My daughter and I just saw this on Broadway (absolutely fantastic production!), so since I have the Playbill in front of me, I thought I’d follow in ManVan’s helpful footsteps!
Alan Cumming (Emcee): Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
Emma Stone (Sally Bowles): None
Sienna Miller (Sally Bowles): Lee Strasburg Institute (not a college)
Michelle Williams (Sally Bowles): None
Linda Emond (Fraulein Schneider): California State University (BA in Theater Arts), then University of Washington, Seattle (MFA in Acting)
Danny Burstein (Herr Schultz): Queens College, then University of California, San Diego (MFA in Acting)
Bill Heck (Clifford Bradshow): University of Evantsville, then NYU Grad Acting
Aaron Krohn (Ernst Ludwig): he writes “MFA from the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego”, but I’m guessing that’s a joke and he just means that he got great training and experience there.
Hani Fursteinberg (Fraulein Kost): Doesn’t say, but she lived in Israel for her teenage and young adult life and started her career there, so I’m guessing a school in Israel?
Will Carlyon (Swing): Northwestern, LAMDA
Kaleigh Cronin (Lulu, Two Ladies dancer, u/s Sally and Fraulein Kost): CMU
Caleb Damschroder (Swing, u/s Emcee) : ???
Benjamin Eakeley (Herman, Customs Officer, Max, u/s Clifford and Ernst): Yale
Andrea Goss (Frenchie, Gorilla, u/s Sally): Syracuse University
Leeds Hill (Bobby, Two Ladies dancer, u/s Emcee): CCM
Kristin Olness (Helga): ???
Kelly Paredes (Swing): Florida State University
Jessica Pariseau (Texas): ???
Dylan Paul (Victor, u/s Ernst and Clifford): University of Kansas (BFA), then University of Houston (MFA)
Evan D. Siegel (Hans, Rudy): Harvard, BA in Linguistics
Stacey Sipowica (Rosie, Asst. Dance Captain, u/s Faulein Kost and Gorilla): ???
Katrina Yaukey (Swing): ???
When someone gets their MFA at UC San Diego they usually refer to it as UCSD/Old Globe or even just getting their MFA at the Old Globe, because they spend most of their time there.
Similar to Case Western/Cleveland Playhouse or FSU/Asolo
As an aside, this past weekend, I saw a performance of Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ production. The cast was outstanding. I am not surprised, however. There are many very strong actors/singers/dancers who opt to attend selective academic colleges and not pursue a BFA degree. They have what it takes to attend a BFA, but didn’t want that path. I personally know some fairly recent graduates from Brown and Yale who are successfully working in theater such as on Broadway, National Tours, and Off Broadway.
@actorparent and @TheaterHiringCo There is indeed an MFA acting program at The Old Globe. It is offered jointly with the private University of San Diego (USD). There is also an MFA acting program at the public University of California - San Diego (UCSD) that is offered in conjunction with the La Jolla Playhouse. And just to confuse matters further, there is an MFA program in Musical Theatre at the public San Diego State University (SDSU).
There is terrific undergraduate theater at Yale, Harvard, and Northwestern and many many of the working actors I know did not major in theater. English, Classics, Philosophy, Physics, etc. A broad, deep, and rich education is of immeasurable value to an artist. See Frank Bruni in today’s NYT: “It’s impossible to put a dollar value on a nimble, adaptable intellect, which isn’t the fruit of any specific course of study and may be the best tool for an economy and a job market that change unpredictably. And it’s dangerous to forget that in a democracy, college isn’t just about making better engineers but about making better citizens, ones whose eyes have been opened to the sweep of history and the spectrum of civilizations.”
The careers here that I would love for my kid to have: Linda Emond - muse to Tony Kushner, and Danny Burstein - future Tevye. Each of them works non-stop in all media. Off Broadway, Broadway, both musicals and straight plays, TV, Film, tons of Voice Over…they are the workhorses of the profession. Both are humble, smart, and funny. It’s significant that they were the only actors in this production nominated for Tony Awards. Movie stars come and go but these two are creatures of the theater.
(Also worth noting, Danny, the son of a Classics professor and a painter, went to the High School for the Performing Arts in NYC (now known as LaGuardia, just sayin, @ActorParent) and made his professional debut at the Muny while a student at Queens College.)
Elsa, thanks for explaining about the Old Globe! Totally did not know that!
Yes, I thought Linguistics was interesting too - definitely goes to show that there is more than one path to a performing career! I also think it’s very cool that he actually made a point of listing that in his bio - not just prestigious Harvard, but linguistics.
Vocal, thanks for the added biographical info! It’s so interesting to see the “journey” that people take on their way to becoming professional actors.