P.J. Benjamin (born September 2, 1951) is an American actor known for his work in theatre.

Career

A native of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, Benjamin 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 1973 revival of ''

The Pajama Game ''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell. The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. Dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his chor ...

''. He has since performed in at least seven other Broadway shows as well as various touring,

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 ...

, and

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

productions. Benjamin is best known for his performances as Amos Hart in ''

'' and the Wizard of Oz in ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * ''Wicked'' (Maguire novel), a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', a 1997 novel series collaboration between Australian children's authors Paul Jennings and Morris ...

''. Between 1997 and 2006, he played Amos in the Broadway production and two national tours of ''Chicago''. The musical shared on its official Facebook page that Benjamin had performed as Amos on Broadway for 1,989 days, which was "more than any other actor for any other character" in the production as of November 2011. He joined ''Wicked''s first North American tour as the Wizard in 2006. He played the Wizard on Broadway from 2008 to 2011, performed in the tour in 2012, and returned to the Broadway production in 2015 and again in 2017. Outside his work in theatre, Benjamin has appeared in films and television series, including ''

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

'', ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'', and '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''.

Personal life

He is married to actress Louisa Flaningam.

Theatre credits

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, P. J. Living people 1951 births Male actors from Chicago 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male stage actors American male musical theatre actors