Ben Vereen - A Leading Player in Stephen Schwartz Musicals

Vereen - Leading Player in Pippin; the Wizard of Oz in Wicked

Ben Vereen is Wicked's Wizard of Oz through April 4, 2006. He won a Tony Award for his role as the Leading Player in Pippin.

A and E BIOGRAPHY channel created a biography of Ben Vereen on video: Ben Vereen the Hard Way - 60 minutes. With his stand-out turns in Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar and Pippin, Ben Vereen helped break the color barrier on Broadway. He took movie and TV roles, but in 1992 he was struck by a utilities vehicle while he was walking near his home. Yet he was able to rise again in various roles, including Fosse and Wicked. BIOGRAPHY tells Vereen's story. Extensive clips of his performances showcase his talent and star quality.

Watch Ben Vereen in Pippin

Pippin on DVD [new browser window] only $15.99.

Or rent from Netflix: Netflix Delivers DVDs to your home. Try for FREE!

Fosse video and DVD includes very little of Pippin but presents Bob Fosse's choreography and includes some interesting interviews. DVD: Fosse [new browser window]

New: The Muppet Show - Season One (Special Edition) Ben Vereen is one of many special guests who appear.

Ben Vereen
Song: "Boogie Woogie Music"
Fozzie & the magic cabinet
Song: Ben: "Mr. Cellophane"
At the Dance
Ben & Kermit
Vet's Hospital
Wayne & Wanda
Song: Ben: "Imagination".

Hear Ben Vereen in Pippin (1972 Original Broadway Cast)

Hear Ben Vereen in Jesus Christ Superstar

Read all about Pippin | Read about Ben Vereen All His Jazz: The Life and Death of Bob Fosse. [new browser window]

Read all about Wicked

Q and A with Ben Vereen Ben Vereen (Broadway.com) 2005

http://www.benvereen.com/ - Official website

Bio

Born: October 10, 1946

Ben Vereen is one of those special actor-singer-dancer performers who can dazzle audiences with a display of multiple talents. Fosse and other choreographers took advantage of Vereen's elasticity and gave him dance moves that showed off his skills (as in Pippin). Fosse knew Vereen from his dance work on the Sweet Charity film and was influenctial in structuring his role in Pippin.

A graduate of NYC's High School of Performing Arts, Vereen played Claude in Hair in the Broadway production, before joining the national touring company. He first won real notice on Broadway in 1971, playing Judas Iscariot in the Broadway musical Jesus Christ Superstar, for which he earned his first Tony nomination. He earned the Tony as Best Actor in a Musical for his galvanizing turn as The Leading Player in Pippin, although he did not have the title role.

Vereen returned to Broadway in the short lived Grind in 1986. A year after suffering a near-fatal accident, Vereen made his triumphant return to Broadway in 1993 as 'The Chimney Man' in the musical Jelly's Last Jam. He also appeared on Broadway in Fosse.

The recent revival of I'm Not Rappaport marked Vereen's non-musical Broadway debut. Vereen was nominated for Emmy Awards for his performances in "Roots," "Intruders" and 1976's "The Bell Telephone Jubilee." He also received Golden Globe nominations for his work in "Funny Lady" and "Ellis Island."

He co-starred in ALL THAT JAZZ (1979), Fosse's semiautobiographical film, in which Vereen could have been playing himself.