People acting in shows they wrote

#1

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 7:04pm

With Sting going into the Last Ship tonight, I'm trying to think of as many examples as I can of people who were one of the writers of a show (Book, Music or Lyrics, or any combination thereof), who also acted in that show. I've thought of these examples:

Sting - The Last Ship
Lin-Manuel Miranda - In the Heights + Hamilton
Tom Jones - The Fantasticks (1993 Japan Tour)
John Cameron Mitchell - Hedwig
Jeff Bowen & Hunter Bell - [title of show] + Now. Here. This
Dave Malloy - Great Comet + Ghost Quartet
Harvey Fierstein - several of his shows
Jason Robert Brown - The Last Five Years (I think he did a concert production in 2006 with Julia Murney, right?)

What are other examples of this?

#2

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 7:05pm

Tim Rice was the Pharaoh in Joseph!

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#3

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 7:05pm

Noel Coward- almost everything.

#4

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 7:10pm

Comden and Green in ON THE TOWN

Betty Comden also replaced Imogene Coca as Mrs. Primrose for a few weeks in ON THE 20TH CENTURY.

#5

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 7:16pm

Wow, somehow I never knew that Comden and Green were in the OBC of On the Town! That's awesome!

#6

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 7:20pm

Larry David in his upcoming Broadway show.

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#7

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 7:38pm

Don't forget Billie Joe Armstrong in American Idiot.

#8

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 7:43pm

John Cameron Mitchell in Hedwig
Boy George in Taboo
Stew in Passing Strange

And I've heard that William Shakespeare played the ghost in the original production of Hamlet, but I don't know for sure how true that is.

#9

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 8:00pm

Claude-Michel Schonberg played the role of Louis VI in "La Révolution française". He also played the role of Courfeyrac on the "concept album" (1980). But, I don't know if he played this role on stage.

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#10

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 8:06pm

Stew in Passing Strange, Bill Irwin in Scapin, Bob Martin in The Drowsy Chaperone.

Mel Brooks played a one night only cameo as the Judge in the Producers.

#11

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 8:14pm

Woody Allen - Play It Again, Sam

#12

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 8:17pm

Sondheim played the producer during "Opening Doors" ("There's not a tune you can hum...") in the TV production number for 6 BY SONDHIEM.

#13

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 8:23pm

Kaufman and Hart both played Whiteside in different productions of The Man Who Came To Dinner. (Hart played him at Bucks County with Kaufman as the Noel Coward role and Harpo Marx in the Marx Bros role). Kaufman also starred in the Broadway run of "Once In A Lifetime", as seen in Act One.

#14

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 8:32pm

Mae West, Ruth Gordon, Howard Lindsay appeared in several of their own works.

Jean-Pierre Aumont starred in My Name Is Aquilon, an adaptation by Philip Barry of his own French play, L'Empereur de Chine.

Fridolin starred in his own play, Ti-Coq.

Gertrude Berg wrote and starred in Me and Molly.

Molly Picon wrote the lyrics for a revue in which she appeared, Oy Is Dus a Leben.

At the Public, Christopher Walken starred in his own play, Him.

Updated On: 12/9/14 at 08:32 PM

#15

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 8:34pm

Gerome Ragni and James Rado played Berger and Claude, respectively, in the original Broadway cast of Hair.

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#16

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 10:06pm

Not sure if you want just broadway, but Coleman Domingo acted in his own show Wild With Happy.

#17

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 10:11pm

Irving Berlin was in This is the Army

#18

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 10:41pm

Jonathan Larson used to perform a rough, one man version of TICK...TICK.. BOOM! way back when.

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#19

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 10:46pm

Matinee idol Ivor Novello wrote and starred in many hit musicals in the West End.

George Grossmith, the original principal comedian of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company for whom all those famous G&S patter songs were written, was also a writer and composer. In the years after he left D'Oyly Carte, he toured extensively in one man shows of his own sketches and songs. His son, George Grossmith, Jr., was a hugely successful actor, writer, director, producer and songwriter and starred in many of his own works.

W.S. Gilbert appeared several times in Trial By Jury. The performances were charity benefits and he played the silent role of the Associate.

Updated On: 12/10/14 at 10:46 PM

#20

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/9/14 at 10:47pm

Christopher Durang was in Vanya and Sonia... at Bucks County Playhouse

#21

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/10/14 at 10:36am

What no shout outs to George Cohan?

I believe Roger Miller has performed in "Big River" as Pap.

I think Adam Guettel has perfromed in "Myths and Hymns ."

I would assume somewhere along the line Andrew Lippa has performed in one of his shows...

Updated On: 12/10/14 at 10:36 AM

#22

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/10/14 at 11:08am

Well Andrew Lippa performed in I Am Harvey Milk! I forgot about that one.

By the way, thanks for your replies everyone! Some of these I knew about but had forgotten, and others were completely unknown to me. Really interesting stuff!

#23

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/10/14 at 11:21am

As someone who calls herself both an actor and a writer, I'm really grateful for this thread. Good to know I'm not the only one who has wanted to do this...haha.

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#24

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/10/14 at 11:27am

I heard Chris D'Arienzo was the original Lonny in the LA production of "Rock Of Ages." Not sure if it's true.

#25

People acting in shows they wrote

Posted: 12/10/14 at 5:39pm

Like the aforementioned Comden and Green, Mae West, Anthony Newley and Ruth Gordon; Charles Ludlam, Charles Busch, Noel Coward, Harold Pinter, Joan Rivers, Eve Ensler and George M. Cohan often appear/appeared in their own plays

Also:

Woody Allen in Play it Again, Sam
David Hare in Via Dolorosa
Sam Shepard and Patti Smith in their co-authored Cowboy Mouth
Elaine Stritch in At Liberty (written with John Lahr)

And, of course, Shakespeare and Moliere

Updated On: 12/11/14 at 05:39 PM