Michael Rupert

Last updated
Michael Rupert
Born
Michael John Rupert

(1951-10-23) October 23, 1951 (age 73)
Occupation(s)Actor, singer, composer, director
Years active1968–present
SpouseWill Chafin-Rupert
Awards1986 Best Featured Actor in a Musical

Michael John Rupert (born October 23, 1951, Denver, Colorado) is an American actor, singer, director and composer. In 1968, he made his Broadway debut in The Happy Time as Bibi Bonnard for which he received a Tony Award nomination and the Theater World Award. Later, he starred as the title role in Pippin for three years on Broadway starting in 1974. He originated the role of Marvin in the William Finn musicals March of the Falsettos , Falsettoland and Falsettos . In 2007, he originated the role of Professor Callahan in the Broadway cast of Legally Blonde. Rupert has been the nominee and recipient of several Tony and Drama Desk awards. He won a Tony for his performance in Sweet Charity in 1986.

Contents

Early life

At 16 years old, Rupert made his Broadway debut in 1968 in Kander and Ebb's The Happy Time as the young Bibi Bonnard. [1] His performance earned him the 1968 Theater World Award and his first Tony Award nomination for Featured Actor in a Musical. At the 22nd Tony Awards, Rupert performed "The Happy Time" and "A Certain Girl" from The Happy Time alongside his castmates Robert Goulet and David Wayne. [2] He returned to California after The Happy Time, and appeared in local theater while in high school. [3] During this time he appeared in the Disney film The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and as Gery in the 1975 film adaptation of A Boy and His Dog . [4]

Career

Acting

Rupert returned to Broadway in 1974 as a replacement in the role of Pippin . [5] [6] [7] In 1981, he appeared on Broadway in Shakespeare's Cabaret. [5] [6] He then originated the role of Marvin in two William Finn musicals, March of the Falsettos (1981) at the Off-Broadway Playwrights Horizons [8] and Falsettoland (1990), which initiated at Playwrights Horizons before moving to the Lucille Lortel Theater. [9] When March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland were performed together under the name Falsettos in 1992, Rupert once again played the role of Marvin, for which he received a nomination for the 1992 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. [10] In 1986 he appeared as Oscar in the Broadway revival of Sweet Charity , [11] for which he won the 1986 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. [12] In the 1988 musical Mail, Rupert not only originated the role of Alex, but composed the music as well. [7] [13] He was a replacement in the role of Stine in City of Angels in 1989 [6] and was in Ragtime as a replacement Tateh in 1999. [6]

In 2003, he performed with Betty Buckley, Christian Borle, Carolee Carmello and Keith Bryon Kirk in the Lincoln Center staging of William Finn's Elegies: A Song Cycle . [14] He originated the role of Professor Callahan in Legally Blonde (2007) on Broadway [15] and returned to the role on the National tour, starting in February 2010. [16] [17] Rupert appeared as Kenneth Sharpe in the play 7th Monarch Off-Broadway at the Acorn Theater, opening in June 2012. [18] [19] He appeared in the Broadway revival of On the Town as Judge Pitkin, which ran from October 2014 to September 2015. [20]

In regional theatre, he starred as Norbert in a workshop production of The Happy Elf, composed by Harry Connick, Jr. at Montgomery College's Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center, Rockville, Maryland in a co-production with Adventure Theatre, Washington, DC in November 2010. [21]

His television credits include guest roles on series such as My Three Sons , The Waltons , Marcus Welby, M.D. and its legal spin-off Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law , Another World , Emergency! , Cannon , Alice , The Partridge Family , Alias Smith and Jones , Hawkins , Cheers , Law & Order and New York Undercover . [7] [16] Also he was in the MTV broadcast of Legally Blonde in 2007. [22]

Directing

In 1997, Rupert directed an Off-Broadway production of he The Lunch Anxieties by Larry Kunofsky at the Harold Clurman Theatre. He directed J. Arlington Meyrelles III's musical, The Stars In Your Eyes, in an Equity workshop production in 1998. [23] Rupert directed Thrill Me: Leopold & Loeb Story (2005) at the York Theatre.

Composing

Rupert composed the music, with book and lyrics by Jerry Colker, to the 1985 Off-Broadway music 3 Guys Naked from the Waist Down, which won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book and was nominated for Outstanding Music. [24] The score for Mail (1988) was also written by Rupert with Colker once again writing the book and lyrics. Rupert wrote the score to Strange Vacation (1998) and collaborated with Allan Heinberg. [23] He composed the score and co-wrote the book and lyrics with Matthew Riopelle for the musical Streets of America (2007). [25] [26] On August 18, 2008 the number "Racing to the Moon" was released Footlight Label as a single featuring three different performances: one by Rupert, another by actor Sebastian Arcelus, and an instrumental version by the guitarist David Timmons. His debut single, "Racing to the Moon" was released on August 18, 2008 on the Footlight label. [26]

Personal life

Rupert lives in New York City with his life partner, Will Chafin. [16]

Theater Credits

YearProductionRoleNotes
1968 The Happy Time Bibi BonnarOriginal Broadway Cast
1974-1977 Pippin PippinBroadway Replacement
1977-1978US tour
1979FestivalTroubadorOff-Broadway
1981-1982 March of the Falsettos MarvinOriginal Cast
1986-1987 Sweet Charity OscarBroadway revival
1988MailAlex
1989 City of Angels StineBroadway replacement
1990 Falsettoland MarvinOriginal Cast
1992-1993 Falsettos MarvinOriginal Broadway Cast
1994US tour replacement
1998 Ragtime TatehUS tour
1999-2000Broadway replacement
2003 Elegies: A Song Cycle Original Performer
2007-2008 Legally Blonde Professor CallahanOriginal Broadway Cast
2009 The Full Monty Harold Nichols Paper Mill Playhouse
2010 Legally Blonde Professor CallahanUS tour replacement
2011 Ogunquit Playhouse
20127th MonarchKenneth Sharpe
2014-2015 On The Town Judge PitkinBroadway revival

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResult
1968 Tony Award Best Featured Actor in a Musical The Happy Time Nominated
Theater World Award Theater World AwardWon
1985 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Music3 Guys Naked From the Waist DownNominated
1986 Tony Award Best Featured Actor in a Musical Sweet Charity Won
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a MusicalWon
1992 Tony Award Best Actor in a Musical Falsettos Nominated

See also

Notes

  1. "The Happy Time Listing".Playbillvault.com, accessed July 16, 2012 [ dead link ]
  2. "1968". www.tonyawards.com. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  3. Pacheco, Patrick. "STAGE : The Tenor of His Career: With his starring role in 'Falsettos' on Broadway, Michael Rupert has moved to the top ranks of the musical comedy field". Los Angeles Times, August 23, 1992
  4. Jones, L. Q. (1975-11-14), A Boy and His Dog (Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi), LQ/JAF, retrieved 2022-10-07
  5. 1 2 "Rupert Credits". Archived 2012-11-05 at the Wayback Machine InternetBroadwayDatabase, accessed July 17, 2012
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Mike Rupert". Archived 2012-11-15 at the Wayback Machine Masterworksbroadway.com, accessed July 17, 2012
  7. 1 2 3 Holden, Stephen. "A Musical With A Bundle of Letters In Leading Roles". The New York Times, April 10, 1988
  8. Rich, Frank. "Stage: 'March Of Falsettos, ' A Musical Find ". Archived 2016-11-07 at the Wayback Machine The New York Times, April 10, 1981
  9. Christiansen, Richard. " 'Falsettoland' Closes A Trilogy On A Skillful, Provocative Note". Chicago Tribune, November 21, 1990
  10. "1992". www.tonyawards.com. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  11. Rich, Frank. "Stage: 'Sweet Charity,' A Bob Fosse Revival". Archived 2016-08-07 at the Wayback Machine The New York Times, April 28, 1986
  12. 1986 Tony Awards". Archived 2012-09-05 at the Wayback Machine Infoplease.com, accessed July 16, 2012
  13. Rich, Frank. "Review/Theater;Epistles Set to Music, In Colker-Rupert 'Mail' ", The New York Times, April 15, 1988, Section C; p.3
  14. Holden, Stephen."Theater Review; Departed Friends Vibrantly Recalled in Song". Archived 2012-08-06 at the Wayback Machine The New York Times, March 28, 2003
  15. Pincus-Roth, Zachary. " 'Legally Blonde' Ends San Francisco Run Feb. 24; Broadway Next" Archived 2012-10-18 at the Wayback Machine Playbill.com, February 24, 2007
  16. 1 2 3 Cherkinian, Harry. "A Life in the Theater". Archived 2016-08-16 at the Wayback Machine Wisconsingazette.com, March 25, 2010
  17. "Michael Rupert Returns to 'Legally Blonde' on Tour Broadwayworld.com, February 10, 2010
  18. "7th Monarch, a Curtainup review". www.curtainup.com. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  19. (author unknown). ‘7th Monarch,’ by Jim Henry, at the Acorn Theater". Archived 2012-07-01 at the Wayback Machine The New York Times, June 25, 2012
  20. " 'On the Town' Broadway Revival" Archived 2016-08-12 at the Wayback Machine Playbill, accessed July 16, 2016
  21. Jones, Kenneth (12 November 2010). "Michael Rupert Stars in East Coast Premiere of Harry Connick Jr.'s The Happy Elf, Starting Nov. 12". Playbill. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  22. Lipton, Brian Scott. "MTV To Re-Air 'Legally Blonde' on Thanksgiving". Theatermania.com, November 20, 2007
  23. 1 2 Lefkowitz, David. Novice "Director Michael Rupert To Share Anxieties & Romance". Playbill.com, November 26, 1997
  24. Rich, Frank. "Theater: '3 Guys Naked,' A Musical". The New York Times, February 6, 1985
  25. Gans, Andrew. "Rupert's 'Streets of America' to Premiere at Pittsburgh Playhouse". Playbill, October 31, 2007
  26. 1 2 Hetrick, Adam. "Michael Rupert to Release Single "Racing to the Moon" Aug. 18". Playbill.com, August 6, 2008

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Finn</span> Musical artist

William Alan Finn is an American composer and lyricist. He is best known for his musicals, which include Falsettos, for which he won the 1992 Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical, A New Brain (1998), and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005).

Faith Prince is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on Broadway in musical theatre. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in Guys and Dolls in 1992, and received three other Tony nominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Lapine</span> American stage director and librettist

James Elliot Lapine is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for Into the Woods, Falsettos, and Passion. He has frequently collaborated with Stephen Sondheim and William Finn.

Jerome Herbert "Chip" Zien is an American actor. He is best known for originating the lead role of the Baker in the original Broadway production of the musical Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim. He appeared in all of the "Marvin Trilogy" musicals by William Finn: In Trousers, March of the Falsettos, Falsettoland and Falsettos. In 2023, he returned to Broadway to critical acclaim in the lead role of Rabbi Josef Roman Cycowski in Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman’s Harmony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Stokes Mitchell</span> American actor and singer (born 1957)

Brian Stokes Mitchell is an American actor and singer. A powerful baritone, he has been one of the central leading men of the Broadway theater since the 1990s. He has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and a nomination for a Grammy Award. In 2016 he received the Isabelle Stevenson Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelli O'Hara</span> American actress and singer (born 1976)

Kelli Christine O'Hara is an American actress and singer, most known for her work on the Broadway and opera stages.

<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, each of which earned him a Tony nomination. He starred as Marvin in the 2016 Broadway revival of Falsettos. He also 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">Andrew Rannells</span> American actor (born 1978)

Andrew Scott Rannells is an American actor. He is best known for originating the role of Elder Kevin Price in the 2011 Broadway musical The Book of Mormon, for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and won the 2012 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. He received his second Tony nomination in 2017 for his performance as Whizzer in the 2016 Broadway revival of Falsettos. Other Broadway credits include Hairspray (2005), Jersey Boys (2009), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2014), Hamilton (2015), The Boys in the Band (2018), and Gutenberg! The Musical! (2023). For his performance in the Off West End production of Tammy Faye, he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Fraser</span> American actress and singer

Alison Fraser is an American actress, voice actress and singer who has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in television and film. In concert, she has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall, The White House, Town Hall, The Brooklyn Botanic Garden, The Tisch Center for the Arts, The Folger Shakespeare Library, The Wilma, The Emelin, Joe's Pub, 54 Below, and Symphony Space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Maxwell</span> American actress (1956 – 2018)

Janice Elaine Maxwell was an American stage and television actress. She was a five-time Tony Award nominee and two-time Drama Desk Award winner. In a career spanning over thirty years, Maxwell was one of the most celebrated and critically acclaimed stage actresses of her time.

<i>Falsettos</i> 1992 musical by William Finn and James Lapine

Falsettos is a sung-through musical with a book by William Finn and James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Finn. The musical consists of March of the Falsettos (1981) and Falsettoland (1990), the last two installments in a trio of one-act musicals that premiered off-Broadway. The story centers on Marvin, who has left his wife to be with a male lover, Whizzer, and struggles to keep his family together. Much of the first act explores the impact his relationship with Whizzer has had on his family. The second act explores family dynamics that evolve as he and his ex-wife plan his son's bar mitzvah, which is complicated as Whizzer comes down with an early case of AIDS. Central to the musical are the themes of Jewish identity, gender roles, and gay life in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boyd Gaines</span> American actor (born 1953)

Boyd Payne Gaines is an American actor. During his career, he has won four Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. Gaines is best known for playing Mark Royer on One Day at a Time (1981–1984).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Bell Bundy</span> American actress and singer (born 1981)

Laura Ashley Bell Bundy–Hinkle is an American actress and singer. Her career started as a child, when her mother entered her in beauty pageants, where she would sing as a talent. After recognizing her singing ability, her mother took her to New York City, where she found success as a child actress and model, signing with Ford Modeling Agency in 1986. She was cast as the lead in Ruthless! at age 9 in 1991.

Stephen Bogardus is an American actor. He originated the role of Whizzer in the Broadway musical, Falsettos.

Graciela Daniele is an Argentine-American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Karl</span> American actor and singer (born 1974)

Andy Karl is an American actor and singer. He is best known for performing in musical theatre specifically musicals adapted from successful movies. He has received several accolades including a Laurence Olivier Award and a Drama Desk Award as well as nominations for three Tony Awards. He is also known for playing Sgt. Mike Dodds on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit from 2015 to 2016.

Barbara Walsh is an American musical theatre actress who has appeared in several prominent Broadway productions. Walsh is known for her Drama Desk Award and Tony Award nominated role as Trina in the original Broadway production of Falsettos, as well as her turn as Joanne in the 2006 Broadway Revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical Company.

John Rando is an American stage director who won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for Urinetown the Musical in 2002. He received his 2nd nomination in the same category in 2015 for the 2014 Broadway revival of On the Town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandon Uranowitz</span> American stage and television actor (born 1986)

Brandon Jacob Uranowitz is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Adam Hochberg in the musical An American in Paris (2014–15) and Mendel Weisenbachfeld in the 2016 Broadway revival of Falsettos, both of which earned him nominations for Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. His performances in Burn This (2019) and Leopoldstadt (2022–23) earned him nominations for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play; he won the award for his performance in Leopoldstadt. His other Broadway credits include Baby, It's You! (2011), Prince of Broadway (2017), and The Band's Visit (2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">71st Tony Awards</span> 2017 awards ceremony

The 71st Annual Tony Awards were held on June 11, 2017, to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2016–17 season. The ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and was broadcast live by CBS. Kevin Spacey served as host.

References