"Gruber makes it look so easy when it’s not. He is appealing as the love-struck Lockwood, singing romantic ballads like 'You Stepped Out of a Dream' and 'You Were Meant for Me.' He’s even better in his dance-intensive numbers – 'Fit as a Fiddle,' 'Moses Supposes' and the 'Broadway Ballet,' in which he plays a young hoofer who wins success on the stage but loses the seductive Woman in Green he adores."--Wichita Eagle

Bio:
Michael Gruber (Don Lockwood) returns to MTW where he first played Don Lockwood, a role with which he has subsequently become associated in productions around the country, including Paper Mill Playhouse and Sacramento Music Theatre, plus the cast album on Jay Records. When Michael made his MTW debut with this show, he had recently been seen in the final Broadway cast of A Chorus Line, and was currently appearing in the original Broadway cast of Miss Saigon. This time, he comes to MTW directly from the new Broadway musical Swing!, on whose cast album he can also be heard. Michael other Broadway credits include The Wizard of Oz, My Favorite Year, and as Munkustrap in Cats, a role he repeated for the video version filmed in London. MTW audiences will remember Michael from his starring roles in Good News! (and cast album), Anything Goes, West Side Story, and our Valentine show, Songs of Unlikely Lovers. Other regional credits include Follies, Falsettos, Kiss Me Kate, Oklahoma!, Joseph...Dreamcoat, Carnival!, My One and Only, and Dreamgirls. He has toured in West Side Story and Tommy, and headlined in the musical comedy revue History of Sex in Las Vegas. Besides the cast albums already mentioned, he can be heard on recordings of Wonderful Town, 42nd Street, The Most Happy Fella and Follies. He is currently working on an original musical play, Hypatia (composer, co-lyricist), with his collaborator Jennifer Allen.

Photos and ads

Photos from the special performance playbill

Playbill cover

Special Matinee playbill cover

Cast


Preview from The Wichita Eagle

Review from The Wichita Ealge

Article about a special matinee performance


Productions Index

main Library page