Andy Karl is an American actor and singer, best known for performing in musical theatre. He has appeared on Broadway in the original productions of Legally Blonde, 9 to 5, and Rocky the Musical, as well as appearing in Wicked, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Jersey Boys and And So It Goes.
Early life
Andy Karl was born in Baltimore, Maryland to Walter and Susan. He attended Towson High School, where he was on the football team and performed in theater. In high school he played Jud Fry in "Oklahoma!" and General Bullmoose in Li'l Abner. At age 16 he performed as the title role in Aladdin at the White Marsh Dinner Theatre. After high school he attended Towson State University, where he studied voice and music. Karl originally planned on becoming a voice teacher until the director of a show he was in at college told him he had what it took to be a professional actor. Karl continued to perform in shows while in college. He played the 7½ foot dragon in the children's musical The Reluctant Dragon at Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia, Maryland in the Winter of 1993â€"1994.
Career
Karl moved to New York in 1994. He was an understudy in the touring cast of The Who's Tommy and in 1998 played Rum Tum Tugger in the touring cast of Cats. In February 2000 Karl was an understudy in the New York premiere of Sondheim's Saturday Night at the Second Stage Theatre. He made his Broadway debut in 2000 as the replacement for Joey in Saturday Night Fever. He continued with the production, this time in the role of Tony Manero, in its first national tour. In 2001 he performed in the musical stage production Me and Mrs. Jones at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia.
Karl was next seen as Dino Del Canto in the world premiere of the musical Romeo and Bernadette at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami, Florida. The show, which ran in January 2003, garnered Karl a Carbonell Award for Best Actor in a musical. He reprised the role at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Milburn, New Jersey in February and March, 2003.
Karl was also seen at the Paper Mill Playhouse later that year, when he performed as Danny Zuko in Grease from June to July in 2003. In January 2004 he performed in the musical revue Nights on Broadway II at Caesar's Palace in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Karl played Luke in the premiere of Altar Boyz at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in September 2004. He then left the New York area to tour in the original company of Disney's On the Record. Karl returned to New York to play Luke in the Off-Broadway production of Altar Boyz, which opened on March 1, 2005 at Stage 4 of Dodger Stages (now New World Stages).
On September 26, 2005, Karl performed in the Actor's Fund Concert production of On the Twentieth Century. Karl's next role was the title character Adam Patterson in the Off-Broadway musical Slut at the American Theatre of Actors in Fall 2005.
In January 2006 Karl was in the three-person cast of Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love, a celebration of the music of Elvis Presley, at the now-closed Au Bar. In June and July of that year, Karl starred as Tad in the musical Bright Lights, Big City at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia. He then joined the Broadway cast of The Wedding Singer at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, where he played the roles of Drunk Dave and Bad Haircut Guy until the show closed at the end of 2006.
Karl's next role was in Legally Blonde, where he played Kyle "the UPS guy", Dewey, and Grandmaster Chad at the Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco, where the musical had its pre-Broadway tryout from January 23 to February 24, 2007. He reprised his roles in the Broadway production, which started previews on April 3 and opened on April 29, 2007 at the Palace Theatre. He was also an understudy to Emmett and Professor Callahan. He left the show on July 20, 2008.
Karl briefly left Legally Blonde in June 2007 to work on 9 to 5 in its week-long workshop. After leaving Legally Blonde, Karl continued working on the musical 9 to 5. He played Joe, the love interest of Allison Janney's character, in the pre-Broadway tryout in Los Angeles. The show played at the Ahmanson Theatre from September 3 to October 19, 2008. The show opened on Broadway on April 30, 2009 at the Marquis Theatre, and closed on September 6, 2009.
Karl took over the role of Fiyero from Kevin Kern in the Broadway production of Wicked on February 2, 2010 and played the role until January 2, 2011.
He took over the role Tommy Devito in the Broadway production of Jersey Boys on October 11, 2011.
Karl played Neville Landless in the Broadway revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood which opened on November 29, 2012 at Studio 54. For this performance, he was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical.
Karl and Margo Seibert are currently featured as Rocky Balboa and Adrian in the new Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty musical Rocky the Musical, which opened on Broadway in February 2014. In order to get into shape to play Rocky Balboa, Karl put on 12 pounds of muscle and worked with a trainer to get to a heavyweight fighter’s weight. Karl received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for this performance.
Personal life
Karl met his wife Orfeh while in Saturday Night Fever together. They were married in January 2001 and now reside in Manhattan. In addition to Saturday Night Fever, they have also been seen together in "Me and Mrs. Jones," "Nights on Broadway II," Bright Lights, Big City and Legally Blonde.
Stage credits
- Broadway
- Rocky the Musical
- Mystery of Edwin Drood
- Jersey Boys
- Wicked
- 9 to 5:The Musical
- Legally Blonde
- The Wedding Singer
- Saturday Night Fever
- Off-Broadway
- Slut
- Altar Boyz
- Saturday Night
- Tours
- On the Record
- Saturday Night Fever
- Cats
- The Who's Tommy
- Regional
- Bright Lights, Big City
- Grease
- Romeo and Bernadette
References
External links
- AndyKarl.com
- Andy Karl at the Internet Movie Database
- Star File: Andy Karl
- Fresh Face: Andy Karl
- Video Feature: In Rehearsal: Altar Boyz
- Video Feature: Opening Night: Altar Boyz