BWW Flashback: Relive the Many Roles of Will Chase!
By: Nicole Ciravolo Jun. 28, 2018
BroadwayWorld recently announced that stage and screen star Will Chase will join Kelli O'Hara in the Broadway-bound Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Kiss Me, Kate. Roundabout welcomes back longtime friends of the theater: Tony winner Kelli O'Hara who was nominated for her role in the 2006 revival of The Pajama Game opposite Harry Connick, Jr., and Will Chase returns to Roundabout following his Tony nominated role in 2012 revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. In 2016, O'Hara and Chase also starred in a sold-out benefit concert reading of Kiss Me, Kate directed by Scott Ellis.
In preparation for Chase making his return to the stage, let's take a look back at his work, on and off Broadway.
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is an epic love story about the relationship between an American GI and a young Vietnamese woman. Chase plays Chris, an American soldier who falls in love with Kim.
RENT: Filmed Live on Broadway
Rent tells the unforgettable story of a group of young artists learning to survive, falling in love, finding their voices and living for today. Chase plays Roger who is an HIV+ ex-junkie and struggling musician.
High Fidelity
High Fidelity tells the sad-funny tale of Rob, a thirty-something, indie record store owner who knows everything there is to know about music but nothing about holding on to girlfriends. Chase plays Rob, and in this clip, sings about his top five break-ups.
Something Rotten
Something Rotten! is a hit musical set in Renaissance England featuring a rock-star take on the infamous bard: William Shakespeare. Check out Will Chase as Shakespeare in the clip above, singing the concert-like number "Will Power".
Smash
Smash was a television musical drama that celebrated the beauty and heartbreak of the Broadway theater; it followed a cross-section of dreamers and schemers who all have one common desire - to be a Broadway star. Will Chase played Michael Swift, who played Joe DiMaggio in the Broadway show within the TV show, "Bombshell" based on Marilyn Monroe.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
The Mystery of Edwin Drood takes a trip back in time to a Victorian music hall where a rowdy ensemble of actors mounts a staging of Charles Dickens' unfinished novel. Everyone on stage is a suspect in the murder of young Edwin Drood-and it's up to the audience to choose the killer! Chase earned a BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL Tony Award Nomination for his performance as John Jasper, Edwin's protective but slightly maniacal uncle. Check out clips from the show above!
Critically acclaimed, Tony Award Nominated actor and singer Will Chase is currently filming the remake of the feature After The Wedding and can be seen on HBO's "Sharp Objects" and YouTube Red's "Impulse". He most recently appeared on FX's "American Crime Story: The Assassination Of Gianni Versace", Netflix's "Stranger Things" and HBO's "The Deuce", and starred in the ABC drama "Time After Time". Best known as country star "Luke Wheeler" on ABC's "Nashville", his other television appearances include recurring roles on "Quantico", CBS's "The Good Wife", FX's "Rescue Me", and as Michael Swift on NBC's Broadway-inspired "Smash", as well as appearances on "Blue Bloods", "White Collar", "Pan Am", "Royal Pains", and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent". Film credits include Butterflies of Bill Baker (BEST ACTOR-Chain NYC Film Festival), Four Single Fathers, and Shaft.
Known as one of Broadway's "most versatile leading men", Will Chase received the 2013 Tony Award Nomination and Outer Critics Circle Award Nomination for BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL for his portrayal of John Jasper in the Broadway revival of The Mystery Of Edwin Drood. His other Broadway credits include Something Rotten, Billy Elliot, Aida, Lennon, Nice Work If You Can Get It, High Fidelity, The Full Monty, Miss Saigon, and Roger in Rent, which was captured on the big screen in RENT: Filmed Live On Broadway. Will can be heard on several Original Broadway Cast Recordings as well as three seasons of cast albums for the show "Nashville". He has performed all over the world and has sung with the renowned New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, the Cincinnati Pops, and the Colorado Symphony. Having studied conducting with Atlanta Symphony's Robert Spano, Will has premiered countless compositions, and has worked and performed with some of the most important composers and musical luminaries in the world. Born and raised in rural Kentucky, Chase trained as a percussionist, conductor, and actor, and received his degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio. He has two daughters, Daisy and Gracie, and calls Brooklyn, New York, home.
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