Jason Danieley

Career

Ben Brantley, of The New York Times called Danieley "The most exquisite tenor on Broadway". After classical voice training at the University of Missouri and Southern Illinois University, Danieley left without graduating and at the age of 25 made his Broadway debut in the Harold Prince-directed revival of Candide, as the title character. Prince was quoted in The New York Times as saying "It's unusual in the world of musical theater to find someone who can sing as well as he can act, mark my words: Jason has an extraordinary future ahead of him."

Danieley appeared Off-Broadway in the musical Hit The Lights! in 1993, but gained recognition in 1996 in Floyd Collins, based on the tragedy of caver Floyd Collins, written by Richard Rodgers’s grandson, Adam Guettel. The musical has a mixture of Appalachian and classical music; this was a good vehicle for Danieley's talents, having a classical background, but being raised on old-time, country and gospel music.

Danieley starred in the Broadway musical The Full Monty, which premiered at the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, California in June to July 2000. The musical opened on Broadway in October 2000. He appeared in the John Kander and Fred Ebb musical Curtains on Broadway in 2007. Composer John Kander wrote the song "I Miss The Music" specifically for the character that Danieley played in Curtains.

He played Lt. Joseph Cable, in the Emmy nominated concert version of South Pacific, performed at Carnegie Hall in June 2005. The concert was filmed and aired on PBS' Great Performances. He has appeared in London's West End.

Danieley joined Next to Normal on Broadway, replacing Brian d'Arcy James in the role of Dan on July 19, 2010, opposite Mazzie, who replaced Alice Ripley as Diana. This made them a real-life couple portraying an onstage fictional married couple.

He appeared in the New York City Center Encores! staged concert of Allegro in March 1994 and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in February 2005.

He appeared in the Williamstown Theatre Festival (Massachusetts) production of The Visit in July and August 2014, and again in 2015, when it transferred to Broadway. He will appear in the Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn, New Jersey) production of Can-Can as "Aristide" in October 2014.

Concerts and recording

Danieley's career on and Off-Broadway combined with his classical background led to a natural crossover into singing with most of the country's leading symphonies and pops orchestras. A frequent guest artist with Boston, Philadelphia and New York Pops and The San Francisco Symphony he has also appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (at the Hollywood Bowl), St. Louis, Utah, Minnesota and Buffalo Symphonies. Additionally, Danieley and Mazzie appear at smaller venues, such as the Café Carlyle in New York in 2011.

Danieley met his wife, Marin Mazzie, in 1996 in an Off-Broadway play that they performed together titled Trojan Women: A Love Story. Danieley and Mazzie recorded their first album Opposite You on PS Classics, which was released in 2005. Variety opined: "When they sing, the heart seems to beat a little faster…emotional strength to envelop the listener and melt the heart... This is one savvy pair...". The San Francisco Chronicle labeled them "Broadway's golden couple".

Danieley launched his solo recording career with the self-titled album Jason Danieley & The Frontier Heroes, combining Americana music from the Great American Songbook and Broadway repertoire. The recording was produced by PS Classics and released in 2008. His other recordings include the cast albums of Curtains, Floyd Collins, Candide, The Full Monty, Dream True, the compilation CDs of Jule Styne in Hollywood, The Stephen Schwartz Album and two Boston Pops albums, A Splash of Pops and My Favorite Things.

Personal life

Jason Danieley was born in St. Louis to Larry and Carole Danieley. He has been married to actress Marin Mazzie since October 19, 1997; the couple has no children.

Awards