Claybourne Elder (born April 21, 1982) is an American actor, singer, and writer who is best known for his work on television and on
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 ...
.
Biography
Elder is from
Springville, Utah
Springville is a city in Utah County, Utah that is part of the Provo–Orem metropolitan area. The population was 35,268 in 2020, according to the United States Census. Springville is a bedroom community for commuters who work in the Provo-Ore ...
. His mother is a schoolteacher and father a carpenter, and he is the youngest of eight siblings. At an early age he played violin in the school orchestra. Elder studied acting at the Moscow Klasse Centre in Russia before attending
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...
and the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
. He earned a degree in dramaturgy and directing from The University of Utah.
Elder received rave reviews and was nominated for a
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Leading Actor in A Play for originating the role of "Ollie Olson" in ''One Arm'' directed by
Moisés Kaufman. He was nominated for a 2015
Lucille Lortel Award
The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatre ...
for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Musical for ''
Allegro'' at Classic Stage. He originated the roles of "Buck Barrow" in ''
Bonnie & Clyde'',
"Hollis Bessemer" in
Stephen Sondheim's ''
Road Show'' and "Michael Victor"
in ''
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
''.
He played the Soldier/Alex and understudied
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (; ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and his older sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He ...
in the Broadway revival of ''
Sunday in the Park with George'', which opened in February 2017. He also played the soldier in the concert performances in October 2016 at
New York City Center
New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama,. The name "City Center for Music and Drama Inc." is the organizational parent of the New York City Ballet and, until 2011, the New York City Opera. and t ...
. He can be heard on the
cast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...
s of ''Bonnie & Clyde'', ''Road Show,'' ''Venice'' and ''Sunday in the Park with George.''
Elder guest-starred as Pete O'Malley in the
second season of
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
's ''
The Carrie Diaries''.
Regionally, Elder played George in ''Sunday in the Park with George'' at the
Signature Theatre, Arlington, Virginia, in 2014.
On Broadway, Elder played the role of Andy in the 2021 revival of
Stephen Sondheim's musical ''
Company''.
Filmography
Personal life
Elder and director Eric Rosen were married on July 28, 2012 in New York State. In 2017 they had a son through surrogacy.
In 2022, many news outlets reported a human interest story about Elder. In 2007, as a 23-year-old aspiring actor visiting New York City, he was in the standing-room section of the
Broadway musical
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
''
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spe ...
'' when a stranger approached him, noted his obvious enthusiasm for theater, gave him $200, and told him to spend it the next night on a ticket to a revival of
Stephen Sondheim's ''
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street''. Elder did see that show and considered it—and the stranger's kindness—to be the factors that helped him decide to move to New York and pursue acting. By 2022 Elder was starring on Broadway in a different Sondheim revival, ''
Company'', alongside
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of F ...
, one of the stars of the ''Sweeney Todd'' production that so affected the course of Elder's career; at the same time, Elder was also starring in the
HBO series ''
The Gilded Age'' with
Michael Cerveris
Michael Cerveris (born November 6, 1960) is an American actor, singer, and guitarist. He has performed in many stage musicals and plays, including several Stephen Sondheim musicals: '' Assassins'', ''Sweeney Todd'', '' Road Show'', and '' Pass ...
, who had played the title role in that ''Sweeney Todd'' revival. Elder was reunited with Mark Howell, the stranger who had given him the money, and
"paid forward" the favor by buying strangers tickets to ''Company''. In July 2022, Elder retold this story on an episode of the
WBEZ
WBEZ (91.5 FM) – branded ''WBEZ 91.5'' – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the Chicago metropolitan area. Financed by corporate underwriting, government funding and lis ...
radio program ''
This American Life
''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internatio ...
'' that examined acts of kindness from strangers.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elder, Claybourne
1982 births
Living people
21st-century American male actors
20th-century American LGBT people
21st-century American LGBT people
American gay actors
American male singers
American male musical theatre actors
American male television actors
American gay musicians
LGBT people from Utah
Male actors from Utah
People from Springville, Utah