Brad Oscar (born September 22, 1964) is an American
musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
actor, known for his
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
performances in musicals such as ''
The Producers'' and ''
Jekyll and Hyde
''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...
''. He has earned two
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
nominations: one for ''The Producers'' as
Franz Liebkind
The following are fictional characters from the 1967 film '' The Producers'', the Broadway musical based on it, and the 2005 film adaptation of the musical.
Max Bialystock
Max Bialystock is described as selfish, arrogant, fiery, impatient, sa ...
, and one for ''
Something Rotten!
''Something Rotten!'' is a musical comedy with a book by John O'Farrell and Karey Kirkpatrick and music and lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick. Set in 1595, the story follows the Bottom brothers, Nick and Nigel, who struggle to find success ...
'' as
Nostradamus
Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed seer, who is best known for his book ''Les Prophéties'' (published in 1555), a collection o ...
.
Career
Oscar graduated with a BFA from the
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
College of Fine Arts in 1986 and was awarded a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2006.
Oscar's Broadway debut was in the 1990 musical ''
Aspects of Love
''Aspects of Love'' is a musical with music and book by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart. It is based on the 1955 novella of the same name by David Garnett.
The piece focuses on the romantic entanglements of actr ...
'' as a swing. His next roles were in ''
Jekyll and Hyde
''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...
'', as Sir Peter, Archibald Proops, Barrow Boy, and Second Gentleman in both the 1995 tour and the 1997 Broadway show.
His performance, however, in ''The Producers'' garnered him the most acclaim. Oscar started out as
Franz Liebkind
The following are fictional characters from the 1967 film '' The Producers'', the Broadway musical based on it, and the 2005 film adaptation of the musical.
Max Bialystock
Max Bialystock is described as selfish, arrogant, fiery, impatient, sa ...
, and was also understudy for
Max Bialystock
The following are fictional characters from the 1967 film '' The Producers'', the Broadway musical based on it, and the 2005 film adaptation of the musical.
Max Bialystock
Max Bialystock is described as selfish, arrogant, fiery, impatient, sa ...
(one of the lead roles) and
Roger De Bris
The following are fictional characters from the 1967 film ''The Producers (1967 film), The Producers'', the The Producers (musical), Broadway musical based on it, and the 2005 The Producers (2005 film), film adaptation of the musical.
Max Bialys ...
. The role of Franz earned Oscar a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, but lost to his co-star
Gary Beach
Gary Beach (October 10, 1947 – July 17, 2018) was an American actor of stage, film and television. His roles included Roger De Bris in both the stage and film productions of ''The Producers'', which won him a Tony Award, and Lumiere in the st ...
. After this success, he replaced
Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. In a career spanning over 40 years he has been seen on stage and screen in roles both comedic and dramatic. Lane has received numerous awards including three Tony Awards, ...
as Bialystock. In 2007, he originated the Bialystock role in the
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
production at the
Paris Hotel and Casino.
He has appeared in several productions at the
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest, Washington, D.C. Established in 1950, it was the first racially integrated theater in Washington, D.C. and its founders helped start the U.S. regional theater movement. It is ...
in Washington, D.C. In 2005 he played "The Devil" (Mr. Applegate) in ''
Damn Yankees
''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during ...
'', and in October 2006 he played "The Master of Ceremonies" in ''
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...
''. He played multiple roles, including "Lady Enid", in ''
The Mystery of Irma Vep
''The Mystery of Irma Vep'' is a play in three acts by Charles Ludlam. It is a satire of several theatrical, literary and film genres, including Victorian melodrama, farce, the penny dreadful, ''Wuthering Heights'' and the Alfred Hitchcock fil ...
'' from June 2008 through July 13, 2008.
Oscar's other regional work includes the title role in the musical ''
Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...
'', at the
Asolo Repertory Theatre
The Asolo Repertory Theatre or Asolo Rep (AKA: Asolo Theatre Company, Inc.) is a professional theater in Sarasota, Florida. It is the largest Equity theatre in Florida, and the largest Repertory theatre in the Southeastern United States. Asolo ...
(Florida), from November 12 through December 20, 2008. In recent years, Brad and his sister, Victoria Oscar, have served as the official Santa and Mrs. Claus for the annual National Christmas Tree Lighting Program.
Oscar took over the role of "
Uncle Fester
Uncle Fester is a member of the fictional Addams Family. He was played by Jackie Coogan in the original television series, by Christopher Lloyd in the two feature films, by Nick Kroll in the 2019 and 2021 animated features, by Fred Armisen in t ...
" (from
Kevin Chamberlin
Kevin Chamberlin (born November 25, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his theatre roles such as Horton in ''Seussical'' and Uncle Fester in ''The Addams Family''. For his theatre work, he received three Tony Award and three Drama Desk A ...
) in ''
The Addams Family
''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over a ...
'' on Broadway starting March 8, 2011.
He originated the role of Nostradamus in the musical ''
Something Rotten!
''Something Rotten!'' is a musical comedy with a book by John O'Farrell and Karey Kirkpatrick and music and lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick. Set in 1595, the story follows the Bottom brothers, Nick and Nigel, who struggle to find success ...
'', which opened on Broadway in April 2015, for which he earned a 2015 Tony Award nomination, which went to his co-star
Christian Borle
Christian Dominique Borle (born October 1, 1973) 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 ...
. He stayed with the production until its closing in January 2017.
He played the role of Beadle Bamford in the Tooting Arts Club production of ''
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial ''The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London urban legend, legend. A barber fr ...
'' at the Off-Broadway Barrow Street Theatre.
Personal life
Oscar and Diego Prieto, an actor, were married on April 16, 2012, in a ceremony at the Arena Stage, where they met during the 2005 production of ''Damn Yankees'', with
Molly Smith
Molly Smith is an American theatre director and the artistic director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. She was formerly artistic director of the Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska, which she founded in 1979 and led until 1998.
Biography
S ...
officiating.
Credits
Theatre
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
An Interview on Talkin' Broadway, 2002
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oscar, Brad
1964 births
American male musical theatre actors
Living people
Male actors from Washington, D.C.
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American gay actors
21st-century LGBT people