Jason D. Danieley (born July 13, 1971) is an American actor, singer, concert performer and recording artist. He was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, and was married to fellow performer Marin Mazzie.

Career

Ben Brantley Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher, and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 t ...

, in a review of ''Curtains'' in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', said Danieley had "the most exquisite

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

on Broadway". After classical voice training at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

and

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

, Danieley left without graduating and, at the age of 25, made his Broadway debut in the

Harold Prince Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre. One of the foremost figures in 20th-century theat ...

-directed revival of ''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

'', as the title character. Prince was quoted in ''The New York Times'' as saying, "It's unusual in the world of musical theater to find someone who can sing as well as he can act. Mark my words: Jason has an extraordinary future ahead of him." Danieley appeared

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in the musical ''Hit The Lights!'' in 1993, but gained recognition in 1996 in '' Floyd Collins'', based on the tragedy of caver Floyd Collins, written by

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

’s grandson, Adam Guettel.Spencer, David
"Review. ''Floyd Collins'' "
aislesay.com, accessed June 23, 2014 The musical has a mixture of Appalachian and classical music;

in ''

'' noted that Danieley (with others) was "especially winning". Danieley starred in the musical ''

The Full Monty ''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film is set ...

'', which premiered at the

Old Globe Theatre The Old Globe is a professional theatre company in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which is collec ...

, San Diego, California in June to July 2000. The musical opened on Broadway in October 2000. He appeared in the

John Kander John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...

and

Fred Ebb Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita ...

musical '' Curtains'' on Broadway in 2007. Composer John Kander wrote the song "I Miss the Music" specifically for the character that Danieley played in ''Curtains''. He played Lt. Joseph Cable, in the Emmy nominated concert version of '' South Pacific'', performed at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

in June 2005. The concert was filmed and aired on PBS'

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is produced by the PBS member statio ...

. He has appeared in London's West End. Danieley joined ''

Next to Normal ''Next to Normal'' is a 2008 American rock musical with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. The story centers on a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effects that managing her illness has on her fam ...

'' on Broadway, replacing

Brian d'Arcy James Brian d'Arcy James (born June 29, 1968) is an American actor and musician. He is known primarily for his Broadway roles, including Shrek in '' Shrek the Musical'', Nick Bottom in '' Something Rotten!'', King George III in '' Hamilton'', and T ...

in the role of Dan on July 19, 2010, opposite his wife, Marin Mazzie, who replaced

Alice Ripley Alice Ripley (born December 14, 1963) is an American actress, singer, songwriter and mixed media artist. She is known, in particular, for her various roles on Broadway in musicals, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' Next to Normal'' (2009 T ...

as Diana. This made them a real-life couple portraying an onstage fictional married couple. He appeared in the New York City Center

Encores! Encores! is a Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, Tony-honored concert series dedicated to reviving United States, American Musical theatre, musicals, usually with their original orchestrations. Presented by New York City Center since 1994, E ...

staged concert of ''

Allegro Allegro may refer to: Common meanings * Allegro (music), a tempo marking that indicates to playing quickly and brightly (from Italian meaning ''cheerful'') * Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement Artistic works * L'Allegro (1645), a poem b ...

'' in March 1994 and '' A Tree Grows in Brooklyn'' in February 2005. He appeared in the Williamstown Theatre Festival (Massachusetts) production of '' The Visit'' in July and August 2014, and again in 2015, when it transferred to Broadway. He appeared in the

Paper Mill Playhouse Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater containing approximately 1,200 seats located in Millburn, within Essex County, New Jersey, United States, on the banks of the Rahway River. Due to its relative proximity to Manhattan, the theater draw ...

(Millburn, New Jersey) production of ''

Can-Can The can-can (also spelled cancan as in the original French /kɑ̃kɑ̃/) is a high-energy, physically demanding dance that became a popular music-hall dance in the 1840s, continuing in popularity in French cabaret to this day. Originally dance ...

'' as "Aristide" in October 2014. He appeared in the musical ''

Pretty Woman ''Pretty Woman'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and written by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), ...

'' in Chicago and on Broadway in 2018–2019. In 2022, Danieley starred as

James Agee James Rufus Agee ( ; November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was an American novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, writing for ''Time'', he was one of the most influential film critics in the United States. His autob ...

in the world premiere of ''

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

'', a new musical written by Frank Galati with music by

Stephen Flaherty Stephen Flaherty (born September 18, 1960) is an American composer of musical theatre and film. He works most often in collaboration with the lyricist/book writer Lynn Ahrens. They are best known for writing the Broadway musicals ''Ragtime'', wh ...

and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens..

Concerts and recording

Danieley's career on and Off-Broadway combined with his classical background led to a natural crossover into singing with most of the country's leading symphonies and pops orchestras. A frequent guest artist with

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and New York Pops and The

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony, founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley, San Francisco, Hayes Valley ne ...

he has also appeared with the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

(at the Hollywood Bowl), St. Louis, Utah, Minnesota and Buffalo Symphonies. Additionally, Danieley and Mazzie appear at smaller venues, such as the Café Carlyle in New York in 2011. Danieley met his wife, Marin Mazzie, in 1996 in an Off-Broadway play that they performed together titled ''Trojan Women: A Love Story''. Danieley and Mazzie recorded their first album ''Opposite You'' on PS Classics, which was released in 2005. '' Variety'' in 2002 wrote: "When they sing, the heart seems to beat a little faster... emotional strength to envelop the listener and melt the heart... This is one savvy pair..." The sfgate.com called them "Broadway's golden couple" in 2002. Danieley launched his solo recording career with the self-titled album ''Jason Danieley & The Frontier Heroes'', combining

Americana music Americana (also known as American roots music) is an amalgam of Music of the United States, American music formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the musical ethos of the United States of America, with particul ...

from the

Great American Songbook The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant 20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Definition According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" is th ...

and Broadway repertoire. The recording was produced by PS Classics and released in 2008. His other recordings include the cast albums of ''Curtains'', ''Floyd Collins'', ''Candide'', ''The Full Monty'', ''Dream True'', ''Secondhand Lions'', the compilation CDs of

Jule Styne Jule Styne ( ; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer widely known for a series of Broadway theatre, Broadway musical theatre, musicals, including several famous frequ ...

in Hollywood, The

Stephen Schwartz Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written hit musicals such as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin (musical), Pippin'' (1972), and ...

Album and two

Boston Pops The Boston Pops is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orc ...

albums, ''A Splash of Pops'' and ''My Favorite Things''. In 2017, Danieley recorded the album "Broadway and Beyond" with Marin Mazzie at 54 Below. The album was released in 2019, after Mazzie's death.

Personal life

Jason Danieley was born in St. Louis to Larry and Carole Danieley. He was married to actress Marin Mazzie from October 19, 1997, until her death on September 13, 2018.

Awards

* 1997:

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, ''Candide'' * 1997:

Drama League Award The Drama League Awards, created in 1922, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing. Each May, the awards ...

, ''Candide'' * 1997: Theatre World Award, ''Candide'' * 2005: Backstage West Award, Honorable Mention, '' 110 In The Shade'' * 2005: Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Musical, ''The Highest Yellow'' (Signature Theatre, Arlington, Virginia)"Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Musical"
awardsandwinners.com; accessed June 23, 2014 * 2007:

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town news ...

nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical, '' Curtains''

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Danieley, Jason 1971 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male musical theatre actors American male television actors American tenors Living people Male actors from St. Louis Musicians from St. Louis Singers from Missouri Theatre World Award winners