Arden, Michael (2006)
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Michael Jerrod Moore (born October 6, 1982), known professionally as Michael Arden, is an American actor and theatre director. Arden has received two Tony Awards for Best Direction of a Musical, winning for the revival of the musical ''
Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...
'' in 2023 and ''
Maybe Happy Ending ''Maybe Happy Ending'' () is a South Korean musical with lyrics written by Hue Park, music composed by Will Aronson, and book written by both Park and Aronson. The musical, which is performed without intermission, follows two life-like helper-b ...
'' in 2025.


Early life

Arden described his upbringing as "rocky." He was born to a very young mother who struggled with drugs and alcohol and his father died by suicide when Arden was around 2 years old. Arden went on to live with his grandparents, Pat and Jim Moore, in
Midland, Texas Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Midland County with small portions extending into Martin County. The population was 132,524 as of the 2020 census. Located in the Permian Basin in West Texas, Midland is a ...
from the 5th grade onwards. Starting in the 5th grade, he was a student at Trinity School, a college preparatory school in Midland. He was bullied in his youth for being gay. Arden's interest in acting began when he was four years old and his grandparents took him to see ''
Sesame Street Live ''Sesame Street Live'' is a live touring show based on the children's television show ''Sesame Street'' produced by Roundroom Live under license of Sesame Workshop. History The VEE Corporation was started in March 1980 by founder Vincent Egan, ...
''. He was active in the Pickwick Players, Midland Community Theatre's youth performing company. He also built theatrical sets in his grandparents' garage. A Presidential Scholar in the arts, he received a scholarship to
Interlochen Arts Academy Interlochen Center for the Arts ( '; also known as I.C.A. or Inty) is a Nonprofit organization, non-profit corporation which operates Visual arts education, arts education institutions and Music venue, performance venues. Established in 1928 b ...
as a theater student, where he graduated in 2001. He was accepted on a full scholarship to the
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
, where he was in the Drama Division's ''Group 34'' (2001–2005). He left Juilliard in 2003 to join the Broadway revival company of the musical '' Big River''.


Career


Theatre

Arden made 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 Stre ...
debut as
Tom Sawyer Thomas "Tom" Sawyer () is the title character of the Mark Twain novel '' The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876). He appears in three other novels by Twain: '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884), '' Tom Sawyer Abroad'' (1894), and '' Tom Sawy ...
in the 2003
Roundabout A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...
and Deaf West revival of '' Big River''. He also starred opposite John Hill in the 2004
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 tha ...
show ''
Bare, a Pop Opera ''Bare'', also known as ''Bare: A Pop Opera'', is a coming-of-age sung-through musical with music by Damon Intrabartolo, lyrics by Jon Hartmere, and a book by Hartmere and Intrabartolo. The story focuses on a group of high school students and ...
''. In summer 2005, he played Nick, a sexually promiscuous gay man in love with a shark, in
Adam Bock Adam Bock (born November 4, 1961) is a Canadian playwright currently living in the United States. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In the fall of 1984, Bock studied at the National Theater Institute at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. ...
's surreal play ''Swimming in the Shallows'' at New York's
Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a non-profit theater company that presents work by living American writers both on and off Broadway. It is based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and is affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Founded in 1979 ...
. He played the title character in '' Pippin'' for the
World AIDS Day World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. The acquired immu ...
Broadway benefit concert in November 2004. He starred in the
Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1965 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance, which merged with American Ballet Theatre in 1988. She regrouped the compa ...
musical '' The Times They Are A-Changin''', based on the music of
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
, which ran January 25 to March 5, 2006, at the
Old Globe Theatre The Old Globe is a professional theatre company in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which is collec ...
in
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, California and then on Broadway at the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre The Lena Horne Theatre (previously the Mansfield Theatre and the Brooks Atkinson Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 256 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1926, it was desi ...
from October 26 to November 19, 2006. In 2007, he starred as John Robert in ''
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...
'' at the Old Globe Theatre from January 13 to February 18. In the summer of 2007, he toured Europe with
Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...
as one of her "Broadway Boys." From July to September 2010, he played the lead role in a revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's ''
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 novel by David Garnett. The piece focuses on the romantic entanglements of actress Rose Vibert, ...
'' at the
Menier Chocolate Factory The Menier Chocolate Factory is a 180-seat Off-West End theatre, which comprises a bar and theatre offices. It is located at the rear of a former 1870s Menier Chocolate, Menier Chocolate Company factory at 53 Southwark Street, a major street i ...
in London. Arden's regional theatre credits include ''Pippin'', ''God of Vengeance'''','' ''
Falsettoland ''Falsettoland'' is a musical with a book by James Lapine, with music and lyrics by William Finn. Following '' In Trousers'' and ''March of the Falsettos'', it is the third in a trio of one-act musicals centering on Marvin, his wife Trina, his ps ...
'',
Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...
' ''Harold and Maude'', ''
West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...
'', ''
Songs for a New World ''Songs for a New World'' is a work of musical theatre written and composed by Jason Robert Brown. This was Jason Robert Brown's first produced show, originally produced Off-Broadway at the WPA Theatre in 1995. Brown and director Daisy Prince put ...
'', ''
The Common Pursuit ''The Common Pursuit'' is a Play (theatre), play by Simon Gray which follows the lives of six characters who first meet as undergraduates at University of Cambridge, Cambridge University when they are involved in setting up a literary magazine ca ...
'', and ''
The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...
''. Beginning in October 2014, Arden played the role of Quasimodo in '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' musical at San Diego's
La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a nonprofit professional theater on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under the ...
. The production ran from October 26 to December 7, 2014, and at
Paper Mill Playhouse Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater containing approximately 1,200 seats located in Millburn, within Essex County, New Jersey, United States, on the banks of the Rahway River. Due to its relative proximity to Manhattan, the theater draw ...
from March 4 to April 5, 2015. Arden directed
Deaf West Theatre Deaf West Theatre is a non-profit arts organization based in Los Angeles, California, US. It is most well known for its Tony Award-nominated productions of '' Big River'' and '' Spring Awakening''. Deaf West Theatre is led by artistic director DJ ...
's acclaimed Broadway revival of '' Spring Awakening''. The production featured a cast made up of both
deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...
and hearing actors, performed simultaneously in
American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that i ...
and English. The production began in at Inner City Arts in Los Angeles in September 2014, transferred to the Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills in May 2015, and finally transferred to Broadway, where it began previews September 8, 2015, and opened on September 27, 2015, at the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre The Lena Horne Theatre (previously the Mansfield Theatre and the Brooks Atkinson Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 256 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1926, it was desi ...
. On May 3, 2016, Arden received a nomination for the
Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical The Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical has been given since 1960. Before 1960 there was only one award for both play direction and musical direction, then in 1960 the award was split into two categories: ''Dramatic'' and ''Musical''. Wi ...
for his work on the ''Spring Awakening'' revival. Arden went on to direct the musical ''
My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...
'' at the Bay Street Theater in
Southampton, New York Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stre ...
in August 2016. He then returned as the first
artist-in-residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...
at the Wallis Annenberg Center, where he directed productions of '' The Pride'' and '' Merrily We Roll Along,'' the latter of which earned him a 2017
Ovation Awards The Ovation Awards were a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They were given out by the non-profit arts service organization LA Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Win ...
nomination for Best Director of a Musical. Arden directed the first Broadway revival of ''
Once on This Island ''Once on This Island'' is a coming-of-age one-act stage musical with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. It is based on the 1985 novel ''My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl'' by Rosa Guy, a Caribbean-set retel ...
'', which began previews on November 9, 2017, and opened on December 3 at the
Circle in the Square Theatre The Circle in the Square Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 50th Street, within the basement of Paramount Plaza, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. The current Broadway theater, completed in 1972, i ...
, where it ran until January 6, 2019. The acclaimed revival was nominated for seven
Drama Desk Awards The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...
and eight
Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cere ...
, including a second Best Director Tony nomination for Arden. Arden directed '' Annie'' at the
Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...
in July 2018 for the venue's annual summer musical production. Following this, Arden was directed
Jefferson Mays Lewis Jefferson Mays (born June 8, 1965) is an American actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a Tony Award, a Helen Hayes Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, two Drama Desk Awards, two Outer Critics Circle Awards and three Obi ...
in his one-man adaptation of
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
' ''
A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...
'' at Los Angeles'
Geffen Playhouse The Geffen Playhouse is a not-for-profit theater company founded in Los Angeles, California by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhous ...
beginning October 2018. Arden directed the American premiere of ''
Maybe Happy Ending ''Maybe Happy Ending'' () is a South Korean musical with lyrics written by Hue Park, music composed by Will Aronson, and book written by both Park and Aronson. The musical, which is performed without intermission, follows two life-like helper-b ...
'' at the
Alliance Theatre The Alliance Theatre is a theater company in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center. The company, originally the Atlanta Municipal Theatre, staged its first production (''King Arthur'') at the Alliance in 1968. The ...
in Atlanta in January 2020. In November 2022, Arden directed a production of
Jason Robert Brown Jason Robert Brown (born June 20, 1970) is an American musical theatre composer, lyricist, and playwright. Brown's music sensibility fuses pop-rock stylings with theatrical lyrics. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards for his work on ''Parad ...
's ''
Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...
'' for
New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street (Manhattan), 55th Street between Sixth Avenue, Six ...
's 2022 gala. The production transferred to Broadway in March 2023. This production won Arden the 2023
Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical The Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical has been given since 1960. Before 1960 there was only one award for both play direction and musical direction, then in 1960 the award was split into two categories: ''Dramatic'' and ''Musical''. Wi ...
. Arden directed the Broadway premiere of ''
Maybe Happy Ending ''Maybe Happy Ending'' () is a South Korean musical with lyrics written by Hue Park, music composed by Will Aronson, and book written by both Park and Aronson. The musical, which is performed without intermission, follows two life-like helper-b ...
'', which opened in fall 2024 at the
Belasco Theatre The Belasco Theatre is a Broadway theater at 111 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Originally known as the Stuyvesant Theatre, it was bu ...
. He won a
Tony Award for Best Director The Tony Award for Best Director was one of the original 11 awards given in 1947 when the Tony Awards originated. The award was presented until 1960 when it was split into two categories: Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Tony Award for ...
for the show.


Television

He has appeared on ABC's ''
Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...
'' (in the episode "17 Seconds" as Neal Hannigan) and in ''
NUMB3RS ''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that originally aired on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, with a total of six seasons consisting of 118 episodes. The series was created by Nico ...
'' for
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
. He was cast in the Fox show '' The Return of Jezebel James'', which cancelled after three episodes in the spring of 2008. Arden had a recurring role in the NBC series ''
Kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Kings: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations. *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'', an 11th-century epic Persia ...
'' as Joseph. He also guest starred in an episode of ''
The Closer ''The Closer'' is an American police procedural television series starring Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Los Angeles Police Department Chief of police#United States, deputy chief. A CIA-trained interrogator originally from Atlanta, G ...
'' as well as guest starring in an episode of ''
Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...
''. In August 2011, Arden was cast in a recurring role on ''
The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in law ...
''. He had a regular role in the FX series ''
Anger Management Anger management is a psycho-therapeutic program for anger prevention and control. It has been described as deploying anger successfully.Schwarts, Gil. July 2006. Anger Management', July 2006 The Office Politic. Men's Health magazine. Emmaus, PA: ...
''.


Film

Arden featured in Colin Spoelman's independent film ''The Cave Movie'' (2009). He also acted in the 2011 movie ''
Source Code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only ...
'' and appeared as Kevin in the film ''
Bride Wars ''Bride Wars'' is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Gary Winick and written by Greg DePaul, Casey Wilson, and June Diane Raphael. It stars Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway, with Kristen Johnston, Bryan Greenberg, and Candice B ...
.''


Composing and writing

As a composer, Arden has written several works, including ''Easter Rising'', ''As You Like It'', and ''Ripley''.


Personal life

Arden is gay. He got engaged to fellow actor
Andy Mientus Andrew Michael Mientus (born November 10, 1986) is an American actor. He is best known for starring in the Broadway musicals '' Spring Awakening'', ''Les Misérables'', and ''Wicked'', and on television in the NBC musical drama '' Smash'' and as ...
on June 23, 2014. He and Mientus had both planned proposals to each other the same day without the other knowing. They married on August 18, 2016, at
Babington House Babington House is a Grade II* listed manor house, located in the village of Babington, between Radstock and Frome, in the county of Somerset, England. Converted to a private members club and hotel by Nick Jones, it is currently owned by S ...
, Somerset, England. They have been together since 2011. The two first met in 2006 during the opening night party of the
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 Stre ...
show '' The Times They Are-a-Changin''', in which Arden was a performer.


Theater credits


Filmography


Film


Television


Awards and nominations


See also

*
List of LGBTQ people from New York City New York City has been described as the gay capital of the world and the central node of the LGBTQ+ sociopolitical ecosystem. It is home to one of the world's largest and most prominent LGBTQ populations. LGBTQ Americans in New York City cons ...


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arden, Michael 1982 births 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American male actors American gay actors American gay musicians American male musical theatre actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male voice actors American theatre directors Interlochen Center for the Arts alumni Juilliard School alumni LGBTQ people from Texas Living people Male actors from Texas People from Midland, Texas Tony Award winners