Jason Danieley

Jason Danieley
Jason Danieley in June 2019
Born (1971-07-13) July 13, 1971 (age 53)
St. Louis, Missouri, US
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active1993–present
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1997; died 2018)​

Andrea Nunes
​
​
(m. 2024)​
WebsiteOfficial website

Jason D. Danieley (born July 13, 1971) is an American actor, singer, concert performer and recording artist. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and was married to fellow performer Marin Mazzie.

Career

Ben Brantley, in a review of Curtains in The New York Times, said Danieley had "the most exquisite tenor on Broadway".[1] After classical voice training at the University of Missouri and Southern Illinois University,[2] Danieley left without graduating and, at the age of 25, made his Broadway debut in the Harold Prince-directed revival of Candide, as the title character. Prince was quoted in The New York Times as saying, "It's unusual in the world of musical theater to find someone who can sing as well as he can act. Mark my words: Jason has an extraordinary future ahead of him."[3]

Danieley appeared Off-Broadway in the musical Hit The Lights! in 1993, but gained recognition in 1996 in Floyd Collins, based on the tragedy of caver Floyd Collins, written by Richard Rodgers’s grandson, Adam Guettel.[4] The musical has a mixture of Appalachian and classical music;[4] Ben Brantley in The New York Times noted that Danieley (with others) was "especially winning".[5]

Danieley starred in the musical The Full Monty, which premiered at the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, California in June to July 2000.[6] The musical opened on Broadway in October 2000.[7] He appeared in the John Kander and Fred Ebb musical Curtains on Broadway in 2007.[8] Composer John Kander wrote the song "I Miss the Music" specifically for the character that Danieley played in Curtains.[9]

He played Lt. Joseph Cable, in the Emmy nominated concert version of South Pacific, performed at Carnegie Hall in June 2005.[10] The concert was filmed and aired on PBS' Great Performances. He has appeared in London's West End.

Danieley joined Next to Normal on Broadway, replacing Brian d'Arcy James in the role of Dan on July 19, 2010, opposite his wife, Marin Mazzie, who replaced Alice Ripley as Diana. This made them a real-life couple portraying an onstage fictional married couple.[11]

He appeared in the New York City Center Encores! staged concert of Allegro in March 1994 [12] and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in February 2005.[13]

He appeared in the Williamstown Theatre Festival (Massachusetts) production of The Visit in July and August 2014, and again in 2015, when it transferred to Broadway.[14] He appeared in the Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn, New Jersey) production of Can-Can as "Aristide" in October 2014.[15]

He appeared in the musical Pretty Woman in Chicago[16] and on Broadway in 2018–2019.[17]

In 2022, Danieley starred as James Agee in the world premiere of Knoxville, a new musical written by Frank Galati with music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens..[18][19][20]

Concerts and recording

Danieley's career on and Off-Broadway combined with his classical background led to a natural crossover into singing with most of the country's leading symphonies and pops orchestras. A frequent guest artist with Boston, Philadelphia and New York Pops and The San Francisco Symphony[21] he has also appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (at the Hollywood Bowl), St. Louis, Utah, Minnesota and Buffalo Symphonies. Additionally, Danieley and Mazzie appear at smaller venues, such as the Café Carlyle in New York in 2011.[22]

Danieley met his wife, Marin Mazzie, in 1996 in an Off-Broadway play that they performed together titled Trojan Women: A Love Story.[23] Danieley and Mazzie recorded their first album Opposite You on PS Classics, which was released in 2005.[24] Variety in 2002 wrote: "When they sing, the heart seems to beat a little faster... emotional strength to envelop the listener and melt the heart... This is one savvy pair..."[25] The sfgate.com called them "Broadway's golden couple" in 2002.[26]

Danieley launched his solo recording career with the self-titled album Jason Danieley & The Frontier Heroes, combining Americana music from the Great American Songbook and Broadway repertoire. The recording was produced by PS Classics and released in 2008.[27] His other recordings include the cast albums of Curtains, Floyd Collins, Candide, The Full Monty, Dream True, Secondhand Lions, the compilation CDs of Jule Styne in Hollywood, The Stephen Schwartz Album and two Boston Pops albums, A Splash of Pops and My Favorite Things.[citation needed]

In 2017, Danieley recorded the album "Broadway and Beyond" with Marin Mazzie at 54 Below. The album was released in 2019, after Mazzie's death.[28]

Personal life

Jason Danieley was born in St. Louis to Larry and Carole Danieley. He was married to actress Marin Mazzie from October 19, 1997, until her death on September 13, 2018.[29]

Awards

References

  1. ^ Brantley, Ben."Theater Review, 'Curtains' " The New York Times, March 23, 2007
  2. ^ "Jason Danieley | Performer of the week - interview". Time Out Chicago.
  3. ^ Jacobs, Andrew."No Clanking Dinner Plates In the Wings for This Candide" The New York Times, June 22, 1997
  4. ^ a b Spencer, David. "Review. Floyd Collins " aislesay.com, accessed June 23, 2014
  5. ^ Brantley, Ben. "Theater Review. Carnival Above Ground, Tragedy Below" The New York Times, March 4, 1996
  6. ^ Ehren, Christine. "Wilson, Danieley Do 'The Full Monty', June 1-July 2 in San Diego" playbill.com, June 1, 2000
  7. ^ Ehren, Christine. "Broadway to See 'The Full Monty', Starting Sept. 26 at Eugene O'Neill" playbill.com, June 9, 2000
  8. ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Raise the 'Curtains': Kander, Ebb, Stone, Holmes Musical Begins Broadway Run" playbill.com, February 27, 2007
  9. ^ Jones, Kenneth. "With 'Curtains', Kander Writes a Love Letter to Theatre — and to Absent Friends" playbill.com, March 22, 2007
  10. ^ gans, Andrew. "Alec Baldwin Joins McEntire-Mitchell 'South Pacific'; Principal Casting Complete" playbill.com, May 19, 2005
  11. ^ Gans, Andrew. "Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley Are 'Next to Normal' On Broadway Starting July 19" Archived 2010-09-23 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, July 19, 2010
  12. ^ Holden, Stephen. "Review/Theater: 'Allegro'; Revival of a Famous Pair's First Flop", The New York Times, March 5, 1994.
  13. ^ Simonson, Robert. "Full Cast Announced for Encores! Tree Grows in Brooklyn' " playbill.com, February 8, 2005
  14. ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Jason Danieley Replaces Howard McGillin in Kander and Ebb's 'The Visit'; Stars of "Veep" and "Girls" Join Williamstown Season" Archived 2014-06-16 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, June 2, 2014
  15. ^ Gans, Andrew. "Kate Baldwin and Jason Danieley Will Head Cast of Paper Mill's Broadway-Bound 'Can-Can'", playbill.com, June 2, 2014.
  16. ^ McPhee, Ryan. "Jason Danieley Joins Broadway-Bound 'Pretty Woman' Musical" Playbill, October 6, 2017
  17. ^ Clement, Olivia. " Pretty Woman Musical Finds Its Broadway Home, Sets Summer 2018 Opening" Playbill, November 21, 2017
  18. ^ Gans, Andrew (February 6, 2019). "Knoxville, New Musical From Ragtime's Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, and Frank Galati, Will Premiere in 2020". Playbill.
  19. ^ https://www.asolorep.org/events/detail/knoxville [dead link]
  20. ^ "Knoxville | Asolo Repertory Theatre".
  21. ^ Gans, Andrew. "Mazzie and Danieley Offer Holiday Concerts Dec. 29 and 31 in San Francisco" playbill.com, November 7, 2002
  22. ^ Holden, Stephen. "A Cabaret Evening of Songs From a Marriage Made Off Broadway" The New York Times, May 11, 2011
  23. ^ Fitzgerald, T. J. "Mazzie and Danieley Making Beautiful Music at Feinstein's", BroadwayWorld.com, March 27, 2009
  24. ^ Suskin, Steven. "ON THE RECORD: Mazzie and Danieley's "Opposite You" and Virtue in Danger", playbill.com, November 13, 2005.
  25. ^ Daniels, Robert L. "Marin Mazzie, Jason Danieley/John Barrowman" Variety, October 23, 2002
  26. ^ Roca, Octavio. "Golden 'Candide' couple a pair onstage and off" sfgate.com, July 17, 2002
  27. ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Track Listing Announced for "Jason Danieley and the Frontier Heroes" Disc, Due Sept. 16" playbill.com, August 13, 2008
  28. ^ Clement, Olivia (September 24, 2019). "Live Recording of Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley's Feinstein's/54 Below Concert Released This Fall". Playbill. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  29. ^ Genzlinger, Neil (2018-09-13). "Marin Mazzie, Broadway Musical Star, Is Dead at 57". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
  30. ^ "Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Musical", awardsandwinners.com; accessed June 23, 2014