Steve Blanchard (born December 4, 1958) is an American stage actor and singer best known for his
musical theatre roles, being most closely associated with the role of Beast in the musical ''
Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...
'', which he played on Broadway for eight years. In recent years, he has played the role of "Pa" in several regional theatre productions of the musical version of ''
Little House on the Prairie
The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the American Midwest (Wisconsin, Kansas, ...
''. He also guest stars in television roles. He released Northbound Train
Early life and career
Blanchard was born in
ork, Pennsylvania He attended the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
.
["Career Biography"]
at SteveBlanchard.net Blanchard is an alum of the
Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
.
After college, Blanchard performed in dinner theatre. In 1981, he played the title role in ''Hans Christian Andersen'' in New York City. After this, he appeared in productions in ''
The Threepenny Opera
''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with mu ...
'' in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
at the Charles Playhouse; in ''Sleep of Reason'' at
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
's Center stage; in ''
Godspell
''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hym ...
'' and ''
Hot Mikado
:
''Hot Mikado'' is a musical comedy, based on Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 comic opera '' The Mikado'', adapted by David H. Bell (book and lyrics) and Rob Bowman (orchestrations and arrangements). After researching the 1939 Broadway musical, ' ...
'' at the Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC; in ''
The Robber Bridegroom'' at the West End in Virginia; and in ''
Jesus Christ Superstar'' at the Candlewood Playhouse. He understudied
Brent Spiner
Brent Jay Spiner (; born February 2, 1949) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the android Data on the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', as well as four subsequent films. In 2019, he reprised the role for ...
as
Aramis
René d'Herblay, alias Aramis, is a fictional character in the novels ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844), '' Twenty Years After'' (1845), and '' The Vicomte de Bragelonne'' (1847-1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other two musketeers, A ...
in the 1984
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 ...
revival of ''
The Three Musketeers
''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight ...
'', but the show closed after a week, and Blanchard did not get the opportunity to perform the role.
[
]
Broadway and later roles
Blanchard's first Broadway appearance was in the role of Lancelot Du Lac in the 1993 revival of ''Camelot
Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...
'' and subsequent national tour. He then starred in the musical ''Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...
'' as Gaston and the Beast, playing the latter role on Broadway for eight years, ending in 2007. Blanchard toured in the U.S. National companies of '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' in 1987, Ken Hill's ''Phantom of the Opera
''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...
'' in 1989 (in which he performed for almost three years), and ''Camelot'' in 1992.
Off-Broadway, Blanchard played the role of Johnny in the musical version of ''Johnny Guitar
''Johnny Guitar'' is a 1954 American Western film directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, Ernest Borgnine and Scott Brady. It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures. The screen ...
'' at the Century Center for the Performing Arts in March 2004. He appeared in the off-Broadway musical ''Frankenstein, a New Musical'', in 2007 as the Condemned Man/the Creature. He also appeared in ''An Oak Tree'' off-Broadway.
On national tours, Blanchard played Joseph Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer ( ; born Pulitzer József, ; April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American politician and newspaper publisher of the '' St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' and the ''New York World''. He became a leading national figure in ...
on the first national tour of Newsies with his wife, Meredith Inglesby (Hannah). He began the tour when it kicked off on October 22, 2014 in Schenectady, NY and continued to play the role until its close on October 02, 2016 in Austin, TX.
In regional theatre, he appeared in the musical ''Chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
'' at the Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey on the Rahway River. Due to its relatively close location to Manhattan, it draws from the pool of actors (and audience members) who live i ...
, Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 20,149, reflecting an increase of 384 (+1.9%) from the 19,765 counted in the 2000 Census, which had ...
in 1992. In the mid-1990s, he appeared St. Louis Rep's ''Esmeralda'', Westbury's '' Annie Get Your Gun'' and Atlanta's '' South Pacific''.[ In 1995, he played the roles of "Fred" and the "Headless Ghost" in Alan Menken's version of ''A Christmas Carol'' at the Madison Square Garden theatre.][ He has performed the role of "Pa" in productions of the stage musical version of '']Little House on the Prairie
The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the American Midwest (Wisconsin, Kansas, ...
'' in regional theatres starting at the Guthrie Theatre
The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...
, Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
in 2008 and then the Paper Mill Playhouse, from September 2009-October 2009. He portrayed Julian Marsh in '' 42nd Street'' at the TUTS, Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
, Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
in July 2009 and at Ogunquit Playhouse, Ogunquit Maine in July 2019.
On television, Blanchard has made guest appearances on prime-time shows such as '' Law & Order'' and ''Third Watch
''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 26, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...
'' and in daytime dramas.Listing at Internet Movie Database
imdb.com He also sang the title role in the original recording of the new musical, ''Sundown'', based on the Legend of Doc Holliday. He has a solo CD, ''Northbound Train'', on which he sings songs from shows that he has been in.[
]
See also
* '' Dark Vengeance '' (1993 film)
References
External links
*
*
*
Steve Blanchard on the Internet Off-Broadway Database
Steve Blanchard Biography on Playbill.com
Steve Blanchard Credits at BroadwayWorld.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchard, Steve
1958 births
Living people
American male musical theatre actors
American male stage actors
Male actors from Baltimore
University System of Maryland alumni