Ma‑Anne Dionisio, Andrea Ross, Kevin Gray, Alain Boublil, Julia Murney
waltz for eva and che julia murney and eric kunze
Eric Kunze (born in 1971; pronounced "Koon-zee") is an American stage actor and singer. He showed an early aptitude for singing and was involved in choir and theater at Rancho Buena Vista High School. He is best known for his roles on Broadway.
Kunze was born in San Diego, California. He attended theater studies at University of California, Irvine. In his junior year, the students traveled to New York to expand their education through workshops. While there, Eric auditioned for and landed the role of Marius on Broadway in Les Misérables at the age of 20. When not on the road, Kunze and his long-time friend Gina Feliccia have a production company called Big City Broadway. Kunze studied acting with Uta Hagen and Robert Cohen, among others and dance training from Susan Stroman, among others.
After his Broadway debut as Marius in Les Misérables (opposite Lea Salonga) Kunze went on to star in two more Broadway roles, as Chris in Miss Saigon and then as Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees (with Jerry Lewis). He later played Chris in the first National Tour of Miss Saigon. He then played the title character in the US national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar from 2003 to 2005. He later starred as "The Man" in the US national touring company of Whistle Down the Wind (2007–2008). Kunze appeared in "The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber" (2008) at the Kennedy Center and many concert appearances including the 33rd Anniversary Gala for the Boston Pops at Carnegie Hall (2016).
In 2016, he played Bruce Bechdel in the first international production of Fun Home, which premiered in Manila, reuniting with his Les Mis co-star Lea Salonga as Helen and Cris Villonco as Alison. The production was directed by Bobby Garcia. A review in ABS-CBN News said that he plays Bruce "with charm, ambiguity and just the right amount of menace and pomposity as he grapples with his obsession with outward order and his own secret longings."
Credits
Fun Home (musical) (Bruce Bechdel) 2016, 2017 Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, Manila, Philippines
Miss Saigon August, 2011 (Chris), Sacramento Music Circus, Sacramento, CA
Miss Saigon May, 2011 (Chris), Walnut Street Theater, Philadelphia, PA
Damn Yankees July, 2010 (Joe Hardy) Muny, St. Louis, MO
Music of the Night May, 2010 (Soloist) with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Joseph) April, 2010 Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities, Redondo Beach, CA
Miss Saigon (as Chris) February, 2010 Theater Under the Stars (TUTS) in Houston, Texas
Masquerade New Year's Eve Concert December 31, 2009 Soloist with the Cincinnati Pops
Music of the Night October 9–10, 2009 at the Orpheum Theater in Vancouver, B.C. With the Vancouver Symphony Pops, Bramwell Tovey, conducting, with soprano Betsy Wolfe.
Jesus Christ Superstar (Jesus) April, 2009, Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities (Ovation nomination)
Miss Saigon (Chris), February 2009, North Carolina Theater
The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber Soloist, December 2008-January 2009 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Evita (Che) August, 2008, Sacramento Music Circus, Sacramento, CA
Broadway -Damn Yankees as Joe Hardy (with Jerry Lewis) at the Marquis Theatre, Miss Saigon as Chris at the Broadway Theatre, and as Marius in Les Misérables at the Imperial Theatre.
National and international tours—in Whistle Down the Wind (as "The Man"), Jesus Christ Superstar (title role, replaced Sebastian Bach), Pippin (title role), Miss Saigon (Chris), The Fantasticks(Matt) and The Pirates of Penzance (Frederick).
Regional—in Godspell as (Jesus), Miss Saigon as (Chris), Evita (Che), West Side Story (Tony Pittsburgh), South Pacific (Lt. Joe Cable), Damn Yankees ( Joe Hardy), Jesus Christ Superstar (Jesus), Chess (Freddy), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Joseph), Into The Woods (Wolf), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Demetrius) and A Man For All Seasons (Master Richard).
Awards
2009 LA Ovation nomination (Best Actor in a Musical Large Theater) for his portrayal of Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar
2008 IRNE Award winner (Best Actor - Musical Large Theater) for his portrayal of Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Reagle) and The Man in the National Tour of Whistle Down the Wind