Scott Wise (born October 30, 1958) is an American theatre actor and dancer. He is known for his performances in the 1989 musical '' Jerome Robbins' Broadway'', which earned him a

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 ce ...

, and in the 2002 film ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

''. Wise was nominated for three

s (winning one), two

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

s, an

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newsp ...

, and a

Helen Hayes Award The Helen Hayes Awards are theater awards recognizing excellence in professional theater in the Washington, D.C. area since 1983. The awards are named in tribute of Helen Hayes, who is also known as the "First Lady of American Theatre." They ar ...

in his career.

Life and career

Wise was born in

Pocatello, Idaho Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the ...

, and grew up near

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the ...

, living briefly in Provo, Utah. Although a life-trained dancer, Wise first became seriously interested in dance as a career while studying to become an accountant at the University of Idaho at Moscow. He performed with the Joffrey II, then moved into musical theater in the early 1980s after auditioning for ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dan ...

'' "as a dare more than anything." Wise won the

in 1989 in the category of Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance in the dance

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own du ...

'' Jerome Robbins' Broadway''. In that revue, Wise played multiple roles, including "Riff" in ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid- ...

'' and "Chip" in '' On the Town''. Wise was nominated twice more in the same category for his performances in ''

State Fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in ...

'' (1996) and '' Fosse'' (1999). In addition to playing the Drill Sergeant and Sergeant O'Leary in the rock

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

, '' Movin' Out'' (2002), Wise was

Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music. Fr ...

's assistant choreographer and assistant director. Wise choreographed the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

'' A Class Act'' in 2000. a regional production of The Who's ''Tommy'' and the national tour of '' Leader of the Pack''.

Personal life

Wise is married to dancer Elizabeth Parkinson, with whom he has a son. His daughter, actress Savannah Wise, is from his first marriage, to dancer and choreographer Kiel Junius. In October 2006, Wise and Parkinson opened their studio, FineLine Theatre Arts, in

New Milford, Connecticut New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is in western Connecticut, north of Danbury, on the banks of the Housatonic River, and it shares its border with the northeastern shore of Candlewood Lake. It is ...

Stage credits

Source:Playbill Vault "Scott Wise Broadway Credits and Awards"
playbillvault.com, accessed July 29, 2015 * 1982 ''

'' * 1984 ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

'' * 1985 ''

Song and Dance ''Song and Dance'' is a musical comprising two acts, one told entirely in "Song" and one entirely in " Dance", tied together by a unifying love story. The "Song" act is '' Tell Me on a Sunday'', with lyrics by Don Black and music by Andrew L ...

'' * 1988 '' Carrie'' * 1989 '' Jerome Robbins' Broadway'' * 1992 ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on " The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and als ...

'' * 1993 '' The Goodbye Girl'' * 1994 '' Damn Yankees'' * 1995 '' Victor/Victoria'' * 1996 ''

'' *1997 ''Lucky in the Rain'' ( Goodspeed Opera House) Nassour, Ellis
"Scott Wise Gets Lucky in Goodspeed's New Musical, Aug. 1"
playbill.com, August 1, 1997 * 1999 '' Fosse'' * 2002 '' Movin' Out'' * 2015 ''

Allegiance An allegiance is a duty of fidelity said to be owed, or freely committed, by the people, subjects or citizens to their state or sovereign. Etymology From Middle English ''ligeaunce'' (see medieval Latin ''ligeantia'', "a liegance"). The ''al ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, Scott Living people American male musical theatre actors American male dancers American film directors Tony Award winners 1950 births