Mike Eldred (born June 12, 1965) is an American tenor, known for his work in musical theater. He has performed on Broadway and in regional productions. He has also appeared in concert, as well as on recordings, radio, and television.
Mike Eldred (born June 12, 1965) is an American tenor, known for his work in musical theater. He has performed on Broadway and in regional productions. He has also appeared in concert, as well as on recordings, radio, and television.
Eldred was born part of a musical family that traveled by bus, performing in Christian revivals and events. [1] His father was not only a Baptist preacher [2] but also a classic baritone and a tuba player. Young Mike was harmonizing with music on the radio at the age of four. [3]
Eldred, whose voice was classically trained, majored in voice at Stephen F. Austin State University. While still in his teens, however, he left to join a contemporary Christian band; [4] [3] he was with Truth for around two years. At age 21, he went to Nashville and launched a career in country and gospel music. In addition to two solo records, he sang backup for Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. [1] He also worked with Garth Brooks and Amy Grant. [3]
With no previous experience as an actor, Eldred began his stage career in 1996 when he landed a role in the 25th anniversary tour of Jesus Christ Superstar . [1]
He was in the original Broadway cast of The Civil War (1999), which was nominated for a Tony Award.
In 2003, during the final months of the long Broadway run of Les Misérables , Eldred was understudy and performer in the starring role, Jean Valjean. He then went on to perform as Valjean in other theaters around the United States. [1] In particular, his performance during the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival in 2015 drew praise. [5] [6]
He starred as "The Tenor" in the 2010 national concert tour of Handel's Messiah Rocks. [7]
Numerous appearances on recordings and DVDs.
Solo CDs:
Eldred, who lives in Whitefish, Montana, launched a quarterly concert series called "On the Stage" in Whitefish in 2018. His goal was to keep the shows intimate and bring various accomplished friends to the Flathead Valley. The first performer was Marcus Hummon. [11] Subsequent acts included Victoria Shaw and Sylvia. NFL player turned singer Mike Reid was scheduled for March 2020.
Flathead County is in the U.S. state of Montana. At the 2020 census, its population was 104,357, making it the state's fourth most populous county. Its county seat is Kalispell. Its numerical designation is 7. Its northern border is on the state's north border, making it contiguous with the Canada–US border, facing British Columbia.
Kalispell is a city in and the county seat of Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2020 census put Kalispell's population at 24,558. In Montana's northwest region, it is the largest city and the commercial center of the Kalispell Micropolitan Statistical Area. The name Kalispell is a Salish word meaning "flat land above the lake".
Whitefish is a city in Flathead County, Montana, United States. According to the 2020 United States Census, there were 7,751 people in the city.
Les Misérables, colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz, is a sung-through musical and an adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel of the same name, by Claude-Michel Schönberg (music), Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel and Herbert Kretzmer. The original French musical premiered in Paris in 1980 with direction by Robert Hossein. Its English-language adaptation by producer Cameron Mackintosh has been running in London since October 1985, making it the longest-running musical in the West End and the second longest-running musical in the world after the original Off-Broadway run of The Fantasticks.
Michael Ashley Ball is an English singer, presenter and actor. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of Les Misérables, and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera. In 1989, he reached number two in the UK Singles Chart with "Love Changes Everything", a song taken from the musical Aspects of Love, where he played Alex. He played the role in London and on Broadway. His album Coming Home To You reached number one in the UK making it his 4th number one album to date. On 24 April 2020, Ball and Captain Tom Moore entered the UK Singles Chart at number one with a cover of "You'll Never Walk Alone", with combined chart sales of 82,000 making it the fastest-selling single of 2020.
Colm Wilkinson, also known as C. T. Wilkinson, is an Irish tenor and actor who is best known for originating the lead role of Jean Valjean in Les Misérables and for taking the title role in The Phantom of the Opera at the Sydmonton Festival and the original Canadian production.
John Owen-Jones is a Welsh musical theatre actor and singer, best known for his portrayals of Jean Valjean in Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg's Les Misérables and of the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera.
Hugh Panaro is an American actor and singer known for his work on Broadway.
Chuck Wagner is an American actor, director, musical theater historian and teacher. He has had an extensive career in theater, but is perhaps best known for co-starring in the short-lived science fiction TV series Automan (1983–84).
Ramin Karimloo is a Canadian actor, singer and composer recognized for his work in London's West End and Broadway theatre.
David "Dudu" Fisher is an Israeli cantor and performer, best known for his Broadway performance as Jean Valjean in the musical Les Misérables.
Rhonda LaChanze Sapp, known professionally as LaChanze, is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical in 2006 for her role as Celie Harris Johnson in The Color Purple.
Jon Robyns is a British stage actor, who is best known for playing the roles of Princeton and Rod in Avenue Q the musical and Jean Valjean in Les Misérables in London's West End.
Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe is an English tenor and actor, notably performing in musical theatre.
Alpine Theatre Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional theatre company based in Whitefish, Montana. It presents musicals, plays and concerts. It also provides education and outreach to students in Montana's Flathead Valley.
Daniel Diges García is a Spanish singer, pianist, composer and actor. Although born in Madrid proper, he has spent all his youth in the neighbouring city of Alcalá de Henares.
Killian Donnelly is an Irish tenor. He has appeared in musicals and plays, such as Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, The Commitments, Memphis and Kinky Boots.
Les Misérables is a 2012 epic period musical film directed by Tom Hooper from a screenplay by William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, who wrote the original French lyrics, Claude-Michel Schönberg, who wrote the music, and Herbert Kretzmer, who wrote the English lyrics. The film is based on the 1985 West End English translation of the 1980 French musical by Boublil and Schönberg, which itself is adapted from the 1862 French novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The film is a British-American venture distributed by Universal Pictures. The film stars an ensemble cast led by Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter, and Sacha Baron Cohen.
Les Misérables: The Staged Concert is a 2019 British live stage recording of the 1980 musical Les Misérables, itself an adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel, filmed at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End on 2 December 2019, and broadcast live to UK and Irish cinemas. Starring Michael Ball, Alfie Boe, Carrie Hope Fletcher and Matt Lucas, it was the final performance of the stage production Les Misérables: The All-Star Staged Concert, which ran for four months from 10 August. The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.