Cris Groenendaal Explained

Cris Groenendaal is a retired American musical theatre actor and opera singer. He has performed in the original Broadway productions of , Sunday in the Park with George, The Phantom of the Opera and Passion, as well as appearing in the original cast of the 1996 Broadway revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.^{[1] [2]}

Training

He is a trained operatic tenor. He was trained by fellow tenor Frederick Jagel.^[3]

Career

Known for his work in Stephen Sondheim's musicals, he made his Broadway debut in the original cast of as an ensemble member and understudy for the role of Anthony. He would later replace Victor Garber in the role of Anthony.^[4] He was also in the original cast of the first national tour of Sweeney Todd reprising his role of Anthony. He appeared in the 1982 televised recording of the touring production.^[5]

Groenendaal was also in the original Broadway cast of Sunday in the Park with George originating the roles of Billy Webster and Louis while understudying many roles including the titular role.^[1] He replaced Robert Westenberg in the roles of a Soldier/Alex and later played the titular roles of Georges Seurat/George for 5 days.^{[6] [7]}

Groenendaal originated the role of Monsieur Gilles André in the original Broadway cast of The Phantom of the Opera also understudying the role of Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny. He would later take over the role of The Phantom from Timothy Nolen in March 1989 on Broadway and was the third principal actor to play the Phantom on Broadway. He was replaced in the role in March 1990 by the original Broadway and West End Raoul, Steve Barton. Groenendaal would later reprise the role of the Phantom in the Canadian production replacing Colm Wilkinson and for two stints in the Canadian tour.^{[8] [9] [10]}

In 1994 and 1996 he would play roles in two Sondheim musicals, the Broadway revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and the original Broadway production of Passion, playing Miles Gloriosus and Major Rizzolli respectively.^{[1] [8] [7]}

In 1998, he appears in the first US tour of Ragtime as the Father. This would be his last production before his retirement. However, he made an exception in 2002 to perform in the Sondheim celebration at the Kennedy Center in a production of Sunday in the Park with George as Jules and Bob Greenberg.

Acting credits

Theatre

Source:^{[1] [11]}

Year(s)	Production	Role	Notes
1976	1776	Roger Sherman	Regional
	My Fair Lady	Jamie / Ensemble
	A Little Night Music	Frid
1977	Follies	Max Deems / Ensemble
	The Wizard of Oz	The Tin Man / Hickory
	Fiddler on the Roof	Ensemble
1979		Ensemble u/s Anthony Hope	Original Broadway Production
1979-1980		Anthony Hope
1980	South Pacific	Lt. Joseph Cable, USMC	Regional
1980-1981		Anthony Hope	US National Tour
1984			Houston Grand Opera
			New York City Opera
	Sunday in the Park with George	Billy Webster / Louis / A Man Lying on the Banku/s A Soldier / Alex u/s Franz / Dennis	Original Broadway Production
1984-1985		A Soldier / Alexu/s Georges Seurat / George
1985		Georges Seurat / George
		A Soldier / Alexu/s Georges Seurat / George
1987	South Pacific	Lt. Joseph Cable, USMC (Alternate)	New York City Opera
		Anthony Hope
1988	The Phantom of the Opera	Monsieur Gilles Andréu/s Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny	Original Broadway Production
1988-1989		Monsieur Gilles Andréu/s The Phantom of the Opera u/s Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny
1989-1990		The Phantom of the Opera
1992			Canadian National Tour
	Carousel	Enoch Snow	Regional
1993-1994	The Phantom of the Opera	The Phantom of the Opera	Canadian National Tour
1994	Passion	Major Rizzolli	Original Broadway Production
1994-1995	The Phantom of the Opera	The Phantom of the Opera	Canadian Production
1996-1998	A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum	Miles Gloriosus	Second Broadway Revival
1998-1999	Ragtime	Father	US National Tour
2002	Sunday in the Park with George	Jules / Bob Greenberg	Kennedy Center

Filmography

Year(s)	Production	Role	Notes
1980	The Doctors	Dr. Harrow	3 episodes
1982	Great Performances	Anthony Hope	Episode: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
1986	American Playhouse	Louis / Billy Webster	Episode: Sunday in the Park with George
1995	Pocahontas	Chorus	Animated film

Notes and References

1. https://www.playbill.com/person/cris-groenendaal-vault-0000105684 Cris Groenendaal Playbill
2. https://ovrtur.com/biography/10114618 Cris Groenendaal Ovrtur
3. https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/12/theater/from-musicals-to-opera-and-back.html FROM MUSICALS TO OPERA (AND BACK)
4. https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/35025-sweeney-todd-the-demon-barber-of-fleet-street-at-uris-theatre-1979-1980 Sweeney Todd casting history
5. https://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/sweeney-todd-with-angela-lansbury-and-george-hearn_91985.html Sweeney Todd, With Angela Lansbury and George Hearn, Rejoins BroadwayHD Lineup
6. https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/sunday-in-the-park-with-george-4335#Replacements Sunday in the Park with George Replacements
7. https://playbill.com/article/did-they-finish-the-hat-where-are-the-stars-of-sunday-in-the-park-with-george-now-com-348196 Did They Finish the Hat? Where Are the Stars of Sunday in the Park with George Now?
8. http://www.newsobserver.com/latest-news/article207748014.html There's a small club of actors who play Phantom in "Phantom of the Opera." 3 will perform together
9. https://playbill.com/article/see-20-masked-men-of-broadways-phantom-of-the-opera See 20 Masked Men of Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera
10. https://playbill.com/article/every-actor-whos-played-the-angel-of-music-and-christine-in-phantom-of-the-opera-on-broadway Every Actor Who's Played the Angel of Music and Christine in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway
11. https://www.abouttheartists.com/artists/305681-cris-groenendaal Groenendaal AboutTheArtists