Dennis H. Beaulne (born April 30, 1958), better known by his stage name Dennis Courtney, is an American stage director, choreographer, actor and teacher of master classes in auditioning for the theatre. As a director, he is notable for winning the 2008 Israeli National Theatre Prize (Israel's TONY Award equivalent) for his work in the

Cameri Theatre The Cameri Theatre (, ''HaTeatron HaKameri''), established in 1944 in Tel Aviv, is one of the leading theatres in Israel, and is housed at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. History The Cameri Theatre was founded with the purpose of promoting ...

production of

Fiddler On The Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...

, in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. The production closed on January 27, 2016 after a near 8-year run. As an actor, he made his Broadway debut in the 1979 production of

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

with

Sandy Duncan Sandra Kay Duncan (born February 20, 1946) is an American actress, comedian, dancer and singer. She is known for her performances in the Broadway revival of ''Peter Pan'', the sitcom '' The Hogan Family'', and the Disney films '' The Million D ...

and George Rose. Subsequent Broadway/National Tour/Production credits include Shenandoah with

John Raitt John Emmet Raitt (; January 29, 1917 – February 20, 2005) was an American actor and singer best known for his performances in musical theatre. His most notable roles were Billy Bigelow in the original Broadway cast of ''Carousel'' and Curly ...

(1984),

Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' is a sung-through musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice ...

(1984),

Roza Roza may refer to: People Last name *Fernando Luiz Roza (b. 1985), Brazilian soccer player *Lita Roza (1926–2008), British singer First name * Roza Anagnosti (born 1943) Albanian actress * Roza Baglanova (1922–2011), Soviet/Kazakh ope ...

(1987) and

Starlight Express '' Starlight Express'' is a 1984 musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern locomotives of diesel and el ...

(1989-1990). He directed and choreographed a production of

My Way "My Way" is Paul Anka's English-language lyrical adaptation of the French song " Comme d'habitude", released by Frank Sinatra in 1969. The original song was written by Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaut, and Claude François, and was first recor ...

, for the Riverside Center Theatre in Virginia and

It Shoulda Been You ''It Shoulda Been You'' is a musical with music by Barbara Anselmi and book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audio ...

starring

Kim Zimmer Kimberly Jo Zimmer (born February 2, 1955) is an American actress, best known for her role as Reva Shayne on the CBS soap opera ''Guiding Light''. For this portrayal, she has won four Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama ...

and 8 Track: The Sounds of the 70's for Gretna Theatre in July and August 2016. In early 2017, he directed and choreographed

Kiss Me, Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Bella and Samuel Spewack. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off- ...

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Ashtabula, Burton, East Liverpool, Jackson Township, New Philadelphia, ...

. In March 2017 he directed the pre-Broadway workshop production of The Last Adam, a new musical by George Alex Livings and Jonathan Hickey. He has collaborated with playwright David Brian Colbert on a new play with music about the life of legendary performer,

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...

, entitled Still Waters: The Life of the Legendary Ethel Waters. The play is currently in development.

Personal life

Born Denis Beaulne in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

to French Canadian parents, Albert Beaulne and Claudette Perron. He took the stage name Dennis Courtney with his first union acting job in 1978. Courtney has 2 siblings - a sister, Rachelle Beaulne McKevlin and a brother, Raymond Beaulne. He also has a step-sister, Lori Hurren Harrell and a step-brother, William Hurren. Dennis' parents divorced in 1967 and both remarried. His mother married Harry Parr and his father married Anna Pasternacki. Harry Parr died in 1986, Anna Pasternacki Beaulne died on December 5, 2011. Albert Beaulne is currently living in Cornelius, NC. Dennis' mother, Claudette, died on June 6, 2010. Dennis has been in a long term relationship with entrepreneur, Grant Wheaton, since 2000. Dennis and Grant became engaged on Christmas Day 2016 and married on July 29, 2017. He graduated from Anderson High School in Cincinnati, Ohio and studied theatre at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

. He currently resides in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and has homes in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

and

Palm Desert, California Palm Desert is a city in the Coachella Valley region of Riverside County, California. The city is located in the Colorado Desert arm of the Sonoran Desert, about east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The popula ...

Notes

External links

Official Website - http://www.denniscourtney.com Dennis Courtney (http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=92973) at the Internet Broadway Database Dennis Courtney (http://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Dennis-Courtney/#) at BroadwayWorld.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Courtney, Dennis American directors American choreographers Male actors from Detroit 1958 births Living people