Brent Barrett (born 28 February 1957) is an American actor and tenor who is mostly known for his work within American theatre. A gifted singer, Barrett has frequently performed in musicals and in concerts with important theatres, symphony orchestras, opera houses, and concert halls internationally. He notably starred in the original production of Maltby and Shire's hit Off-Broadway musical Closer Than Ever in 1989 and the critically acclaimed 1999 West End revival of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate . He has also appeared sporadically on television and in films.

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Biography

Early life

Barrett was born and raised in Quinter, Kansas, the youngest of three children. ^[1]

Education & beginning of career

He began his education at Fort Hays State University in 1974 as a vocal performance major but ultimately transferred to Carnegie Mellon University in 1976 where he studied musical theatre. While still a student he began his professional career performing with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera during the 1978 and 1979 seasons, appearing in productions of Half a Sixpence , Camelot , Good News , The Red Mill , Cabaret , and Funny Girl among others. ^[2] While in his final year in college, he was cast by Jerome Robbins to play Diesel in the 1980 Broadway revival of Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story . He finished his degree that year and went to Broadway to begin his long association with New York theatre. He ultimately took over the role of Tony for the last three months of the show's run. ^[3]

Early Career continued

In 1981 Barrett played Whizzer in the Off-Broadway production of March of the Falsettos , taking over the role when the production moved to the Westside Arts Theater. ^[4] In 1982 he portrayed the title role in the Off-Broadway production of Des McAnuff's The Death of Von Richtofen as Witnessed From Earth at the Joseph Papp Public Theater ^[5] and he starred in Howard Marren's Portrait of Jennie at the Henry Street Settlement's New Federal Theater. ^[6] He returned to Broadway in 1983 as Charles Castleton in the ill-fated Alan Jay Lerner musical Dance a Little Closer . ^[7] That same year he was cast in the recurring role of Tony Barclay on the soap opera All My Children , appearing in several episodes through 1984.

In 1985 Barrett portrayed the role of Lieutenant Cable in the National Tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific . In 1986 he appeared as Eddie Yeager in the Off-Broadway revival of Arthur Laurents's The Time of the Cuckoo at the York Theatre at St. Peter's. In 1988 he portrayed the role of R. Daneel Olivaw in Robots , a television film adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Robot Series. ^[8] In 1989 he appeared in the original production of Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire's Closer Than Ever at the Cherry Lane Theatre. A critical success, the show ran for 312 performances and a CD recording was made on the RCA Victor label. ^[9]

Later life and career

After Closer Than Ever closed in July of 1990, Barrett appeared in a small role in the film Longtime Companion . That same year he joined the Broadway cast of the original production of Grand Hotel , replacing David Carroll as Felix Von Gaigern. He reprised the role of Felix Von Gaigern when the show opened on the West End for the first time in 1992 and portrayed the role in the international tour. In 1993 he toured the United States as Frank Butler in Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun , with Cathy Rigby as Annie. ^[10] In 1994 he appeared as Victor Duchesi in the original production of the Sherman Brothers's Busker Alley , which through unhappy circumstance never made it to Broadway, although it had been scheduled to do so. ^[11] In 1996 he played the role of Uris in the ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeyss episode A Star to Guide Them. That same year he appeared as Tommy Albright in the New York City Opera's production of Brigadoon with Rebecca Luker as Fionaand ^[12], and he played the role of Archibald in Lucy Simon's The Secret Garden in cities throughout New Zealand. ^[13] He returned to Broadway in 1997 to portray Maximilian in the revival of Bernstein's Candide. ^[14], In 1998 he portrayed the role of Billy Flynn in the National Tour of Chicago'' for which he won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, and the following year he took up the same role in the Broadway revival for several months. ^{[15] [16]}

In 2000 Barrett portrayed the role of Edward Moncrief in the New York City Center Encores! revival of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever with Kristin Chenoweth as Daisy Gamble. ^[17] He returned to Broadway again in the winter of 2001 to replace Patrick Cassidy as Frank Butler in the revival of Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun , portraying the role opposite Reba McEntire as Annie. The Fall of that same year he was cast in the starring role of Fred Graham for the West End revival of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate , which also starred Rachel York as Lilli Vanessi. For his performance he received a Laurence Olivier Awards nomination. The production was recorded live for broadcast on PBS's Great Performances in the United States and is available on DVD. In 2002 he portrayed the role of Sid Sorokin in the City Center Encores! revival of The Pajama Game ^[18] and he played the role of Billy Crocker in Anything Goes at UCLA's Freud Playhouse in Westwood, California. On New Years Day of 2003 he appeared in a concert of music by Kurt Weill with the Berlin Philharmonic under conductor Simon Rattle. That same year he portrayed Arthur in Lerner and Loewe's Camelot at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey and he returned to Broadway to portray Billy Flynn in the revival of Chicago , leaving the production in 2004. ^[19]

In 2005 Barrett appeared as Brian The Set Designer in the film version of The Producers . ^[20] That same year he returned to Broadway to portray the role of Billy Flynn again in the revival of Chicago and he sang at the New York Festival of Song at Carnegie Hall in a concert honoring Hal Prince. In 2006 he played the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera for the new production in at the The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas which was directed by Hal Prince. ^[21]

On July 7, 2009, he rejoined the Broadway cast of Chicago, in the role of Billy Flynn, a role he has now played several engagements of on Broadway. He starred alongside Samantha Harris from television's Dancing with the Stars in the role of Roxie. ^[22]

Discography

• Brent Barrett: The Alan Jay Lerner Album
• Brent Barrett: The Kander and Ebb Album
• The Maury Yeston Songbook
• Sondheim: The Stephen Sondheim Album
• Wonderful Town by Berstein: 1999 Studio Album
• Lost in Boston IV
• Unsung Musicals III
• Candide: The New Broadway Cast Recording
• The Busby Berkely Album
• Grand Hotel : 1992 Broadway Cast Album
• Brigadoon: 1991 New York City Opera Recording
• Strike Up the Band: 1991 Studio Recording
• Closer then Ever: Original Cast Recording

^[23]

Video

Kiss Me Kate: London Cast

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Series	Result
	Los Angeles drama Critics Awards	Award For Best Actor	Chicago as Billy Flynn	Winner
	Olivier Awards	Olivier Award for Best Actor for Fred/Petruchio (London)	Kiss Me Kate	Nominated
	(Source: )

References

1. Theater: Who's That? Well, Now He's the Star
2. The Unseemly Interview Interview Section... Brent Barrett
3. 20 Questions With...Brent Barrett
4. 'March of the Falsettos' Moves to Westside Arts
5. Theater: MUSICAL: MCANUFF'S 'RICHTHOFEN' ARRIVES AT PUBLIC
6. THEATER: 'PORTRAIT OF JENNIE,' A MUSICAL ADAPTION
7. STAGE: LERNER MUSICAL 'DANCE A LITTLE CLOSER'
8. Brent Barrett Biography (1957-)
9. RECORDINGS; 'Closer Than Ever' Is One From the Heart
10. Long Island Journal
11. Stage Door Charley
12. In the Magical Highlands With a Day to Find Love
13. International New Zealand Artists
14. &tols_title=CANDIDE%20(PLAY)&byline=By%20BEN%20BRANTLEY&pdate=19970430&id=1077011429490&scp=1&sq=Brent%20Barrett%20%20%20Candide.&st=cse
15. THEATER REVIEW; New Roxie And Velma Take Over In 'Chicago'
16. Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards Web Site
17. &tols_title=ON%20A%20CLEAR%20DAY%20YOU%20CAN%20SEE%20FOREVER%20(PLAY)&byline=By%20BEN%20BRANTLEY&pdate=20000212&id=1077011431006&scp=6&sq=Brent%20Barrett%20West%20Side%20Story,&st=cse
18. &tols_title=PAJAMA%20GAME,%20THE%20(PLAY)&byline=By%20BEN%20BRANTLEY&pdate=20020504&id=1077011432700&scp=1&sq=Brent%20Barrett%20%20The%20Pajama%20Game%20&st=cse
19. THEATER REVIEW; Movie Doll Hits Broadway Without Breaking a Sweat
20. The Producers (2005)
21. Phantom — The Las Vegas Spectacular Begins June 12; Brent Barrett Dons Mask
22. http://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/news/jl09/chicago555187.htm
23. http://www.brentbarrett.com/brentsite/recordingframes.html