Paolo Montalban | |
---|---|
Born | |
Education | St. Peter's Preparatory School |
Alma mater | Rutgers University (BS) |
Occupation(s) | Actor, singer |
Years active | 1997–present |
Notable work |
|
Paolo Montalban (born May 21, 1973) is an American actor and singer best known for his performance in the 1997 Disney television film Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella as Prince Christopher, opposite Brandy as Cinderella and Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother. [1] He reprised that role in a stage version of the musical with Deborah Gibson and then Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Cinderella and Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother. [2] [3]
Montalban was born in Manila, Philippines, to Paul and Vivian Montalban. [4] His family immigrated to the United States when he was a year old and lived in a studio apartment in Manhattan's West Side across the street from The Juilliard School and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. [4] He is an alumnus of St. Peter's Preparatory School and holds a degree in pre-med psychology from Rutgers University. [5]
In 1997, Montalban starred in Cinderella as Prince Christopher alongside Whitney Houston, Whoopi Goldberg and Brandy. He also played Kung Lao in the syndicated series Mortal Kombat: Conquest along with Daniel Bernhardt and Kristanna Loken.
Montalban was also cast in John Dahl's The Great Raid as Sgt. Valera, and played Raul [6] in the independent film American Adobo . He also appeared in Just Wright starring Queen Latifah, The Adjustment Bureau, and the short film Two Weeks.
Montalban was named one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People of 1998. [7]
He has appeared on Broadway in Pacific Overtures , The King and I and Breakfast at Tiffany's , starring Emilia Clarke. Off-Broadway, he was in Two Gentlemen of Verona at Shakespeare in the Park, The Romance of Magno Rubio at Ma Yi Theater Company, among others. [8] He also guest starred in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 8, episode 20: "Annihilated") and One Life to Live .
Montalban has appeared in productions of The King and I on Broadway and around the country, where he has played both Lun Tha, the young lover, and the title role of the King. [9] In 2022, Montalban starred as Captain Von Trapp in the Dallas Theater Center production of The Sound of Music at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre. [10] On March 28, 2023, he succeeded Peter Francis James as Florenz Ziegfeld in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl and remained with the show until it closed on September 3 of that year. [11] [12]
He reunited with Brandy in the Disney+ movie Descendants: The Rise of Red , part of the Descendants franchise, which premiered July 12, 2024. [13]
On January 17, 2024, he originated the role of Kurt Huber in the world premiere of the off-Broadway musical White Rose. [14]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | American Adobo | Raul | |
2005 | The Great Raid | Sgt. Valera | |
2010 | Just Wright | Sommelier | |
2012 | Two Weeks | Dad | Short film |
2020 | The Girl Who Left Home | Tony | |
2023 | Asian Persuasion | Lee-Kwan Lee | |
2024 | Descendants: The Rise of Red | King Charming |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | Cinderella | Prince Christopher | Television film |
1998–1999 | Mortal Kombat: Conquest | Kung Lao | 22 episodes |
2007 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Wahid | Episode: "Annihilated" |
2010 | One Life to Live | Tahiti Cop #1 | 1 episode |
2013 | City of Dreams | Paolo Montalban | Episode: "The Ballad of Ofagina" |
2015 | Madam Secretary | Military Tech | 2 episodes |
Nurse Jackie | Second Investigator | Episode: "Jackie and the Wolf" | |
The Blacklist | Forensic Agent | Episode: "Arioch Cain" |
Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | The King and I | Lun Tha | Neil Simon Theatre | Original Broadway Cast |
2004 | Pacific Overtures | Manjiro | Studio 54 | Original Broadway Cast |
2005 | Two Gentlemen of Verona | Eglamour | Delacorte Theater | Off-Broadway |
2013 | Breakfast at Tiffany's | u/s Jose, u/s Yunioshi | Cort Theatre | Original Broadway Cast |
2017 | Bella: An American Tall Tale | Tommie Haw/Skeeter | Playwrights Horizons | Off-Broadway World Premiere Nominated - Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical |
2020 | The Unsinkable Molly Brown | Arthur | Abrons Arts Center (Transport Group) | Original Off-Broadway Cast |
2023 | Funny Girl | Florenz Ziegfeld | August Wilson Theatre | Broadway Replacement |
2024 | White Rose: The Musical | Professor Kurt Huber | Theatre Row | Original Off-Broadway Cast |
Into the Woods is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.
"Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with 69 variants that are told throughout the world. The protagonist is a young girl living in forsaken circumstances who is suddenly blessed by remarkable fortune, with her ascension to the throne via marriage. The story of Rhodopis, recounted by the Greek geographer Strabo sometime between 7 BC and AD 23, about a Greek slave girl who marries the king of Egypt, is usually considered to be the earliest known variant of the Cinderella story.
Cinderella is a 1950 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on Charles Perrault's 1697 fairy tale, it features supervision by Ben Sharpsteen. The film was directed by Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, and Clyde Geronimi. The film features the voices of Ilene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Rhoda Williams, James MacDonald, and Luis van Rooten.
The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella is a 1976 British musical retelling the classic fairy tale of Cinderella. The film was chosen as the Royal Command Performance motion picture selection for 1976.
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is a musical written for television, but later played on stage, with music by Richard Rodgers and a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based upon the fairy tale Cinderella, particularly the French version Cendrillon, ou la petite pantoufle de verre, by Charles Perrault. The story concerns a young woman forced into a life of servitude by her cruel stepmother and self-centered stepsisters, who dreams of a better life. With the help of her fairy godmother, Cinderella is transformed into a princess and finds true love with the kingdom's prince.
Cindy is a 1978 American musical television movie, shot on videotape and first broadcast on the ABC television network, with an entirely African-American cast. Directed by William A. Graham, the film is an urbanized retelling of Cinderella.
Victoria Clark is an American actress, musical theatre soprano, and director. Clark has performed in numerous Broadway musicals and in other theatre, film and television works. Her voice can also be heard on various cast albums and in several animated films. In 2008, she released her first solo album titled Fifteen Seconds of Grace. A five-time Tony Award nominee, Clark won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2005 for The Light in the Piazza. She also won the Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and the Joseph Jefferson Award for the role. She won a second Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2023 for Kimberly Akimbo.
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.
Liz Robertson is an English actress and singer and the widow of playwright and lyricist Alan Jay Lerner. She is especially well known for her performances as Madame Giry, having played the role in the original cast of Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre, in The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre and in The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall.
The Theater at Madison Square Garden is a theater located in New York City's Madison Square Garden (MSG). It seats between 2,000 and 5,600, and is used for concerts, shows, sports, meetings, and other events. It is located beneath the main Madison Square Garden arena that hosts MSG's larger events.
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella is a 1997 American musical fantasy television film produced by Walt Disney Television, directed by Robert Iscove, and written by Robert L. Freedman. Based on the French fairy tale of the same name by Charles Perrault, the film is the second remake and third version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, which originally aired on television in 1957. Adapted from Oscar Hammerstein II's book, Freedman modernized the script to appeal to more contemporary audiences by updating its themes, particularly re-writing its main character into a stronger heroine. Co-produced by Whitney Houston, who also appears as Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, the film stars Brandy in the title role and features a racially diverse ensemble cast consisting of Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, Bernadette Peters, Veanne Cox, Natalie Desselle, Victor Garber, and Paolo Montalban.
Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella is a musical in two acts with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Douglas Carter Beane based partly on Hammerstein's 1957 television adaptation. The story is derived from the fairy tale Cinderella, particularly the French version Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre, by Charles Perrault. It concerns a young woman forced into a life of servitude by her cruel stepmother and selfish stepsisters. She dreams of a better life, and with the help of her Fairy Godmother, Cinderella is transformed into an elegant young lady and is able to attend the ball to meet her Prince. In this version, however, she opens the Prince's eyes to injustice in his kingdom.
Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella is an original cast album of the first Broadway production of the musical Cinderella, with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Douglas Carter Beane based partly on Hammerstein's 1957 book. The story is based upon the fairy tale Cinderella, particularly the French version Cendrillon, ou la Petite Pantoufle de Vair, by Charles Perrault. The production opened in 2013. In Beane's plot, Cinderella opens Prince Topher's eyes to the injustice in the kingdom.
A Cinderella Christmas is a pantomime version of the fairytale Cinderella, with a book by Kris Lythgoe, using for its score a pastiche of well known pop tunes. It was first produced in 2010 at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood, California. The music includes songs by Lady Gaga, Michael Bublé, Katy Perry, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and Kelly Clarkson among others. Like other pantomimes, the show includes magic, dancing, singing, acting, audience interactivity and sing-a-long segments.
Ever After is a 2015 musical, with book and lyrics by Marcy Heisler and music by Zina Goldrich, based on the 1998 film of the same name written by Susannah Grant, Andy Tennant, and Rick Parks, whose source material is the fairy tale Cinderella. The musical premiered at the Paper Mill Playhouse in May 2015.
Once Upon a One More Time is a jukebox musical based on songs popularized by Britney Spears. Set in a fantasy storybook realm, the plot follows numerous fairy-tale characters transformed by a feminist awakening.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella, produced on Broadway as Bad Cinderella, is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by David Zippel, and a book by Emerald Fennell. Loosely adapted from the classic Cinderella story, the musical recasts gender relationships, explores the theme of beauty shaming, and Cinderella changes her appearance to secure love, but discovers it is better to be true to oneself. Plot changes include Cinderella being made a scapegoat by the town; the queen colluding with the stepmother; the prince inviting Cinderella to the ball; the prince's engagement to a stepsister ; and the prince elopes with Cinderella, and they leave the town.
Descendants: The Rise of Red is a 2024 American musical teen fantasy comedy film directed by Jennifer Phang from a screenplay by Dan Frey and Ru Sommer. Produced by Disney Channel, the film is the fourth in the Descendants franchise, being a spin-off of the previous three films and a follow-up from Descendants: The Royal Wedding. The film was released on Disney+ on July 12, 2024, and made its debut on Disney Channel on August 9, 2024.
Star Awards--Best New Actor nominee, Paolo Montalban ... WINNER Filipino Heritage Award – Most Promising Talent, Paolo Montalban