Brad Oscar is currently wowing audiences with his uproarious portrayal of theatrical producer Max Bialystock in the smash hit Mel Brooks-Susan Stroman Broadway musical
The Producers. One of the original cast members of the record-breaking, Tony Award-winning musical, Oscar created the role of deranged Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind and garnered a 2001 Tony nomination for his outstanding performance.
Oscar received much of his theatrical education during his childhood in Rockville, Md., where he performed in numerous school and community theatre productions. He starred in Fiddler on the Roof, Hello, Dolly!, Oliver, and other musicals produced by the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington’s reputable summer acting program for children.
Oscar earned his AFTRA card in 1981, at age 12, during his stint as entertainment reporter of The New Place, a community affairs program on a local network affiliate in Washington. He began his vocal training at age 13 with Ann Amenta, whom he cites as a profound influence on his vocal technique today. During his junior year in high school, Oscar landed his second television job, dramatizing scenarios exploring teen-related issues in the local TV series In Our Lives.
Oscar received his classical theatre training at Boston University’s School for the Arts, and graduated in 1986. During his busy college years, he performed in Montgomery College’s summer dinner theatre in Rockville, gracing the stage in leading roles ranging from Frederick Graham in Kiss Me, Kate to Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man.
After graduation, Oscar moved to New York to pursue an acting career. In 1989, after two years of waiting tables, pounding the pavement, and occasional extra work and roles in readings, he landed his first Equity job in Tomfoolery, a revue of Tom Lehrer songs at Foothills Theatre in Worcester, Mass.
Oscar made his Broadway debut in 1990 as a swing in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Aspects of Love. He toured with the musical until 1992, performing in Toronto and Chicago. From 1992 to 1994, Oscar performed a variety of colorful roles in Forbidden Broadway, Gerard Alessandrini’s long-running Off-Broadway musical spoof of Broadway shows. He also starred in the popular revue at the Tiffany Theatre in Los Angeles.
It was during Forbidden Broadway’s run in Los Angeles that another theatrical door opened for Oscar. After seeing the show, Jekyll & Hyde composer Frank Wildhorn and his wife, star Linda Eder, asked Oscar to sing on the play's concept album. He performed with the popular musical from its tryouts in Houston and Seattle through its national tour and successful Broadway run.
Oscar took a sabbatical from Jekyll & Hyde in 1999 to play Santa Claus in The Radio City Music Christmas Spectacular in Los Angeles, a performance he reprised the following year in Branson, Mo. While he was portraying Saint Nick with the Rockettes, his agent informed him that auditions were being held for the role of Nathan Lane’s standby in The Producers. Oscar flew to New York and auditioned for the entire creative team. On his way back to Branson the next day, he learned that he had been offered the job in the record-breaking musical.
Originally hired as a swing in The Producers, Oscar took over the role of Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind when the actor playing Franz left the show during tech week in Chicago due to an injury. When the show opened on Broadway, he performed the role of Franz while understudying the role of Max Bialystock, taking the stage in Nathan Lane’s absence during numerous performances. He took over the role of Max in April 2002 after Lane left the show. In June 2003, he embarked in the national tour, entertaining audiences in Boston, Chicago and Milwaukee. In April 2004, Oscar took over the role of Max Bialystock on a full-time basis, starring opposite Roger Bart.
In addition to his show stopping performances in The Producers, Oscar boasts an illustrious list of musical theatre credits including Do, Re, Mi with Nathan Lane, Dreamgirls with Heather Headley and Funny Girl starring Kristin Chenoweth, Bebe Neuwirth and Peter Gallagher. The multi-talented entertainer has also taught musical theatre technique at Marymount Manhattan College and appeared on the television series Law and Order.
In addition to earning a Tony Award nomination for his portrayal of Franz Liebkind in The Producers, he received a best actor award for his performance as Max from the Independent Reviewers of New England. Oscar is a board member of Only Make Believe, a theatrical non-profit charity devoted to introducing the world of theatre to children living with chronic illnesses and disabilities. He resides in New York City.
Sites in the 2004-2005 Restore America: A Salute to Preservation campaign.
WINDOWS MEDIA VIDEO