Robert Fairchild (born June 9, 1987) is an American dancer and actor. He is best known for originating the role Jerry Mulligan in the musical ''

An American in Paris ''An American in Paris'' is a jazz-influenced orchestral piece by American composer George Gershwin first performed in 1928. It was inspired by the time that Gershwin had spent in Paris and evokes the sights and energy of the French capital ...

'', and as

Munkustrap Munkustrap is a Jellicle cat from T. S. Eliot's 1939 poem "The Naming of Cats". He is a principal character and the main narrator in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical ''Cats'', which is based on Eliot's poems. Munkustrap is the storyteller and ...

in the 2019 film ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members o ...

''. He was a principal dancer at the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company ...

Early life

Fairchild was raised in Salt Lake City. His mother is a dietitian and his father worked for Utah's wildlife resources. He started dancing at the age of four, and began formal ballet training at age ten. After attending the

School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the most renowned ballet school in the United States. School of American Ballet is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New ...

's summer intensives in 2002 and 2003, he relocated to New York City and enrolled in the school as a full-time student in fall 2003. Fairchild's elder sister,

Megan Megan is a Welsh feminine given name, originally a diminutive form of Margaret. Margaret is from the Greek μαργαρίτης (''margarítēs''), Latin ''margarīta'', "pearl". Megan is one of the most popular Welsh-language names for women in ...

, is also a principal dancer at the

Career

Dance

Fairchild became an apprentice at the

in 2005, and joined the company's corps de ballet the following year. He became a soloist in 2007 and principal dancer in 2009. During his time in the company, he had danced works by

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

Christopher Wheeldon Christopher Peter Wheeldon OBE (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Life and career Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet da ...

Alexei Ratmansky Alexei Osipovich Ratmansky (russian: Алексей Осипович Ратманский, born August 27, 1968) is a Russian-American choreographer and former ballet dancer. From 2004 to 2008 he was the director of the Bolshoi Ballet. He left Rus ...

and

Justin Peck Justin Peck (born September 8, 1987) is an American choreographer, director, and dancer associated with New York City Ballet, of which he was appointed Resident Choreographer in July 2014, being the second person in the history of the instituti ...

. In October 2017, Fairchild left the company after a performance of Balanchine's '' Duo Concertant'', he danced with his long time stage partner,

Sterling Hyltin Sterling Hyltin is an American ballet dancer. She is currently a principal dancer at the New York City Ballet. Early life and training Hyltin was born in Amarillo, Texas. She wanted to be an ice skater, and would train before school started. Howe ...

Acting

In December 2014, Fairchild starred as Jerry Mulligan in the musical ''

'', directed and choreographed by

, in

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...

, Paris, which ran until January 2015. The musical also starred Leanne Cope. The musical transferred to

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia * Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, M ...

on Broadway the same year. The previews began in March and officially opened on April 12. He and Cope starred in the show until his departure in March 2016. He was nominated for a

Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival. The award has been given since 1948, but the nominees who did n ...

in 2015 In 2017, the show premiered in

Dominion Theatre The Dominion Theatre is a West End theatre and former cinema on Tottenham Court Road, close to St Giles Circus and Centre Point, in the London Borough of Camden. Planned as primarily a musical theatre, it opened in 1929, but the following year ...

on West End. Fairchild and Cope returned to the show, though he only stayed for three months. Fairchild had also starred in ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...

'' at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

, ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...

'' at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

in London and ''

Brigadoon ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe. The song "Almost Like Being in Love", from the musical, has become a standard. It features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a m ...

'' at the

New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama,. The name "City Center for Music and Drama Inc." is the organizational parent of the New York City Ballet and, until 2011, the New York City Opera. and t ...

. He played

in ''

'', the 2019 film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name. He also appeared in the 2019 Netflix series, ''

Soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

''.

Other ventures

In 2020, in the midst of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Fairchild started his floral arrangement business, boo.kay, which was intended to be a "side hustle".

Personal life

Fairchild married New York City principal ballet dancer

Tiler Peck Tiler Kalyn Peck (born January 12, 1989) is an American ballet dancer who is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. As well as ballet, she has performed in musical theatre shows and has made cameo appearances in films including ''Donn ...

in 2014. The couple separated in 2017. He later came out publicly as gay.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairchild, Robert American male ballet dancers New York City Ballet principal dancers School of American Ballet alumni Mae L. Wien Award recipients American male musical theatre actors American gay actors 1980s births Living people