Grant Gustin's Theatre Roots: From GLEE to THE FLASH to Broadway

Grant Gustin, who is making his Broadway debut this season in Water For Elephants, is best known for his role on the successful series The Flash. Gustin portrayed the role of Barry Allen for the show's nine seasons, bringing him acclaim as well as multiple awards. But did you know that Grant Gustin got his start in the theatre?

While Water For Elephants may be his Broadway debut, Gustin is no stranger to the stage, or to the world of theatre. To celebrate his Broadway debut, we're taking a walk down memory lane of Grant Gustin's theatre roots.

According to his Broadway bio, Grant Gustin always enjoyed performing, and appeared in several productions while in high school, including Cabaret, All Shook Up, and Little Shop of Horrors. He then went on to join the BFA Music Theatre Program at Elon University in North Carolina. At Elon, Gustin appeared in 110 in the Shade, among other productions.

Gustin got his first big role when he was cast as Baby John in the Broadway revival tour of West Side Story. He toured across the country appearing in over 400 performances.

Also notably, Gustin appeared in the TV show Glee, appearing in the third season in the role of Sebastian Smythe. In this role, he performed many songs including "Stand", "Smooth Criminal", "I Want You Back", "Glad You Came", and more.

Stand

Smooth Criminal 

I Want You Back 

Glad You Came

One episode of The Flash even led Gustin to perform a musical theatre song, "Summer Nights" from Grease! Funnily enough, he leads with "I'm not much of a singer."

Another episode of The Flash also had Gustin performing, this time an original song by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul titled "Running Home To You."

Gustin then went on to perform the song at Elsie Fest in 2018.

Also at Elsie Fest, Gustin was joined on stage by Darren Criss and Will Roland to perform "Sincerely Me" from Dear Evan Hansen.

About Grant Gustin

Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, Grant always enjoyed performing. While attending Granby High School, he attended the prestigious Governor’s School for the Arts program to focus on musical theatre and appeared in Cabaret, All Shook Up, and Little Shop of Horrors.  After graduation, Gustin was admitted into the BFA Music Theatre Program at Elon University in North Carolina.  It was during his sophomore year that he decided to audition for the Broadway revival tour of West Side Story and was awarded the role of Baby John and toured across the country with over 400 performances. After wrapping the tour, Grant joined the third season of the popular musical series, “Glee” in which he played Sebastian Smythe, the lead of Dalton Academy's Warblers singing group. On the film side, Grant was seen in the independent film Krystal, directed by William H. Macy. The cast included Felicity Huffman, Rosario Dawson, Nick Robinson, and Kathy Bates. Grant was also part of the ensemble cast of the indie drama Affluenza, directed by Kevin Asch. Grant starred for nine seasons on the globally successful series, “The Flash.”  His role as Barry Allen brought Grant widespread acclaim as well as several awards. Grant has also made several crossover appearances on “Arrow," "Legends of Tomorrow," and "Supergirl," as well as having guested on such series as “90210” and “CSI: Miami.”