Claybourne Elder
Claybourne Elder (born April 21, 1982[1]) is an American actor, singer, and writer who is best known for his work on television and on Broadway.
Biography
Elder is from Springville, Utah. His mother is a schoolteacher and father a carpenter, and he is the youngest of eight siblings. At an early age he played violin in the school orchestra.[2] Elder studied acting at the Moscow Klasse Centre in Russia before attending Brigham Young University and the University of Utah. He earned a degree in dramaturgy and directing from The University of Utah.[3]
Elder received rave reviews[4] and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award[5] for Outstanding Leading Actor in A Play for originating the role of "Ollie Olson" in One Arm directed by Moisés Kaufman. He was nominated for a 2015 Lucille Lortel Award[6] for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Musical for Allegro at Classic Stage.[7] He originated the roles of "Buck Barrow" in Bonnie & Clyde,[8] "Hollis Bessemer" in Stephen Sondheim's Road Show[9] and "Michael Victor"[10] in Venice.[11]
He played the Soldier/Alex and understudied Jake Gyllenhaal in the Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park with George, which opened in February 2017.[12] He also played the role in the concert performances in October 2016 at New York City Center.[13]
Elder can be heard on the cast recordings of Bonnie & Clyde, Road Show, Venice and Sunday in the Park with George.
Elder guest-starred as Pete O'Malley in the second season of The CW's The Carrie Diaries.[14]
Regionally, Elder played George in Sunday in the Park with George at the Signature Theatre, Arlington, Virginia, in 2014.[15]
On Broadway, Elder played the role of Andy in the 2021 revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical Company.[16]
Elder played Gaston in the 2023 production of Beauty and the Beast at The Muny.[17]
Acting credits
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | Blue Moon | Young Man | (Short film) |
2013 | Grand Theft Auto V | The Local Population (voice-role) | (Video Game) |
2014 | It Could Be Worse (Series) | Actor | (web TV Series), 1 episode: "Uncharted Territory" |
The Carrie Diaries | Pete | (TV Series), 4 episodes: "Date Expectations", "Hungry Like the Wolf", "This Is the Time" and "Run to You" | |
2016 | According to My Mother | Hot Actor Dude | (Short) |
Flatbush Luck | Derrick | (Film) | |
2019 | FBI | Jim Russo | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Crossroads" |
2020 | Netuser | Jack | (Short) |
2021 | Bad Cupid | Henry | (Film) |
Small Minds | Cameron Glass | (Short film in post-production) | |
2022–present | The Gilded Age | John Adams | (TV Series), 9 episodes |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Ensemble | Wells Fargo Pavilion |
Road Show | Hollis | The Public Theater, Off-Broadway | |
2009 | Into the Woods | The Wolf / Cinderella’s Prince | Kansas City Repertory Theatre |
Bonnie & Clyde | Buck Barrow | La Jolla Playhouse | |
2010 | Asolo Repertory Theatre | ||
2011 | Cabaret | Clifford Bradshaw | Kansas City Repertory Theatre |
Cinderella | Prince Charming | Starlight Theatre | |
Bonnie & Clyde | Buck Barrow | Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, Broadway | |
2012 | Pippin | Pippin | Kansas City Repertory Theatre |
2014 | Sunday in the Park with George | Georges Seurat / George | Signature Theatre |
Allegro | Joe Taylor Jr. | Classic Stage Company, Off-Broadway | |
2015 | Angels in America | Joe Pitt | Kansas City Repertory Theatre |
2016 | Do I Hear A Waltz? | Eddie | New York City Center, Encores! |
Oklahoma! | Curly McLain | Music Theatre Wichita | |
Sunday in the Park with George | A Soldier / Alex u/s Georges Seurat / George | New York City Center, Off-Broadway | |
2017 | Hudson Theatre, Broadway | ||
2018 | Passion | Giorgio | Signature Theatre |
2020–2022 | Company | Andy | Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Broadway |
2023 | Beauty and the Beast | Gaston | The Muny |
Personal life
Elder and director Eric Rosen were married on July 28, 2012, in New York State.[18] In 2017, they had a son through surrogacy.[19]
In 2022, many news outlets[20][21][22] reported a human interest story about Elder. In 2007, as a 23-year-old aspiring actor visiting New York City, he was in the standing-room section of the Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee when a stranger approached him, noted his obvious enthusiasm for theater, gave him $200, and told him to spend it the next night on a ticket to a revival of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Elder did see that show and considered it—and the stranger's kindness—to be the factors that helped him decide to move to New York and pursue acting. By 2022 Elder was starring on Broadway in a different Sondheim revival, Company, alongside Patti LuPone, one of the stars of the Sweeney Todd production that so affected the course of Elder's career; at the same time, Elder was also starring in the HBO series The Gilded Age with Michael Cerveris, who had played the title role in that Sweeney Todd revival. Elder was reunited with Mark Howell, the stranger who had given him the money, and "paid forward" the favor by buying strangers tickets to Company. In July 2022, Elder retold this story on an episode of the WBEZ radio program This American Life that examined acts of kindness from strangers.[23]
References
- ^ "United States Public Records, 1970-2009". FamilySearch. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
- ^ Kaye, Kimberly. "Claybourne Elder" broadway.com, November 26, 2008
- ^ Howell, Blair. "From Utah to Broadway: Actors with Utah ties share Broadway stages in 'Cinderella' and 'Les Miz' " Deseret News, June 16, 2014
- ^ Wong, Waymon (June 21, 2011). "Claybourne Elder Wows New York with Tennessee Tour de Force". thebacklot.com. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- ^ "The 2012 Drama Desk Award Nominee Luncheon". Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- ^ "Elder" lortel.org. Retrieved February 25, 2017
- ^ Classic Stage
- ^ "Claybourne Elder of Bonnie and Clyde". Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- ^ McGee, Celia (December 3, 2008). "Singing a Song of Sondheim". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- ^ "Theatre Buff: Claybourne Elder of Venice". Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- ^ "Broadway World Interview: Claybourne Elder". Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- ^ Hetrick, Adam (February 23, 2017). "Read Reviews for Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford in Sunday in the Park With George". Playbill. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
- ^ Gans, Andrew (October 4, 2016). "All-Star Supporting Cast Joins Jake Gyllenhaal-Annaleigh Ashford Sunday in the Park". Playbill. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
- ^ "Love a Man in Uniform! Who Will Hunky Broadway Star Claybourne Elder Play on The CW's The Carrie Diaries?". Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- ^ Gans, Andrew (August 12, 2014). "Hello George!: Claybourne Elder stars in Signature Theatre's Sunday in the Park, Opening Tonight". Playbill. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- ^ "Meet the Cast of Broadway's Upcoming Revival of Company | Playbill". Playbill. Archived from the original on October 27, 2019.
- ^ Wild, Stephi. "Ashley Blanchet, Ben Crawford, and More Will Lead "Beauty and the Beast" at The Muny". BroadwayWorld.com.
- ^ Wontorek, Paul. "Exclusive! Claybourne Elder on Puppy Love, His Broadway Wedding & Making Music in Pippin with New Hubby Eric Rosen" broadway.com, August 20, 2012
- ^ "Broadway's Claybourne Elder & Eric Rosen Welcome First Child". Broadway.com. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
- ^ Duthiers, Vlad (February 2, 2022). "Broadway star reunites with stranger who gave him free tickets to a show 15 years ago". CBS News. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ Page, Sydney (February 7, 2022). "A stranger bought this Broadway star a ticket years ago when he couldn't afford it. They just reunited". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ Campione, Katie (January 3, 2022). "Company Actor Is Reunited with Stranger Who Bought Him Tickets to See Patti LuPone 15 Years Ago". People. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ Baker, Elna (July 8, 2022). "775: The Possum Experiment--Act Two: Spring Awakening". thisamericanlife.org. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
External links
- Claybourne Elder at the Internet Broadway Database
- Claybourne Elder at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Claybourne Elder at IMDb