Scott Wise (born October 30, 1958) is an American theatre actor and dancer. He is known for his performances in the 1989 musical '' Jerome Robbins' Broadway'', which earned him a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

, and in the 2002 film ''

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 ...

''. Wise was nominated for three

s (winning one), two

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 ...

s, an

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 ...

, and a Helen Hayes Award in his career.

Life and career

Wise was born in

Pocatello, Idaho Pocatello () is the county seat of and the largest city in Bannock County, Idaho, Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, Idaho, Power County, containing the city's airport. It is t ...

, and grew up near

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, living briefly in

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

. Although a life-trained dancer, Wise first became seriously interested in dance as a career while studying to become an accountant at the University of Idaho at Moscow. He performed with the Joffrey II, then moved into musical theater in the early 1980s after auditioning for ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical conceived by Michael Bennett 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 cent ...

'' "as a dare more than anything." Wise won the

in 1989 in the category of Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance in the

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

'' Jerome Robbins' Broadway''. In that revue, Wise played multiple roles, including "Riff" in ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

'' and "Chip" in '' On the Town''. Wise was nominated twice more in the same category for his performances in ''

State Fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in t ...

'' (1996) and '' Fosse'' (1999). In addition to playing the Drill Sergeant and Sergeant O'Leary in the rock

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, '' Movin' Out'' (2002), Wise was

Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1965 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance, which merged with American Ballet Theatre in 1988. She regrouped the compa ...

's assistant choreographer and assistant director. Wise choreographed 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 Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

'' A Class Act'' in 2000. a regional production of The Who's ''Tommy'' and the national tour of '' Leader of the Pack''.

Personal life

Wise is married to dancer Elizabeth Parkinson, with whom he has a son. His daughter, actress Savannah Wise, is from his first marriage, to dancer and choreographer Kiel Junius. In October 2006, Wise and Parkinson opened their studio, FineLine Theatre Arts, in

New Milford, Connecticut New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town, part of Greater Danbury, as well as the New York Metropolitan Area, has a population of 28,115 as of the 2020 census. New Milford lies north of Danbury on the ...

Stage credits

Source:Playbill Vault "Scott Wise Broadway Credits and Awards"
playbillvault.com, accessed July 29, 2015 * 1982 ''

'' * 1984 ''

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 ...

'' * 1985 '' Song and Dance'' * 1988 '' Carrie'' * 1989 '' Jerome Robbins' Broadway'' * 1992 ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...

'' * 1993 '' The Goodbye Girl'' * 1994 ''

Damn Yankees ''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., d ...

'' * 1995 '' Victor/Victoria'' * 1996 ''

'' *1997 ''Lucky in the Rain'' (

Goodspeed Opera House Goodspeed Musicals is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theater and the creation of new works, located in East Haddam, Connecticut. Its landmark Goodspeed Opera House is a distinctive feature of ...

) Nassour, Ellis
"Scott Wise Gets Lucky in Goodspeed's New Musical, Aug. 1"
playbill.com, August 1, 1997 * 1999 '' Fosse'' * 2002 '' Movin' Out'' * 2015 ''

Allegiance An allegiance is a duty of fidelity said to be owed, or freely committed, by the people, subjects or citizens to their state or sovereign. Etymology The word ''allegiance'' comes from Middle English ' (see Medieval Latin ', "a liegance"). The ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, Scott Living people American male musical theatre actors American male dancers Film directors from Idaho Tony Award winners 1950 births