James Brennan Biography

is one of Broadway’s premiere "song and dance" men, having starred as Bobby Child in Crazy For You, Billy Lawlor in 42nd Street, and receiving wide acclaim for his stint as the Lambeth-Cockney-turned-Earl Bill Snibson in Me and My Girl. Eighteen years ago, he began his Broadway career in the ensemble of No, No, Nanette, followed by Good News with Alice Faye, the revue Rodgers and Hart, and So Long 174th Street, the musicalization of Enter Laughing. He understudied Lenny Baker in I Love My Wife, eventually performing the role for six months, as well as the Gene Kelly role in Singin’ in the Rain. In addition to his thriving acting career, Mr. Brennan has also directed and choreographed more than 50 musicals, including the productions of Crazy For You at Paper Mill Playhouse and Music Theatre of Wichita, where he also directed Where’s Charley. In New York, he directed revivals of Cole Porter’s Jubilee and Jerome Kern’s Sally, as well as an all-star gala at Lincoln Center for the New Amsterdam Theatre. Regional credits include Elyot in Noel Coward’s Private Lives under the direction of Vivian Matalon at the Alley Theatre in Houston and an all-star musical revue tribute to Cole Porter at the St. Louis MUNY. He recreated his role of Bill Snibson at the Sacramento Music Circus, Paper Mill Playhouse, and Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, and he starred as King Arthur in Camelot at Paper Mill Playhouse, Starlight Theatre of San Diego and the Walnut Street Theatre. His most recent performance was the role of John Adams in 1776 at the Sacramento Music Circus and at the Walnut Street Theatre, for which he won the Barrymore Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical.