Michael Arden

Michael Jerrod Moore (born October 6, 1982), known professionally as Michael Arden, is an American actor, musician and stage director.

Michael Arden
Arden in May 2018
Born
Michael Jerrod Moore

(1982-10-06) October 6, 1982
Midland, Texas, United States
EducationJuilliard School
OccupationActor, musician, stage director
Years active2003 – present
Spouse(s)
(
m. 2016)

Early life

Growing up in Midland, Texas, he was active in the Pickwick Players, Midland Community Theatre's youth performing company.[1] He was a student at Trinity School, a college preparatory school in Midland. A Presidential Scholar in the arts, he received a scholarship to Interlochen Arts Academy as a theatre student, where he graduated in 2001.[2][3] He was accepted on a full scholarship[4] to the Juilliard School, where he was in the Drama Division's Group 34 (2001–2005).[5] He left Juilliard in 2003 to join the Broadway revival company of the musical Big River.[6]

Career

Theatre

Arden made his Broadway debut as Tom Sawyer in the 2003 Roundabout and Deaf West revival of Big River. He also starred opposite John Hill in the 2004 off-Broadway show Bare, a Pop Opera. In Summer 2005, he played Nick, a sexually promiscuous gay man in love with a shark, in Adam Bock's surreal play Swimming in the Shallows at New York's Second Stage Theatre. He played the title character in Pippin for the World AIDS Day Broadway benefit concert in November 2004. He starred in the new Twyla Tharp musical The Times They Are A-Changin' based on the music of Bob Dylan.[7]The Times ran January 25 to March 5, 2006 at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California and then on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre from October 26, 2006 to November 19, 2006.[8] In 2007 he starred as John Robert in Ace, at the Old Globe Theatre from January 13 to February 18.[9] In the summer of 2007 he toured Europe with Barbra Streisand as one of her "Broadway Boys."[6][10] From July to September 2010 he played the lead role in a revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Aspects of Love at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London.[11][12][13]

Arden's regional theatre credits include Pippin, God of Vengeance, Falsettoland, Tom Jones' Harold and Maude, West Side Story, Songs for a New World, The Common Pursuit and The Winter's Tale.

Beginning in October 2014, Arden played the role of Quasimodo in the new musical The Hunchback of Notre Dame at San Diego's La Jolla Playhouse.[14][15] The production ran from October 26 - December 7, 2014 and at Paper Mill Playhouse from March 4-April 5, 2015.[16]

Arden directed Deaf West Theatre's acclaimed Broadway revival of Spring Awakening. The production marked his return to Deaf West and featured a cast made up of both deaf and hearing actors, performed simultaneously in American Sign Language and English. The production began in a small theater near Los Angeles' Skid Row in September 2014, transferred to the Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills in May 2015, and finally transferred to Broadway, where it began previews September 8, 2015 and opened on September 27th, 2015 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.[17] On May 3, 2016 Arden received a Tony Award nomination in the category Best Direction of a Musical for his work on the Spring Awakening revival.[18]

Arden went on to direct the musical My Fair Lady at the Bay Street Theater in Southampton, New York in August 2016.[19] He then returned as the first Artist-in-Residence at the Wallis Annenberg Center, where he directed productions of The Pride and Merrily We Roll Along,[20] for which he earned a 2017 Ovation Awards nomination for Best Director of a Musical.[21]

Arden directed the first Broadway revival of the musical Once on This Island, which began previews on November 9, 2017 and opened on December 3 at the Circle in the Square Theatre, where it ran until January 6, 2019. The acclaimed revival, noted for its gender fluid casting [22] and inspired staging, has been nominated for 7 Drama Desk Awards[23] and eight Tony Awards, including a second Best Director Tony nomination for Arden.[24] The cast includes Hailey Kilgore and Alex Newell in their Broadway debuts as Ti Moune and Asaka, Lea Salonga as Erzulie, and Merle Dandridge as Papa Ge.[25]

Next, Arden directed Annie at the Hollywood Bowl in July 2018 for the venue's annual summer musical production, with a cast including Ana Gasteyer as Miss Hannigan, Lea Salonga as Grace Farrell, and Megan Hilty as Lily St Regis.[26] Following this Arden was slated to direct Jefferson Mays in his one-man adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol at Los Angeles' Geffen Playhouse beginning October 2018.[27] Michael Arden will direct the American premiere of the musical Maybe Happy Ending at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, GA in January 2020.[28]

Television

He has appeared on ABC's Grey's Anatomy (episode "17 Seconds" as Neal Hannigan [29]) and in Numb3rs for CBS. He has also been seen co-starring with Donald Trump in a Domino's Pizza television commercial,[30] and with Regis and Kelly in a 2006 Commerce Bank commercial. He was cast in the Fox show The Return of Jezebel James, which aired and was cancelled after three episodes in the spring of 2008. Arden recently had a recurring role in the NBC series Kings as Joseph, the secret boyfriend of the closeted gay heir to the throne, Prince Jack Benjamin. He also guest starred in an episode of The Closer as James Clark, a schizophrenic murder suspect, as well as guest starring in an episode of Bones as Harold Prescott. He will be starring alongside Radha Mitchell, Jeffrey Nordling, and John Heard in the new A&E drama The Quickening. Producers of The Good Wife announced in August 2011 that Arden had been cast in a recurring role as a potential love interest for the recurring character Owen Cavanaugh (Dallas Roberts).[31] He starred alongside Charlie Sheen in the FX series Anger Management.[32]

Film

Having also worked in film, he is a featured actor in director Colin Spoelman's independent effort Underground, the story of five friends who become trapped inside a cave system deep below a mountain ridge in central Kentucky. Arden's more recent work included the 2011 movie Source Code, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. He also appeared as Kevin in the film Bride Wars. [33][34]

Composing and writing

As a composer, Arden has written several works, including Easter Rising,[35] As You Like It, and Ripley.

Theatre credits
Acting
Year Production Role Category
2003 Big River Tom Sawyer Broadway
2004 Bare Peter Off-Broadway
2005 Pippin Pippin Regional (concert)
2005 Swimming in the Shallows Nick Off-Broadway
2005 The Secret Garden Dickon New York (concert)
2006 The Times They Are A-Changin' Coyote Regional
Broadway
2007 Ace John Robert Regional
2014–2015 The Hunchback of Notre Dame Quasimodo Regional
2019 King Lear Aide to Cornwall Broadway
Directing
Year Production Credit Category
2008 A Tale of Two Cities Assistant Director Broadway
2014–2015 Spring Awakening Director Los Angeles (Deaf West Theatre)
2015–2016 Broadway
2016 My Fair Lady Director Regional
2016 Merrily We Roll Along Director Los Angeles
2017 The Pride Director Los Angeles
2017–2019 Once on This Island Director Broadway
2018 Annie Director Los Angeles
2019 Maybe Happy Ending Director Atlanta

Filmography
GenreYearTitleRoleEpisodesNotes
TV series2006Numb3rsWhitley"Backscatter"
TV series2006Grey's AnatomyNeal Hannigan"17 Seconds"
Film2006The Good ShepherdPinafore Actor
TV series2008Cashmere MafiaDenis"Dog Eat Dog"
TV series2008The Return of Jezebel JamesBuddy"Pilot"
"Frankenstein Baby"
"Needles and Schlag"
TV series2009BonesHarold Prescott"The Bond in the Boot"
Film2009Bride WarsKevin
Film2009The Cave MovieSam
TV series2009The CloserJames Clark"Identity Theft"
TV series2009KingsJoseph Lasile"First Night"
"The Sabbath Queen"
"Pilgrimage"
TV series2010The ForgottenJames Poole"Mama Jane"
TV series2011The Good WifeFinn"Get a Room"
Short film2011Nurse JackéeGabe
TV series2011Off the MapPher"Everything's as It Should Be"
"Hold on Tight"
TV series2011UnforgettableJoe Williams"Lost Things"
Film2011Source CodeDerek Frost
TV series2012–2014 Anger ManagementPatrickAll EpisodesMain Cast
TV series2012GCBReverend Steve Stewart"Pride Comes Before a Fall"
"Adam & Eve's Rib"
TV series2012The MentalistEvan Kress"War of the Roses"
TV series2012Nurse JackieGabe"Slow Growing Monsters"
Film2012The Odd Life of Timothy GreenDoug Wert
TV series2012Royal PainsHomer"Some Pig"

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result
2015 Ovation Awards Direction of a Musical Spring Awakening Won
2016 Tony Awards Best Direction of a Musical Nominated
Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Director of a Musical Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Awards Outstanding Director of a Musical Won
2018 Tony Awards Best Direction of a Musical Once on This Island Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Awards Outstanding Director of a Musical Nominated

Personal life

He was born to a very young mother who also struggled with drugs and alcohol. When he was two years old, his father died by suicide. Arden went on to live with his grandparents who raised him from a very young age in Midland, Texas.[36] He remembers the moment he caught the acting bug when he was only four years old. His grandparents had taken him to see Sesame Street Live and he says there's a memorable picture of him in which he is just on the edge of his seat, absolutely mesmerized. "It's almost as if I'm trying to get on the stage," he says. He also found a great theatrical outlet through his community theater company called the Pickwick Players.[37] Arden also found a mentor at the Episcopal school he attended, his English teacher, Shelly Wright. He says he asked his grandparents to let him build theatrical sets in their own garage.[38]

Arden is openly gay.[39] He first came out to his English teacher. But it took longer to tell his Southern Baptist grandparents. They both died in 2014.[37]

Arden got engaged to fellow Broadway and TV actor Andy Mientus on June 23, 2014. He and Mientus had both planned proposals to each other the same day without the other knowing.[40] They married on August 18, 2016, at Babington House, Somerset, England.[41] They have been together since 2010.[42] The two first met in 2006 during the opening night party of the Broadway show The Times They Are-a-Changin', in which Arden was a performer.

gollark: Yet osmarkscalculator™ is "done" and ""working"".
gollark: Perl?
gollark: So I can't work on it due to sheer unsafety.
gollark: But it's in C.
gollark: Clearly they need to rewrite in Rust.

See also

References
  1. Wong, Wayman (April 1, 2004). "THE LEADING MEN: Candor and Ebb". Playbill.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2007.
  2. "Interlochen alumni in 2016 Tony-nominated productions - Interlochen Center for the Arts". Interlochen.org. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  3. "Interview with Michael Arden". Thetheatretimes.com. 8 December 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  4. "Broadway singer, actor comes home for performance". Midland Reporter-Telegram. 20 October 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  5. "Alumni News". Juilliard School. September 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-11-11.
  6. Nondorf, Tom (2 July 2007). "THE LEADING MEN: Streisand's 'Boys' — Arden, Lockyer, McDermott and Panaro". Playbill.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  7. Brantley, Ben (27 October 2006). "The Times They Are A-Changin' - Theater - Review". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  8. Sheffield, Rob; Sheffield, Rob (30 November 2006). "Bob Dylan Musical: The Times They Are A-Endin'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  9. Gans, Andrew (13 January 2007). "New Musical Ace, With Michael Arden, Begins Old Globe Run Jan. 13". Playbill.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  10. Fung, Lisa. "Michael Arden, man of the moment in L.A. theater, stages a revival of a famously 'troubled' musical". Latimes.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  11. Blank, Matthew (10 August 2010). "PLAYBILL.COM'S CUE & A: Aspects of Love Star Michael Arden". Playbill.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  12. Billington, Michael (16 July 2010). "Aspects of Love - Theatre review". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  13. Benedict, David; Benedict, David (19 July 2010). "Aspects of Love". Variety.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  14. "A First Look at La Jolla Playhouse's Hunchback of Notre Dame, Starring Michael Arden and Patrick Page". Playbill.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  15. Charles McNulty. "'Hunchback of Notre Dame' at La Jolla has identity crisis". Latimes.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  16. Isherwood, Charles (18 March 2015). "Review: 'Hunchback of Notre Dame' at Paper Mill Playhouse". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  17. "Spring Awakening". Broadway.com.
  18. "'Spring Awakening' and Deaf West's unlikely road to three Tony nominations". Latimes.com. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
  19. "Michael Arden Will Direct My Fair Lady This Summer". Playbill.com. 2016-02-26.
  20. Ng, David. "Wallis 2016-17 season to feature Simon McBurney, Peter Brook, plus 'Merrily We Roll Along'". Los Angeles Times.
  21. Hetrick, Adam (2017-11-02). "Michael Arden, Carmen Cusack, Merrily We Roll Along Earn L.A. Ovation Award Nominations". Playbill.com.
  22. Green, Jesse (6 January 2019). "Review: 'Once on This Island,' Revived and Ravishing". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  23. McPhee, Ryan (2018-04-26). "Carousel, SpongeBob SquarePants, Mean Girls Lead 2018 Drama Desk Award Nominations". Playbill.com.
  24. Libbey, Peter (May 2018). "Tony Awards 2018: Full List of Nominations". The New York Times.
  25. Clement, Olivia (2017-08-08). "Lea Salonga, Alex Newell, and More Join Once On This Island on Broadway". Playbill.com.
  26. Gans, Andrew (2018-02-21). "Michael Arden Will Direct Annie at the Hollywood Bowl". Playbill.com.
  27. "Michael Arden to Direct Jefferson Mays in One-Man A Christmas Carol". TheaterMania.com.
  28. "Jerry Mitchell and Michael Arden Will Helm New Musicals During Alliance Theatre's 51st Season". Playbill.
  29. "17 Seconds". IMDb.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  30. "Michael Arden Pizza!". YouTube. 29 April 2006. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  31. "Exclusive: Good Wife Gives Alicia's Bro a Beau". Tvline.com. 2011-08-16. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  32. "Michael Arden to Join Cast of Charlie Sheen's ANGER MANAGEMENT". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  33. "Kristen Johnston cast in 'Bride Wars'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  34. Burr, Ty (9 January 2009). "Bride Wars". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  35. Gans, Andrew. "Easter Rises at Joe's Pub — with Arden, Butler and Pasquale — Dec. 21" Archived 2011-06-29 at the Wayback Machine. Playbill.com. September 13, 2004.
  36. Fung, Lisa (November 28, 2016). "Michael Arden, man of the moment in L.A. theater, stages a revival of a famously 'troubled' musical". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  37. Medina, Monica (October 17, 2014). "Gay Broadway actor brings Quasimodo to town". Gay San Diego. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  38. "Interview with Deaf West's director for SPRING AWAKENING, Michael Arden". Theplaybillcollector.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  39. Wong, Curtis (August 10, 2012). "Michael Arden Dishes His Upcoming NYC Gig, Charlie Sheen And Barbra Streisand". Huffington Post.
  40. "Michael Arden on Instagram". Instagram.com. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  41. Avery, Dan. "Broadway Boys Andy Mientus And Michael Arden Got Married - NewNowNext". Newnownext.com. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  42. Mientus, Andy (2015-11-14). "Instagram". Instagram.com. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
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