cabaret experience" explores the life of R&B performer Ruth Brown through song and story. [13] McCallum plays Brown, who the script allows to "...interact with the audience and demonstrate her skills as a dynamic storyteller. Each tale is interwoven with a thoughtfully curated song, allowing her to delve even further into the character." [14]
As a Musical Director Nehls has overseen 50 productions at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities in Colorado [15] [16] and winning 9 Henry Awards - four for Musical Direction (2008, 2009, 2013, 2014) and five for Best Musical Production of the year (2007, 2008, 2009, [17] 2011, 2013). He has also worked regionally as Musical Director at theatres including the Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach, Florida; the Fox Theatre in Denver, Colorado; American Musical Theatre of San Jose, California; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; TheatreWorks in Hartford, Connecticut and Carousel Dinner Theatre in Akron, Ohio. [9]
Nehls was Vice President of the Historic Elitch Gardens Theatre Foundation (2014–16), working to restore the 125 year old Elitch Theatre in Denver, CO. He also served as Co-Chairman of the Elitch Theatre New Works Festival (2015–16). [18] [19] He is a member of BMI and is represented by Creative Artists Agency. [4]