Jeffry Denman is an American actor, director, choreographer and author.

Early life

Denman was born and raised in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, and graduated from the

University of Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

as a Musical Theatre Dance major.

Career

He made his

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

debut in the 1995 revival of '' How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,'' played

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 closing company of ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

'' and understudied

Matthew Broderick Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. He starred in ''WarGames'' (1983) as a teen government hacker, and ''Ladyhawke (film), Ladyhawke'' (1985), a medieval fantasy alongside Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. He play ...

in the original cast of '' The Producers''. He was the assistant choreographer and understudy for the role of

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

in the

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 ...

musical revue ''If Love Were All'' in 1999. At

New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street (Manhattan), 55th Street between Sixth Avenue, Six ...

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 ...

concert series he played Jenkins in ''

Of Thee I Sing ''Of Thee I Sing'' is a musical with a score by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for Preside ...

'' (2006) and Pat Mason, Jr. in '' Face the Music'' (2007). In 2004 he originated the role of Phil Davis opposite

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 ...

Anastasia Barzee Anastasia Barzee is an American Broadway and West End actress. Career Barzee originated the role of Betty Haynes in '' White Christmas'' (2004-2006 tour). She also originated the role of Josephine in the West End cast of ''Napoleon'' (2000) ...

and

Meredith Patterson Meredith Ann Patterson (born November 24, 1975) is an American musical theatre and television actress. She is best known for her Broadway performances such as Peggy Sawyer in 2001 Revival of "42nd Street", '' The Boy Friend'', and '' White Christ ...

in the World Premiere production of '' Irving Berlin's White Christmas'' at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. In 2008 he starred in the original Broadway production opposite

Stephen Bogardus Stephen Bogardus (born March 11, 1954) is an American actor. He originated the role of Whizzer in the Broadway musical, ''Falsettos''. Biography Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Bogardus graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall in 1972 and Princeton Unive ...

and

. He co-starred in

Ken Ludwig Ken Ludwig is an American playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose work has been performed in more than 30 countries in over 20 languages. He has had eight productions in London's West End and six productions on Broadway, and his 34 ...

's musical ''The Gershwins' An American in Paris'' at the

Alley Theatre Alley Theatre is a Tony Award-winning theatre company in Houston, Texas. It is the oldest professional theatre company in Texas and the third oldest resident theatre in the United States. Alley Theatre productions have played on Broadway at Lin ...

, Houston, Texas, in 2008. The ''Houston Chronicle'' wrote of him: a "song-and-dance man in the classic tradition, Denman is a natural scene-stealer." In 2009, he played the Baker in the

Wells Fargo Pavilion The UC Davis Health Pavilion is a theatre venue, located in Sacramento, California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to th ...

production of ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

''. In 2010 he choreographed and played the role of Artie in the Off-Broadway premiere of ''

Yank! ''Yank! A WWII Love Story'' is a 2005 Musical theatre, musical with book and lyrics by David Zellnik and music by his brother Joseph Zellnik, Joseph. ''Yank!'' "tells the story of Stu, a scared Midwestern kid who gets drafted for World War II in ...

'': ''a World War II Love Story'' by Joseph and David Zellnik and was nominated for a 2010

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 ...

for Best Featured Actor in a musical as well as a 2010

Lucille Lortel Award The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres ...

for Best Choreography. He appeared as Lee Tannen in the world premiere production of ''I Loved Lucy'', a play based on the best selling memoir by Lee Tannen, produced by the Laguna Playhouse in October 2010. In 2012, he played the Narrator in the Center Stage (theater), Baltimore Center Stage and Westport Country Playhouse production of ''

''. He played the role of Michael in John Kander and Greg Pierce's musical, ''Kid Victory'' in both the Signature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia), Signature Theatre world premiere in 2015 as well as the subsequent Off-Broadway Vineyard Theatre production in 2017. He received a 2016 Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical-HAYES Production, and his second

nomination for his performance. In 2016 he founded Denman Theatre & Dance Co. In 2019, Denman played Bruce in a regional production of Fun Home (musical), ''Fun Home'' at Baltimore Center Stage. He is the author of ''A Year With The Producers:One Actor's Exhausting (But Worth It) Journey from Cats to Mel Brooks' Mega-Hit'' (Routledge, 2002).

Personal life

Jeffry and Erin Crouch were married in August 2008.(no author)
"Erin Crouch, Jeffry Denman"
''New York Times'', August 16, 2008 Divorced 2017. Jeffry and Sophie Quist were married in September 2022 in Estes Park, Colorado.

Recordings

*''Kid Victory'' (Off Broadway Cast Recording) *''Passion (musical)'' (CSC Off Broadway recording) *'' Face the Music'' (Encores! Cast Recording) *Irving Berlin's ''White Christmas (musical), White Christmas'' (Studio Cast Recording) *Stage Door Canteen: Broadway Responds to World War II (92nd Street Y Concert Cast Recording) *'' The Producers'' (Original Broadway Cast) *'' How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' (1995 Revival Cast Recording)

References

External links

* * *
"The Leading Men: Garber, York and Denman"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denman, Jeffry American male musical theatre actors Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Actors from Buffalo, New York