Eric Anderson (actor)

For other people with the same name, see Eric Anderson (disambiguation).

Eric Anderson (born December 14, 1972) is an American actor and singer. On Broadway, he has originated roles in Waitress, Kinky Boots, The Last Ship, Rocky, and Soul Doctor, and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. He portrayed Mr. O’Malley in The Greatest Showman (2017).

Eric Anderson
Anderson in 2015
Born	(1972-12-14) December 14, 1972 (age 51) Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Occupations	Actor voice actor singer
Years active	1997–present
Known for	Waitress Moulin Rouge!
Spouse	Jessica Rush ​ (m. 2011)​
Children	1

Career in California

In 2006, Anderson won the inaugural Joel Hirschhorn award for outstanding achievement in musical theatre, awarded by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle.^[1] He received two San Diego Critics Circle Craig Noel Awards^[2] and multiple Back Stage West Garland Awards as best actor in a musical.

His performances on the West Coast have included Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha, Dr. Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, Richard M. Nixon in Judy's Scary Little Christmas, and Burrs in both versions of The Wild Party. Anderson is a member of the Troubadour Theater Company.

He left California in 2007 to play Merlyn in a U.S. national tour of Camelot opposite Michael York, and moved to New York in 2008. In 2020, he returned to the West Coast to play Captain Hook in Fly at La Jolla Playhouse.

Broadway

In 2009, Anderson made his Broadway debut as Stewpot in the Tony award-winning revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center.^[3] He was in the original Broadway casts of Kinky Boots,^[4] written by Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper, Rocky the Musical, The Last Ship written by Sting, and Soul Doctor at the Circle in the Square Theatre,^[5] where he received critical acclaim^[6] for his starring role as Shlomo Carlebach. Anderson was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical^[7] for his portrayal in the pre-Broadway production at New York Theatre Workshop. Anderson originated the role of Cal in the musical adaption of Waitress on Broadway, written by Sara Bareilles.^[8] Anderson also played the role of Barney Thompson in the musical adaptation of Pretty Woman. In 2022, he took over the role of Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge! at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre; after Danny Burstein’s departure from the show.

Film and television

Anderson portrayed Mr. O'Malley in The Greatest Showman (2017), and has had guest roles on television, including Elementary, The Good Wife, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Alias.^[9]

Personal life

Anderson is married to actress Jessica Rush, and has a daughter, Elliot.^{[citation needed]}

Theatre credits

Year	Title	Role	Theatre	Director(s)	Ref.
2007	Camelot	Merlyn u/s King Arthur u/s King Pellinore	National tour	Glenn Casale	^[citation needed]
2009	South Pacific	Stewpot (replacement)	Lincoln Center	Bartlett Sher	^[citation needed]
2013	Kinky Boots	Ensemble	Al Hirschfeld Theatre	Jerry Mitchell	^[10]
	Soul Doctor	Shlomo Carlebach	Circle in the Square Theatre	Daniel Wise	^[11]
2014	Rocky: The Musical	Gazzo, Tommy Crosetti, Rocky's Cornerman	Winter Garden Theatre	Alex Timbers	^[12]
	Death Note: The Musical	Ryuk	English concept album and workshop
2014–2015	The Last Ship	Freddy Newlands	Neil Simon Theatre	Joe Mantello	^[citation needed]
2015	Parade	Detective J.N. Starnes	Lincoln Center	Gary Griffin	^[13]
	Waitress	Cal	American Repertory Theater (out-of-town tryout)	Diane Paulus	^[14]^[15]
2016–2017			Brooks Atkinson Theatre		^[16]
2017	Moulin Rouge!	Harold Zidler	Unknown, Workshop
2018–2019	Pretty Woman: The Musical	Happy Man / Barney Thompson	Nederlander Theatre	Jerry Mitchell	^[17]
2021	Waitress	Cal	Ethel Barrymore Theatre	Diane Paulus	^[18]
2022-2024	Moulin Rouge!	Harold Zidler	Al Hirschfeld Theatre	Alex Timbers	^[19]
2024	The Great Gatsby	Meyer Wolfshiem	Broadway Theatre	Marc Bruni	^[20]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated Work	Result
2006	Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award	Joel Hirschhorn Award for outstanding achievement in musical theatre		Won
2013	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Actor in a Musical	Soul Doctor	Nominated

References

1. . Archived from the original on 2007-02-20. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
2. "2002 Awards".
3. Pacific News, New York Theater Guide, January 9, 2006
4. . Archived from the original on 2013-02-02. Retrieved 2013-01-31.
5. Hetrick, Adam. "Shlomo Carlebach Musical Soul Doctor Will Play Broadway's Circle in the Square This Summer; Eric Anderson Will Star" playbill.com, May 29, 2013
6. Hetrick, Adam. "The Verdict: Critics Review Shlomo Carlebach Musical 'Soul Doctor' On Broadway" playbill.com, August 16, 2013
7. Clark, Jason. "Tom Hanks, Bette Midler and Steve Martin among 2013 Drama Desk Nominations" popwatch.ew.com, April 29, 2013
8. Viagas, Robert. "Christopher Fitzgerald Joins Cast of Broadway Bound Waitress" playbill.com, November 4, 2015
9. Eric Anderson at IMDb
10. . playbillvault.com. Playbill. p. 4. Archived from the original on September 19, 2013.
11. Zinoman, Jason (August 15, 2012). "TReligious Roots Tangle With the Groovy '60s". The New York Times.
12. . Playbill. November 25, 2013. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014.
13. parade lincoln center
14. "Jessie Mueller to Star in Sara Bareilles 'Waitress'" gulfnews.com
15. "Sara Bareilles' Waitress Musical, Starring Jessie Mueller, Reveals Complete Cast". Playbill. June 22, 2015.
16. "'Waitress' Musical Adds Kimiko Glenn of 'Orange is the New Black'". Variety. November 5, 2015.
17. Clement, Olivia (November 22, 2017). "'Pretty Woman' Musical Finds Its Broadway Home, Sets Summer 2018 Opening"". Playbill.
18. Opening Up…Again: Waitress Returns to Broadway September 2
19. Eric Anderson Joins Cast of Broadway's Moulin Rouge the Musical
20. Noah J. Ricketts, Samantha Pauly, Eric Anderson, and More Join the Cast of THE GREAT GATSBY on Broadway

External links

• Official website
• Eric Anderson at the Internet Broadway Database
• Eric Anderson at IMDb