Michael McCormick | |
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Born | |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1965–present |
Michael McCormick (born July 24, 1951) is an American actor who has appeared in many Broadway productions as well as national tours, off-Broadway and regional theatre, as well as television.
McCormick was born on July 24, 1951, in Gary, Indiana, where his father was a steelworker. [1] [2] At 12, he made his stage debut in a touring company of Oliver! at the then-Sam Shubert Theatre (now CIBC Theatre) in Chicago. [3] After the touring company, he performed on a return performance of Oliver! on broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. After Oliver!, in 1965 he was cast as one of teenage children of the lead characters in The Porcelain Year, an ill-fated broadway show written by Reginald Rose that closed quickly after poor reviews; McCormick said "It was a real drama. It was tough because I was just a kid and had never taken acting classes."
Following the disappointing experience on Porcelain, he returned to Indiana and had a difficult time rejoining high school midway through the first year. [3] [4] After high school, he was a theater student at Northwestern University and graduated in 1973, having won the senior best actor award. [5] [3] [6]
His Broadway roles include The Wizard in Wicked , Judge in Hello Dolly! , Mack Sennett, Charlie Chaplin Sr. and McGranery in Chaplin , Mr. Greenway in Elf , Oscar Shapiro in Curtains , Grandpa Seth Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas , Pop in The Pajama Game , Leary in Marie Christine , John Adams and Caesar Rodney in 1776 , and Gangster (First Man) in Kiss Me, Kate . [1] On tour, he starred as Max in The Producers and played Thénardier in Les Miserables , among others. [7]
In 2022 he created the roles of Fred Colby and Tommy O’Rourke in A Beautiful Noise on Broadway. A review in Variety praised McCormick's "comedic talents" in the role. [8]
He lives in Connecticut with his wife Alison Bevan, who he met in a play, although they never worked together professionally since. [3] She starred in a number of productions at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, among others, before leaving acting. They have one son together. [5]
Year(s) | Production | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1964-65 | Oliver! | Workhouse Boy / Fagin's Gang | National tour |
1965 | Londoner u/s Noah Claypool | Broadway | |
1987-91 | Les Misérables | Grantaire / Bamatabois / Chain Gang / Drinker u/s Monsieur Thénardier | National tour |
Monsieur Thénardier | |||
1989 | The Secret Garden | Dr. Neville Craven | Regional |
1991 | La Bête | Servant u/s Rene Du Parc | Broadway |
1993 | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Marcos u/s Warden | |
1995 | Warden | National tour | |
1997 | 1776 | Caesar Rodney u/s John Hancock | Broadway |
John Adams | |||
2003 | Gypsy | Cigar/Uncle Jocko u/s Herbie | |
2004 | The Producers | Franz Liebkind | National tour |
2006 | Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical | Grandpa Seth Who | Broadway |
2007-08 | Curtains | Oscar Shapiro | |
2008 | Les Misérables | Monsieur Thénardier | Hollywood Bowl |
2010-11 | Elf | Mr. Greenway | Broadway |
2011 | The Producers | Max Bialystock | Regional |
2013 | Regional | ||
Ragtime | J.P. Morgan | Avery Fisher Hall | |
Les Misérables | Monsieur Thénardier | The Muny | |
2015 | My Fair Lady | Alfred P. Doolittle | |
Into the Woods | The Mysterious Man / Cinderella's Father | ||
2016 | 1776 | John Hancock | Encores! |
Fiddler on the Roof | Tevye | The Muny | |
2017 | Hello, Dolly! | Judge / Ensemble u/s Horace Vandergelder | Broadway |
2019–22 | Wicked | The Wonderful Wizard of Oz | |
2022–23 | A Beautiful Noise | Paul Colby / Tommy O’Rourke u/s Neil (Now) | |
2023-24 | Fred Weintraub / Tommy O’Rourke u/s Neil (Now) |
Oliver! is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.
Funny Girl is a musical with score by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, and book by Isobel Lennart, that first opened on Broadway in 1964. The semi-biographical plot is based on the life and career of comedian and Broadway star Fanny Brice, featuring her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nicky Arnstein.
Godspell is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hymns, with the passion of Christ appearing briefly near the end.
Oliver Burgess Meredith was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed radio, theater, film, and television.
Annie is a musical with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and a book by Thomas Meehan. It is based on the 1924 comic strip Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years, setting a record for the Alvin Theatre. It spawned numerous productions in many countries, as well as national tours, and won seven Tony Awards, including for Best Musical. The musical's songs "Tomorrow" and "It's the Hard Knock Life" are among its most popular musical numbers.
Camelot is a musical with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics and a book by Alan Jay Lerner. It is based on the legend of King Arthur as adapted from the 1958 novel The Once and Future King by T. H. White.
Hugh Panaro is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his work in Broadway stage musicals, most well known for his role in The Phantom of the Opera being in over 2,000 performances in the Broadway production.
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Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the 1944 film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra.
Jacob Lee Epstein is a Canadian actor and singer. He is known for playing Craig Manning, a musician with bipolar disorder, on Degrassi: The Next Generation. He has also had recurring roles in the television series Designated Survivor and The Hardy Boys.
Theodore Raymond Knight is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. George O'Malley on the ABC medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy, which earned him a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2007.
Mark Jacoby is an American musical theatre performer who has had leading roles on Broadway in Show Boat, The Phantom of the Opera, Sweet Charity and Ragtime, among others. He has also performed widely in national tours, regional theatre and Off-Broadway.
Robert Westenberg is an American stage actor and singer, acting teacher, and professor. He received a Tony Award nomination for his performance in the original Broadway cast of Into the Woods.
Cara Duff-MacCormick is a Canadian actress, predominantly in the theatre.
The Wizard of Oz is a 2011 musical based on the 1939 film of the same name in turn based on L. Frank Baum's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, with a book adapted by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jeremy Sams. The musical uses the Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg songs from the film and includes some new songs and additional music by Lloyd Webber and additional lyrics by Tim Rice. It is the third stage musical adaptation of the film following the 1942 version for the St. Louis Municipal Opera and the 1987 version for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Chaplin: The Musical, formerly titled Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin, is a musical with music and lyrics by Christopher Curtis and book by Curtis and Thomas Meehan. The show is based on the life of Charlie Chaplin. The musical, which started at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2006, debuted at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2010, and then premiered on Broadway in 2012.
Rob McClure is an American actor and singer, best known for his work on the Broadway stage.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is a jukebox musical with a book by Douglas McGrath that tells the story of the early life and career of Carole King, using songs that she wrote, often together with Gerry Goffin, and other contemporary songs by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Phil Spector and others.
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical is a jukebox musical featuring the music of Tina Turner and depicting her life from her humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee, to her transformation into a rock 'n roll superstar. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd with a book by Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar, and Kees Prins, the musical had its world premiere on 17 April 2018 at the Aldwych Theatre in London. The Broadway production opened on 7 November 2019.
A Beautiful Noise is a jukebox musical based on the life and music of Neil Diamond. It opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on December 4, 2022. It grossed more than $1 million at the box office in the week leading up to its Broadway premiere.