Marc Kudisch

Marc Kudisch
Kudisch in 2009
Born	(1966-09-22) September 22, 1966 (age 57) Hackensack, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1990–present
Spouse	Shannon Lewis
Website	www.marckudisch.net

Marc Kudisch (born September 22, 1966) is an American stage actor, who is best known for his musical theatre roles on Broadway.

Early life and education

Kudisch was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, the son of Florence and Raymond Kudisch.^[1] His family is Jewish.^[2][3] He grew up in Plantation, Florida. He enrolled at Florida Atlantic University^[4][5] to study political science and switched to theatre.^[6] After receiving his degree, Kudisch went to New York City and was cast as Conrad Birdie in the Barry Weissler-produced national tour of Bye Bye Birdie with Tommy Tune and Ann Reinking.^[7] Kudisch later starred in a television version of the Broadway musical along with Jason Alexander and Vanessa Williams.^[8][9]

Career

Kudisch's Broadway credits include Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Baron Bomburst), Assassins (The Proprietor), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Trevor Graydon), Bells Are Ringing (Jeff Moss), Michael John LaChiusa's The Wild Party at the Public Theater (Jackie), The Scarlet Pimpernel (Chauvelin), High Society (George Kittredge), Disney's Beauty and the Beast (Gaston), and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Reuben). He has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his roles in Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (2005) and 9 to 5 (2009), as well as the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award.

Once more playing a villain, Kudisch starred in the Roundabout Theatre Company revival of The Apple Tree with his former fiancee, Kristin Chenoweth, as Eve and Brian d'Arcy James as Adam. In late 2008, Kudisch joined Allison Janney, Megan Hilty and Stephanie J. Block in the new musical, 9 to 5. Based on the film of the same name, the production was directed by Joe Mantello and had its pre-Broadway run at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles beginning September 21, 2008. The musical began preview performances on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on April 7, 2009 with an official opening on April 30, 2009. Kudisch played sexist, egotistical boss Franklin Hart Jr., a part played by Dabney Coleman. Dolly Parton, who appeared in the original film, wrote the music and lyrics for the new musical. The show closed on September 6, 2009.^[10]

He starred as Slick Follicle in the City Centers Encores! production of Girl Crazy, which ran Nov. 19 – 22, 2009.^[11] Kudisch appeared off-Broadway in the critically acclaimed improvisational comedy show Noo Yawk Tawk,^[12] as well as The Thing About Men, See What I Wanna See (Public Theater), and in the Lucille Lortel Award nominated The Glorious Ones. In 1987 he appeared in the murder mystery/party game Tamara: The Living Movie at New York City's Armory. He appeared in the Off-Broadway musical Minister's Wife. The show's music was by Josh Schmidt, lyrics by Jan Tranen, and a book by Austin Pendleton and it was based on Candida by George Bernard Shaw. He also performed in a one-man show beginning in July 2011 entitled What Makes Me Tick.^[13][14]

Kudisch has also appeared in Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music as Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm opposite Juliet Stevenson and Jeremy Irons in a 2003 production at the New York City Opera, and with Victor Garber and Judith Ivey in a 2004 staging by the Los Angeles Opera. In regional theatre, he originated the role of Vincent van Gogh in The Highest Yellow, also by LaChiusa. In June 2007, he starred as Darryl van Horne in the American premiere of The Witches of Eastwick at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia.

On television, in addition to a stint on All My Children, Kudisch played a kinky lawyer on Sex and the City and was also the spokesperson for Toyota in the U.S. for several years. He appeared on the NBC show Smash as Darryl Zanuck.^[15]

Personal life

In the early 90s, Kudisch became a baritone after working with a new vocal coach. Unlike many operatic singers, he trained in opera after college.^[16]

Kudisch and Kristin Chenoweth met when she moved to New York. They were engaged from 1998 to 2001.^[17] Kudisch began a relationship in 2003 with Broadway dancer and choreographer Shannon Lewis, with the couple marrying in 2011.^[18] In 2016, the two mounted a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for 3D Theatricals, with Marc directing and Shannon choreographing.^[19]

Credits

Theatre

• A Hell of a Town by Monte Merrick as Sandy (1988)^[20]
• Bye Bye Birdie as Conrad Birdie – Tour (1990–1991)
• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as Reuben, u/s Pharaoh – Broadway (1993–1994)
• Beauty and the Beast as Gaston – Broadway (1995–1997)
• High Society as George Kittredge – Broadway (1998)
• The Scarlet Pimpernel as Chauvelin – Broadway (1999)
• The Wild Party as Jackie – Broadway (2000)
• The Prince and the Pauper as Miles Hendon (2000–2001)
• Bells Are Ringing as Jeff – Broadway (2001)
• Thoroughly Modern Millie as Trevor Graydon – Broadway (2002)
• A Little Night Music as Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm – Ravinia (2002)
• Earth Girls Are Easy as Dr. Ted Gallagher (2002)
• A Little Night Music as Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm – New York City Opera (2003)
• The Thing About Men as Tom (2003)
• Anna Karenina as Oblonsky (2003)
• A Little Night Music as Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm – Los Angeles Opera (2004)
• The Highest Yellow as Vincent van Gogh – Signature Theatre (2004)
• Assassins as The Proprietor – Broadway (2004)
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as Baron Bomburst – Broadway (2005)
• See What I Wanna See as Morito/Husband/CPA – Public Theater (2005)
• Young Frankenstein as Inspector Kemp (2006)
• Summer and Smoke as John Buchanan Jr. – Hartford Stage (2006)
• The Apple Tree as Snake, Balladeer, Narrator – Broadway (2007)
• The Pirates of Penzance as the Pirate King – New York City Opera (2007)
• The Witches of Eastwick as Darryl Van Horne – Signature Theatre (2007)
• The Glorious Ones as Flaminio Scala – Lincoln Center Theater (2007)
• Camelot as Sir Lionel – Lincoln Center with New York Philharmonic (2008)
• 9 to 5 as Franklin Hart, Jr. – Broadway (2009)
• Tartuffe as Tartuffe – Westport Playhouse (2012)
• Assassins as The Proprietor – Broadway Concert (2012)
• Hamlet as Claudius/Ghost –Yale Rep (2013)
• Somewhere in Time as William Robinson – Portland Center Stage (2013)
• The Wayside Motor Inn as Vince – Signature Theatre Pershing (2014)
• Hand to God as Pastor Greg – Broadway (2015)
• Finding Neverland as Charles Frohman/Captain Hook – Broadway (2016)
• The Unsinkable Molly Brown as Johnny "Leadville" Brown – St. Louis Municipal Opera (2017)
• Man of La Mancha as Don Quixote / Miguel de Cervantes - Merkin Hall (2017)
• The Great Society as Richard J. Daley, Dr. James Z. Appel, General Earle Wheeler – Broadway (2019)
• Girl from the North Country as Mr. Burke – Broadway (2020-2022)
• The Frogs as Herakles - Lincoln Center (2023)

Discography

• Z: The Masked Musical 1998 Concept Cast
• The Wild Party as Jackie 2000 Original Cast
• Thoroughly Modern Millie 2002 Original Cast
• Anna Karenina 2003 Original Broadway Cast
• The Thing About Men 2004 Original Off-Broadway Cast
• The Man Who Would Be King 2004 Studio Cast
• Assassins 2004 Revival Cast
• See What I Wanna See 2005 Off-Broadway Original Cast
• The Glorious Ones 2007 Off-Broadway Original Cast
• 9 to 5 2009 Original Cast
• James and the Giant Peach 2015 World Premiere Cast

Film

• Unsane (2018) as Bank Manager
• Late Night (2019) as Billy Kastner

Television

• Bye Bye Birdie (1995) as Conrad Birdie
• Sex and the City (1999) as Harrison
• All My Children (2005) as Steve Lasko
• One Life to Live (2005) as Steve Lasko
• As the World Turns (2006–2008) as Judge Burke / Radio Announcer
• Submissions Only (2012) as Joe Flunt
• Blue Bloods (2012) as Terry Longacre
• Smash (2012) as himself, playing Darryl F. Zanuck in Bombshell!
• Gossip Girl (2012) as Benedict Tate
• Person of Interest (2014) as Businessman
• Unforgettable (2014) as Donovan Gates
• House of Cards (2015–2018) as Henry Mitchell
• Limitless (2016) as Gordon Cooker
• Mindhunter (2017) as Roger Wade, a Fredericksburg elementary school principal
• Billions (2017–2019) as Dr. Gus, a therapist at Axe Capital
• The Tick (2019) as Agent Tyrannosaurus Rathbone
• The Blacklist (2019) as Dr. Adrian McCaffrey
• Condor (2020) as Jay Atwood
• The Good Fight (2021) as Mr. Rottenberg
• The Equalizer (2021) as Congressman Gates
• Law & Order: Organized Crime (2023) as Robert Petrillo

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Official website
• Marc Kudisch at the Internet Broadway Database
• Marc Kudisch at IMDb
• Marc Kudisch - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org
• Marc Kudisch: The Many Meanings of Temptation
• Marc Kudisch at the Internet off-broadway Database
• [1] -broadwayworld.com