| Shuler Hensley | |
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 Hensley outside "Young Frankenstein", February 29, 2008 |
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| Born | Shuler Paul Hensley March 6, 1967 Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Official website | |
Shuler Paul Hensley (born March 6, 1967) is a American singer and actor.
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Biography
Early life
Hensley was born in Atlanta, Georgia. The youngest of three children, Hensley grew up in Marietta, Georgia. His father, Sam P. Hensley, Jr., is a former Georgia Tech football star, retired civil engineer and former state senator. His mother, Iris Antley Hensley, was a ballerina and the Artistic Director of the Georgia Ballet.[1][2] Hensley had an early start in show business at the age of four when he appeared as Fritz in her production of The Nutcracker.
He was educated at The Westminster Schools and attended the University of Georgia on a baseball scholarship. After attending a recital by Jessye Norman and being cast as Judge Turpin in a college production of Sweeney Todd, he decided to leave university after his sophomore year in order to study voice at the Manhattan School of Music where he majored in opera and graduated in 1989. From there he went to the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, and obtained his Master's Degree in 1993.
Career
Hensley's stage career began in the early 1990s with roles such as Pitkin in On the Town, Joe in The Most Happy Fella, and Miles Gloriosus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, He has also sung in the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas Pirates of Penzance and Patience and in the operas Carmen, Faust, La bohème and Don Giovanni. And in addition to an early Oklahoma! casting as Jud Fry at the North Shore Music Theatre, Boston, Shuler also played Curly at the Skylight Opera Theatre, Milwaukee.
In 1996, he went to Hamburg, Germany to perform the title role in The Phantom of the Opera in German.
In 1998, he was cast as Jud Fry for London's National Theatre production of Oklahoma!. The revival was a huge success and Hensley received wonderful personal notices as well as the Olivier Award.
He continued to play the role when the show transferred to the West End (1999), the only United States native in the cast, and then to Broadway (2002-2003) where he won the Tony for his performance. He also won the 2002 Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for the same role.
He has performed on several occasions with Hugh Jackman. They both performed in the musical Oklahoma! in London in 1998, as well as in the films Someone Like You and Van Helsing, in the latter of which Hensley played the Creature.
Hensley was most recently seen in the Broadway production of Young Frankenstein as the Monster. For this role he was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical.[3] He is currently reprising the role in the United States national tour which also features his former co-star Roger Bart and Cory English.[4]
Personal life
Hensley is married to Paula DeRosa and they have two children.
Work
Stage productionsBroadway
Off-Broadway
Other credits
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Filmography
Discography
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References
External links
- Shuler Hensley official website
- Shuler Hensley at the Internet Broadway Database
- Shuler Hensley at the Internet Movie Database
- TonyAwards.com Interview with Shuler Hensley
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