People acting in shows they wrote
People acting in shows they wrote
#1People 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?
#2People acting in shows they wrote
Posted: 12/9/14 at 7:05pmTim Rice was the Pharaoh in Joseph!
#3People 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.
#4People acting in shows they wrote
Posted: 12/9/14 at 7:16pmWow, somehow I never knew that Comden and Green were in the OBC of On the Town! That's awesome!
#5People acting in shows they wrote
Posted: 12/9/14 at 7:20pmLarry David in his upcoming Broadway show.
#6People acting in shows they wrote
Posted: 12/9/14 at 7:38pmDon't forget Billie Joe Armstrong in American Idiot.
#8People 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.
#9People acting in shows they wrote
Posted: 12/9/14 at 8:00pmClaude-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.
#10People 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.
#12People acting in shows they wrote
Posted: 12/9/14 at 8:17pmSondheim played the producer during "Opening Doors" ("There's not a tune you can hum...") in the TV production number for 6 BY SONDHIEM.
SomethingPeculiar
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/15/14
#13People acting in shows they wrote
Posted: 12/9/14 at 8:23pmKaufman 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.
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#14People 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
#15People acting in shows they wrote
Posted: 12/9/14 at 8:34pmGerome Ragni and James Rado played Berger and Claude, respectively, in the original Broadway cast of Hair.
Broadway Legend
joined: 5/1/05
Blocked: After Eight, suestorm, david_fick, emlodik, lovebwy, Dave28282, joevitus, BorisTomashevsky, Seb28
Visceral_Fella
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/18/12
#16People acting in shows they wrote
Posted: 12/9/14 at 10:06pmNot sure if you want just broadway, but Coleman Domingo acted in his own show Wild With Happy.
Fantod
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
#17People acting in shows they wrote
Posted: 12/9/14 at 10:11pmIrving Berlin was in This is the Army
#18People acting in shows they wrote
Posted: 12/9/14 at 10:41pmJonathan Larson used to perform a rough, one man version of TICK...TICK.. BOOM! way back when.
#19People 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
#20People acting in shows they wrote
Posted: 12/9/14 at 10:47pmChristopher Durang was in Vanya and Sonia... at Bucks County Playhouse
ErinDillyFan
Broadway Star Joined: 7/14/06
#21People 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
#22People 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!
#23People acting in shows they wrote
Posted: 12/10/14 at 11:21amAs 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.
#24People acting in shows they wrote
Posted: 12/10/14 at 11:27amI heard Chris D'Arienzo was the original Lonny in the LA production of "Rock Of Ages." Not sure if it's true.
henrikegerman
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/29/05
#25People 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
Videos