After Groenendaal graduated from college, he joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in South Korea. Then he returned to Erie, got a job in a bank, and auditioned for local theater productions. He has soaked up the limelight in a slew of other roles on Broadway, including the original Monsieur Andre in "The Phantom of the Opera;" Miles Gloriosus in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum;" Major Rizzolli in "Passion;" Louis in "Sunday in the Park with George;" and Anthony in "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street."
Korea RPCV Cris Groenendaal has played the role of the Phantom in the hit musical "The Phantom of the Opera" more than 860 times on Broadway and with international companies
Audiences can get to know the veteran actor and vocalist outside of his 'Phantom' role
BY JACQUELYN LEWIS, The Island Packet
Published Friday, August 19th, 2005
Caption: Veteran Broadway actor and vocalist Cris Groenendaal and his wife, pianist Sue Anderson, will perform at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina on Aug. 30. Groenendaal has performed at the phantom in "Phantom of the Opera" hundreds of times.
Cris Groenendaal might have played the role of the Phantom in the hit musical "The Phantom of the Opera" more than 860 times on Broadway and with international companies, but the performer says he's nothing like the character.
In fact, Groenendaal says he's the exact opposite of the shadowy phantom.
"It's a very strange role," he says of the phantom. "It's a very solitary part, and you're always by yourself, you're always in the dark."
In contrast, Groenendaal says he's friendly and outgoing. And he is more likely to be found in the spotlight than in the shadows.
He has soaked up the limelight in a slew of other roles on Broadway, including the original Monsieur Andre in "The Phantom of the Opera;" Miles Gloriosus in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum;" Major Rizzolli in "Passion;" Louis in "Sunday in the Park with George;" and Anthony in "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." Not to mention that he's also appeared with national touring companies and as a vocal soloist with major symphony orchestras around the world.
And on Aug. 30, the man behind the mask also will appear at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, where he'll perform with his pianist wife, Sue Anderson, in a concert featuring their Broadway, cabaret and pop favorites.
"It's a very eclectic evening," Groenendaal says of the concert. "There's everything from Andrew Lloyd Webber to Stephen Sondheim to Irving Berlin to the Beatles."
With such a broad repertoire under his belt, it's difficult to believe that Groenendaal only pursued a professional performing career after college.
He caught the acting bug at the age of 5 or 6 and participated in community theater and school choirs throughout his childhood, says Groenendaal, who originally is from Erie, Penn. But instead of pursuing a singing and acting career after high school, he decided to major in English in college, because, he says, he didn't think he could make a living as an actor.
After Groenendaal graduated from college, he joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in South Korea. Then he returned to Erie, got a job in a bank, and auditioned for local theater productions.
"There was a lot of local really wonderful community theater," he says of Eerie. "I started doing all these different roles, from Shakespeare to Eugene O'Neill. I got a lot of wonderful experience."
In July 1975, a stint with a summerstock theater in Ohio helped Groenendaal earn membership with Actors' Equity -- the national union for performers and stage managers in professional theater.
By September of that year, Groenendaal had decided to move to New York to pursue acting full-time.
"There were a lot of unknowns, but I wouldn't have taken such a plunge if I didn't feel like I could do it," he says of the transition.
Still, there were plenty of challenges in New York, from finding an apartment to auditioning for four years before finally landing a role in the Broadway show "Sweeney Todd."
"You go with a little bit of money, and you just start to learn the ropes by talking to the right people, auditioning and taking the right classes," he says of starting out in New York.
Groenendaal says his "big break" came when he was hired as a chorus member and understudy for the lead male role of Anthony in "Sweeney Todd" in 1979.
Victor Garber, who originally played Anthony, left the show after six months, leaving Groenendaal to take over the role.
In the 26 years since then, Groenendaal has performed in a myriad of other productions -- including "The Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway, where he started with the role of Monsieur Andre and later went on to play the phantom -- and produced two albums with Anderson. The couple also has performed together across the country.
After years of portraying characters such as the phantom, Groenendaal says audience members at the Aug. 30 concert can get to know the real Cris Groenendaal.
"I won't be wearing the mask," he says.
For tickets or more information about the concert, call 842-2787.
Contact Jacquelyn Lewis at 706-8125 or jlewis@islandpacket.com.
