Everyone else has said it more eloquently than I could
Saw him in The Visit, The AAdams Family & The Winslow Boy. He was adept at comedy with Robin Hood which I have and will have to watch again now. Knew he was sick but not this bad. Whatever it was it was quick and he was surrounded by loved ones.
R.I.P. We have lost a great one . He was a Broadway luminary whose name was not that well known by many but his loss is a big one.
Truly a tremendous loss of an equally tremendous talent.
When I was in college, my acting teacher had struck up an acquaintance with him and he graciously offered to give a telephone conference with our acting class. What was originally planned to be about a half hour turned into a little over an hour.
Such sad news to wake up to. I never had the opportunity to see him on stage, but loved his work on TV and film. My heart goes out to his husband and to the rest of his family. May they have some comfort in knowing that he left such a fine body of work behind and touched so many people. RIP.
My heart goes out to his family and friends. My daughter had the opportunity to work with him and so I met him a few times and he was indeed a very lovely and special human being. A great loss...and a sad day.
What do you say when an actor who has given some of your favorite performances ever dies? Obviously the sadness I feel is nothing compared to that of his husband and family and friends.
I wish everyone could see the wonder that was his deep, humanistic performance in the marathon that was Nicholas Nickelby.
And to have gone from that to so many other great performances, from Cheers to Stoppard to Beckett to Chekhov and then to musicals.
It breaks my heart that I will not see him on stage again.
Thank you for sharing the New Yorker profile, NYadgal!
I'm quite sad about the loss of Roger, who I only had the pleasure of seeing once on stage, but so much appreciate his contributions to theater. I will be especially appreciating his wonderful performance on The Visit cast recording today.
May he rest in peace, and condolences to his loved ones and friends.
May he rest in peace. I saw him in what was to be one of his last performances ever (The Visit). The spec that was milling around was not nice, we know the truth now. May his family and close ones find comfort in knowing he touched so many people with his talents.
This saddens me deeply, he is gone far too soon. I had the great pleasure of seeing on stage several times at the RSC and in New York. Among them was an amazing performance as Malcolm in "Macbeth" and the title role in "Nicholas Nickleby" both in London and NYC.
One of my fondest theatre memories happened during the performance of "Nicholas Nickleby" in New York. During the intervals the actors strolled through the audience, talking to them. During the first interval I struck up a conversation with him. We were so engrossed in talking he hadn't noticed the act was about to begin. Another actor came forward to the edge of the stage and called out to him. He quickly said goodbye and ran up the aisle, jumped on stage and the act began immediately. He returned to me after each act and we continued our conversation. When he came back to Broadway in "Indiscretions" I actually waited at the stage door to say hi (I never stage door). He actually remembered me and he took me out for an after show drink.
He was an amazing actor and an even nicer person and he will be missed.
A friend texted me at 1:00am with the news. I was floored. Had just finished listening to THE VISIT. I was lucky enough to be in his company on a number of occasions and have a few very nice conversations with him. May he rest in peace.
I am so ashamed. I thought that the reason Roger Rees left "The Visit" was that the show wasn't doing well at the box office; and he knew it was destined to close. I never read that it was due to an unexpected illness.
What I admired most about Roger Rees was that he was open about his sexual orientation. While I saw him on stage in "A Man of No Importance," "Indiscretions," and "End of the Day," I don't remember his performances from those three productions as being exceptional; but I do remember his work on "Cheers" as Robin Colcord, in which he was totally convincing as a cad.
I am impressed by the affectionate comments made by members of the Broadway community as to what Roger Rees meant to them. What a wonderful legacy he leaves behind.
So glad I got to see him in The Visit, very sad news
Well I didn't want to get into it, but he's a Satanist.
Every full moon he sacrifices 4 puppies to the Dark Lord and smears their blood on his paino.
This should help you understand the score for Wicked a little bit more.
Tazber's: Reply to
Is Stephen Schwartz a Practicing Christian
This news absolutely breaks my heart. I never got to see him on stage which is something I will always regret. But I was a huge fan of his TV and film work. Season 8 of Cheers is my favorite just because his character was hilarious. He is gone far too soon and will be greatly missed. My prayers to his husband and family.