fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Danny Burstein (born June 16, 1964) is an American actor and singer, most known for his work on the Broadway stage.

Danny Burstein
Burstein in 2019
Born	(1964-06-16) June 16, 1964 (age 58) Mt. Kisco, New York, U.S.
Education	City University of New York, Queens (BA) University of California, San Diego (MFA)
Occupation	Actor, singer
Years active	1986–present
Spouses	​ ​ (div. 1987)​ Rebecca Luker ​ ​ (m. 2000; died 2020)​
Children	2

A seven-time Tony Award nominee, Burstein won the 2020 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge! on Broadway. He also received Tony nominations for The Drowsy Chaperone (2006), South Pacific (2008), Follies (2011), Golden Boy (2013), Cabaret (2014), and Fiddler on the Roof (2016). Burstein has also won two Drama Desk Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, and received three Grammy Award nominations. Burstein's performance in Moulin Rouge! also earned him the 2020 Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance. His other Broadway credits include The Seagull (1992), Saint Joan (1993), and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (2010).

Burstein's television work includes a feature-length episode of the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous (2002) and a Staten Island father in the first season of Louie (2010). He appeared as different characters in six episodes of the original NBC drama series Law & Order (1995–2010), and also recurred as Lolly Steinman on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire (2010–11) and as D.A. Lewis Cormier on the CBS series Evil. His film appearances include Transamerica (2005), Deception (2008), The Family Fang (2015), and Indignation (2016).

Early life and education

Burstein was born in Mt. Kisco, New York, and was raised in New York City.[1] Danny's parents separated when he was two months old. He was raised by his mother, Virginia (Vega), a painter, and his stepfather, Harvey Burstein, a professor of Greek philosophy.[2][3] His mother, who is from Costa Rica, is Catholic and of Spanish descent, and his stepfather is Jewish.[4][5][6] He was not raised in any particular faith and celebrated both Jewish and Christian holidays.[7]

Burstein attended the High School of the Performing Arts. While in high school, he performed in community theatre and summer stock in New Hampshire for which he was paid $200 for the entire season.[8] He graduated from Queens College in New York City, during which time he obtained his first professional acting job in the chorus of The Music Man at The Muny in St. Louis.[9] He received an MFA from the graduate acting program at the University of California, San Diego in 1990. During his time in drama school at UCSD, he appeared in Macbeth at La Jolla Playhouse.[10]

Career

On Broadway, Burstein's eighteen appearances, which have garnered him seven Tony Award nominations, have included A Little Hotel on the Side (1992), Yakov in The Seagull (1992–93), in Saint Joan and Three Men on a Horse (both in 1993), Paul in Company (1995), 1st Officer William Murdoch in Titanic (1997–99), Aldolpho in The Drowsy Chaperone (2006–07),[11] Luther Billis in South Pacific (2008–10),[12] Taxi Driver in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (2010–11), Tokio in Golden Boy (2012–2013),[13] Max in the Sharr White play The Snow Geese (2013),[14] Herr Schultz in the 2014 revival of Cabaret (2014–15) and Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof (2015–2016).

Burstein's Off-Broadway credits include Rajiv Joseph's Describe the Night at the Atlantic Theater Company; Talley's Folly opposite Sarah Paulson at The Roundabout Theater Company for which he was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award and a Drama League Award; the world premieres of A. R. Gurney's Mrs. Farnsworth (2004), opposite Sigourney Weaver and John Lithgow, at The Flea Theater[15] and Psych (2001) at Playwrights Horizons.[16] He also starred in I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (1996 and 2002) at the Westside Theatre;[17] as Ru/Floor Monitor/Pianist in Merrily We Roll Along (1994) at the York Theatre at St. Peter's Church;[18] All in the Timing at the Houseman; as Daniel in Alan Menken and David Spencer's Weird Romance at the WPA; as Solomon in The Rothschilds and Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh, both at Circle in the Square; The United Way at Ensemble Studio Theater; and A Class Act at Manhattan Theatre Club. He appeared in four concerts at Carnegie Hall including: the Ira Gershwin centennial, as Steward in Sail Away (1999), and in Candide (2018).[19][20] He appeared in the Encores! (New York City Center) staged concert productions of DuBarry Was a Lady (1996), as Romeo Skragg in Li'l Abner (1998), as Tailor-Merchant in The Boys from Syracuse (1997) and as Mister Mister in The Cradle Will Rock (2013).[20][21][22]

He played the role of Buddy Plummer in the Kennedy Center production of Follies, which ran from May 7, 2011, through June 19, 2011 at the Eisenhower Theater, co-starring with Bernadette Peters, Ron Raines, and Jan Maxwell.[23] He reprised that role in the Broadway engagement of Follies at the Marquis Theatre from August 7, 2011 (in previews) through January 22, 2012, and continued with the production in its engagement at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California from May 3, 2012, through June 9, 2012.[24] He won the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical[25] and was nominated for the Tony Award, Best Actor in a Musical.[26]

Burstein can be heard on the cast recording of many of these musicals. Among his many recordings is the musical Sweet Little Devil in which he introduced three George Gershwin, Buddy DeSylva songs. The score originally went unrecorded in 1924 and was finally recorded by PS Classics, with Burstein playing the role of Sam in 2012.[27]

Burstein's film roles include Duane Incarnate (2004),[28] Transamerica (2005),[29] Deception (2008), Nor'easter (2013), Trust, Greed, Bullets and Bourbon (2013), American Milkshake (2013), Autumn Whispers (2013), Affluenza (2014), Blackhat (2015), directed by Michael Mann, The Family Fang (2015), opposite Nicole Kidman and directed by Jason Bateman, Construction (2015), Indignation (2016), written and directed by James Schamus, and The Sounding, written & directed by Catherine Eaton. His many television credits include recurring on The Good Fight, recurring on Dr. Death, recurring as D.A. Lewis Cormier on Evil, guest starring on the animated series Central Park as Dick Flake, and guest starring on Tales of the City (2019), Fosse/Verdon (2019), The Blacklist (2019), Madam Secretary (2018), NCIS: New Orleans (2018), Instinct (2018), Elementary (2017), all the Law & Order series, the BBC's Absolutely Fabulous (2002), the FX series Louie (2010), and The Good Wife (2015). He was cast in HBO's Boardwalk Empire after director Martin Scorsese saw him in South Pacific, and after auditioning for three different characters, he landed the part of Lolly Steinman.[30]

Burstein has lent his voice in a number of video games, including Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Manhunt 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Neverwinter Nights 2.

He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Frosch in Die Fledermaus (2013–14 season).

Burstein serves on the Artists Committee of the Kennedy Center Honors and has been a guest lecturer teaching at many universities such as Yale, NYU, Juilliard, UCSD and Queens College.

Burstein played the role of Tevye in the 2015 Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof, at the Broadway Theatre, directed by Bartlett Sher. The revival began in previews on November 20, 2015, and officially opened on December 20, 2015, and closed on December 31st, 2016.[31][32][33]

In the summer of 2017, he played the role of Nick Bottom in the New York Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

He appeared as Alfred P. Doolittle in the Broadway revival of My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center Theater from January 8, 2019.[34] He also originated the on-stage role of Harold Zidler on Broadway in Moulin Rouge! in 2019. Moulin Rouge! played its pre-Broadway performances at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston from July 10, 2018, to August 19, 2018.[35][36] In 2021, Burstein received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Moulin Rouge!

In 2021 he was nominated for an Audie Award for his narration of Stephen King's If It Bleeds.

Personal life

Burstein was married to actress Rebecca Luker from June 2000 until her death on December 23, 2020.[37][38] He has two sons, Alexander and Zachary, from a previous marriage,[39][40] and lives in Morningside Heights, Manhattan.[41]

In March 2020, following the shutdown of all Broadway theatrical productions including Moulin Rouge!, in which he was starring, Burstein, along with several other cast members, contracted COVID-19. He was subsequently hospitalized at St. Luke's in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan and recovered. Burstein discussed his experience with the disease in a column published in The Hollywood Reporter.[42][43] He wrote in August 2020 of continued challenges with his post-COVID recovery while caring for his wife, who had ALS.[44]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Giant Robo: The Animation	Professor Franken Von Vogler (voice)	English version Direct-to-video
1997	Jungle Emperor Leo	Minus (voice)	English version
2003	SW 2.5 (The Pitch Wars)	George Lucas / Rob Reiner / Kevin Smith / Mike W. / Pixar Director	Short film
2004	Duane Incarnate	George
2005	Transamerica	Dr. Spikowsky
2006	Spectropia	Ball Guest
2008	Deception	Clute Controller
2012	Nor'easter	Paul Moore
2013	American Milkshake	Coach
2013	Autumn Whispers	Gordon Murkle	Short film
2013	Trust, Greed, Bullets & Bourbon	Hector
2014	Russian Broadway Shut Down	Luther Billis	Short film
2014	Affluenza	Ira Miller
2015	Blackhat	Associate Warden Jeffries
2015	The Family Fang	Eric Wilcox
2015	Construction	Jay
2015	Bad Dads	Unknown role	Short film
2016	Indignation	Max Messner
2017	The Sounding	Anderson
2018	Lucy in the Sky	Dan	Short film
2021	Tick, Tick... Boom!	Al

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Law & Order	Joe Garvey	Episode: "Cruel and Unusual"
1998	Law & Order	Howe	Episode: "Burden"
1999	Third Watch	Medic #2	Episode: "Welcome to Camelot"
2000	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Mr. Brookfield	Episode: "Honor"
2001	Santa, Baby!	Unknown role (voice)	Television movie
2001	Law & Order	Assistant District Attorney Lester Rosenfeld	Episode: "Teenage Wasteland"
2002	Ed	Johnny Luggozzo	Episode: "Human Nature"
2002	Absolutely Fabulous	Martin	Episode: "Gay"
2002	Law & Order	Peter	Episode: "Oxymoron"
2004	Shura no Toki: Age of Chaos	Takuan Osho (voice)	Episode: "A Fighter Without Peer" English version
2004	Phoenix	Sarutahiko / Dr. Saruta / Azaumi-no-muraji Saruta (voice)	Series regular (13 episodes) English version
2004	Hope & Faith	Moderator	Episode: "Just-In Time"
2004	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Luke Vinton	Episode: "Shrink-Wrapped"
2006	Conviction	Unknown role	Episode: "Savasana"
2007	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Leo Bernardi	Episode: "Seeds"
2009	Law & Order	Surrogate Murray	Episode: "Lucky Stiff"
2010	Law & Order	Judge Sam Murray	Episode: "Blackmail"
2010	Louie	Mike	Episode: "Bully"
2010	Live from Lincoln Center	Luther Billis	Episode: "South Pacific"
2010–2011	Boardwalk Empire	Lolly Steinman	Recurring role (5 episodes)
2011	Submissions Only	Jerry Labove	Episode: "Mean Like Me"
2015	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Eric Parker	Episode: "Transgender Bridge"
2015	The Good Wife	Dr. Ian Caine	Episode: "Bond"
2017	Elementary	Ted Winthrop	Episode: "Fly Into a Rage, Make a Bad Landing"
2018	Deception	Indar Danek	Episode: "Transposition"
2018	NCIS: New Orleans	Doctor Vincent Welles	Episode: "Pound of Flesh"
2018	The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel	Sewell	Episode: "Midnight at the Concord"
2019	Madam Secretary	Natan Dworsky	Episode: "Proxy War"
2019	The Blacklist	Mossad DC Station Chief	Episode: "The Osterman Umbrella Company (No. 6)"
2019	Fosse/Verdon	OB / GYN	Episode: "Nowadays"
2019	Tales of the City	Bradshaw	Episode: "Next Level Sh*t"
2019	Instinct	Brent	Episode: "Go Figure"
2019–2020	Evil	D. A. Lewis Cormier	4 episodes
2020	Central Park	Dick Flake (voice)	Episode: "A Fish Called Snakehead"
2021	Tell Me Your Secrets	Unknown role	Episode: "Once I Had a Love"
2021	Law & Order: Organized Crime	Vincent Weiss	Episode: "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of"
2021	Dr. Death	Ed Yarborough	2 episodes
2021–2022	The Good Fight	William Schultz	3 episodes
2021	F Is for Family	Officer Glanney (voice)	4 episodes
2022	Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty	Vic Weiss	Episode: "The Best Is Yet to Come"
2022	Tokyo Vice	Jake's Father	Episode: "Yoshino"

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat	Benjamin	St. Louis Municipal Opera
1992	A Little Hotel on the Side	Porter, Constable	Broadway
1992–93	The Seagull	Yakov	Broadway
1993	Saint Joan	Page to Dunois	Broadway
	Three Men on a Horse	Delivery Boy	Broadway
1994	The Flowering Peach	Japheth (Standby)	Broadway
1995	Company	Paul	Broadway
1996	DuBarry Was a Lady	Ensemble	Encores!/New York City Center
1997	The Boys from Syracuse	Tailor-Merchant
1997–99	Titanic	William Murdoch/Passenger	Broadway
1998	Li'l Abner	Romeo Skragg	Encores!/New York City Center
2001	A Class Act	Ed, Lehman (Standby)	Broadway
2006–07	The Drowsy Chaperone	Aldolpho	Broadway
2008–10	South Pacific	Luther Billis	Broadway
2010–11	Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown	Taxi Driver	Broadway
2011	Follies	Buddy Plummer	Washington, D.C./Pre-Broadway
2011–12			Broadway
2012			Los Angeles/Regional
2012–13	Golden Boy	Tokio	Broadway
2013	The Cradle Will Rock	Mister Mister	Encores!/New York City Center
	Snow Geese	Max Hohmann	Broadway
2014–15	Cabaret	Herr Schultz	Broadway
2015–16	Fiddler on the Roof	Tevye	Broadway
2017	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Nick Bottom	Shakespeare in the Park
2018	Moulin Rouge!	Harold Zidler	Boston/Pre-Broadway
2019	My Fair Lady	Alfred P. Doolittle	Broadway
2019–22	Moulin Rouge!	Harold Zidler	Broadway

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	Darius Fontaine – Talk Radio / Radio Commercial
2006	Neverwinter Nights 2	Khulmar Ironfist, Sir Grayson, Donler, Haeromos
2007	Manhunt 2	The Legion
2008	Grand Theft Auto V	Middle Aged Gay Man	Credited under "The Crowd of Liberty City"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2006	Tony Award	Best Featured Actor in a Musical	The Drowsy Chaperone	Nominated
2008	Tony Award	Best Featured Actor in a Musical	South Pacific	Nominated
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical		Nominated
	Outer Critics Circle Award	Outstanding Actor in a Musical		Won
2012	Tony Award	Best Actor in a Musical	Follies	Nominated
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Actor in a Musical		Won
	Outer Critics Circle Award	Outstanding Actor in a Musical		Won
	Astaire Award	Outstanding Male Dancer in a Broadway Show		Nominated
2013	Tony Award	Best Featured Actor in a Play	Golden Boy	Nominated
	Outer Critics Circle Award	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play		Nominated
	Drama League Award	Distinguished Performance	Talley's Folly	Nominated
	Lucille Lortel Award	Outstanding Lead Actor		Nominated
	Grammy Award	Best Musical Theater Album	Follies	Nominated
2014	Tony Award	Best Featured Actor in a Musical	Cabaret	Nominated
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical		Nominated
	Outer Critics Circle Award	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical		Nominated
2016	Tony Award	Best Actor in a Musical	Fiddler on the Roof	Nominated
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Actor in a Musical		Won
	Drama League Award	Distinguished Performance		Nominated
	Outer Critics Circle Award	Outstanding Actor in a Musical		Won
2017	Grammy Award	Best Musical Theater Album		Nominated
2019	IRNE Award	Best Supporting Actor in a Musical	Moulin Rouge!	Won
2020	Tony Award	Best Featured Actor in a Musical		Won
	Drama League Award	Distinguished Performance		Won
	Outer Critics Circle Award	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical		Honoree
	Grammy Award	Best Musical Theater Album		Nominated

References

External links

• Danny Burstein at the Internet Broadway Database
• Danny Burstein at IMDb
• Danny Burstein at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Danny Burstein at Playbill Vault
• Panarello, Joseph F. "Behind the Stage Door with Danny Burstein", July 6, 2006 (Broadway World.com)

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