BIO
A Detroit native, began his career opening for Comedy Greats of the last generation. After completing degrees (Eastern Illinois University), he taught High School, while earning Union cards as an actor in Chicago. Moving East, Sal made his Broadway debut in THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1984); followed-by starring roles in the Broadway hits ROMANCE / ROMANCE, CITY OF ANGELS, FALSETTOS, THE LIFE, and THE FULL MONTY. Off-Broadway, Mr. Viviano's co-starred in THE BIG TIME, as well as GOLF, THE MUSICAL * (Backstage Award), BEAU JEST, CATHER COUNTY, WEIRD ROMANCE *, CATCH ME IF I FALL *, BROADWAY JUKEBOX, and HAMLET, THE OPERA for Joseph Papp.
On-tour, he's starred in EVITA , ANYTHING GOES!, THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, HAIR; and received a H E L E N! H A Y E S! A W A R D (Best Actor) nomination for his title-role portrayal in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (Washington, D.C.); having also appeared regionally at more than two-dozen theatres, Nationwide. In New York this Summer, he starred in the 20th Anniversary Production of Maltby and Shire's CLOSER THAN EVER, directed by Mr. Maltby; and also recently co-starred as Billy Flynn in the smash hit CHICAGO. Viviano's Film credits include LEGALLY BLONDE 2 *, BLACK ROSES * (newly released on DVD), THE JITTERS, SPIKE OF BENSONHURST *, and LIFE WITH MIKEY's * title song (for Disney). His Television guest appearances have included LAW AND ORDER, THE COSBY MYSTERIES, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, RYAN'S HOPE, ONE LIFE TO LIVE, ALL MY CHILDREN; narration for THE WORLD OF FILM (PBS); his critically acclaimed portrayal of VanGogh on Disney's OUT OF THE BOX; serving as 'Opener' for COMEDY CENTRAL'S FRIAR'S CLUB ROAST OF CHEVY CHASE; and guesting on PETER JACOBSON'S UNPLUGGED (The Golf Channel). In-Concert: Mr. Viviano has sung with nearly 150 Orchestras (many for several return engagements) including: The National Symphony, The San Diego Symphony, The Hartford Symphony, The Delaware Symphony, The Youngstown Symphony, The Albany Symphony, The Anchorage Symphony, The Colorado Symphony, The Dallas Symphony, The Pittsburgh Symphony, The Virginia Symphony, The New Haven Symphony, The Conroe Symphony, The Spokane Symphony, The Cape Symphony, The Indianapolis Symphony, The Stamford Symphony, The Southwest Florida Symphony, The Arkansas Symphony, The Sioux City Symphony, The Harkness Festival Symphony, The Reading Symphony, The Princeton Symphony, The Alabama Symphony, The Syracuse Symphony, The Kansas City Symphony, The Milwaukee Symphony, The Midland - Odessa Symphony, The Annapolis Symphony, The Farmington Valley Symphony, The Gulf Coast Symphony, The Rockford Symphony, The Tucson Symphony, The Eastern Connecticut Symphony, The Pueblo Symphony, The North Carolina Symphony; The Minnesota Orchestra, The New York Pops, The Cleveland Pops, The Rhode Island Philharmonic, The Florida Sunshine Pops, The Reno Philharmonic, The Virginia Arts Festival Big Band, The Buffalo Philharmonic, The Westfalen Philharmonie (Dortmund, Germany), Orchestra del Teatro Massimo (Palermo, Sicily), The Royal Philharmonic (London, UK), and Orchestra di Teatro Verdi (Trieste, Italy) . . .
He's also appeared in-Concert at such intimate venues as The Russian Tea Room, 92nd Street Y (LYRICS AND LYRICISTS - 15 seasons), The White House (for the Reagans), The Inaugural Concert (Clinton / Gore), Carnegie Hall, Town Hall (BROADWAY BY THE YEAR - 1955*); and at such NYC outdoor venues as: Arthur Ashe Stadium - U.S. Tennis Open, Bryant Park, Snug Harbor, Prospect Park, World Trade Center Plaza, Union Square, Wolf's Pond Park, and NJ's Liberty State Park. Sal's (over 60 ) recordings include: his newly released, Solo CD entitled THE STANDARDS OF LOVE, a LIVE album recorded with full Orchestra on The FRIARecords Label, *'d titles above; several other Original Cast Recordings; a dozen Compilations for the Varese-Sarabande Label: LOST IN BOSTON (series), UNSUNG MUSICALS (series), A BROADWAY CHRISTMAS, UNSUNG IRVING BERLIN, SHAKESPEARE ON BROADWAY, PRIMETIME MUSICALS, THE PAUL SIMON ALBUM; Richard Simmons’ BROADWAY SWEAT, TONE-UP ON BROADWAY, BROADWAY BLAST- OFF, PLATINUM SWEAT; Harbinger Record’s 'TIS THE SEASON, FAMILY, WHEN I GROW UP, and LATE NITE COMIC, BROADWAY BY THE YEAR - 1955; and JAY Records’ BRAVO BROADWAY II . . . among others.
As a proud member of the legendary FRIAR'S CLUB, Viviano annually participates in many notable fund-raising events for worthy charities. Recently, he served as 'the opener' for THE FRIAR'S CLUB CELEBRITY ROASTs of The Smothers Brothers, and Friar’s Club Abbot, Jerry Lewis; and joined the 'infamous dais' for Celebrity Roasts of Donald Trump, Pat Cooper, and Don King. He's sung our National Anthem (and God Bless America) at Sports Arenas across the continent; including 27 seasons for New York's Mets (Shea Stadium and Citi Field).
Sal Viviano resides in New York City with his wife, actress Liz Larsen, and their boys, Alessandro Gian and Joseph Dante.