Michael McCormick (actor)

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Michael McCormick
Born (1951-07-24) July 24, 1951 (age 72)
OccupationActor
Years active1965–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.

Contents

Early life and career

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]

Theater career

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]

Personal life

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]

Acting credits

Selected theatre credits

Sources: [1] [9]

Year(s)ProductionRoleNotes
1964-65 Oliver! Workhouse Boy / Fagin's GangNational tour
1965Londoner
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 CravenRegional
1991 La Bête Servant
u/s Rene Du Parc
Broadway
1993 Kiss of the Spider Woman Marcos
u/s Warden
1995WardenNational 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 WhoBroadway
2007-08 Curtains Oscar Shapiro
2008 Les Misérables Monsieur Thénardier Hollywood Bowl
2010-11 Elf Mr. GreenwayBroadway
2011 The Producers Max Bialystock Regional
2013Regional
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–present A Beautiful Noise Fred Colby / Tommy O’Rourke

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Michael McCormick (Performer)". Playbill. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  2. "BOOK ON DICAPRIO COVERS (SURPRISE!) HIS EARLY YEARS". Chicago Tribune. 1998-03-08. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Sherman, Richard (1989-03-24). "Gary's McCormick no longer waiting tables". The Times. Munster, Indiana. p. 23. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  4. Rosenzweig, Phil (2021-10-05). "16: After The Defenders". Reginald Rose and the Journey of 12 Angry Men. Fordham Univ Press. ISBN   978-0-8232-9775-7.
  5. 1 2 Newmark, Judith (2016-07-29). "A father's role". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis. pp. G12. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  6. "Dialogue" (PDF). media.soc.northwestern.edu. Summer 2017. p. 2. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  7. "Michael McCormick (touring)", Internet Broadway Database, accessed February 15, 2023
  8. Amorosi. A. D. "A Beautiful Noise Review: Neil Diamond Musical Unpacks Hitmaker’s Life in Therapy and Song", Variety , December 5, 2022
  9. Michael McCormick AboutTheArtists