Richard Muenz
Encyclopedia
Richard Muenz is an American
actor
and baritone
who is mostly known for his work within American theatre
. Muenz has frequently performed in musical
s and in concerts. He has also periodically acted on television
.
and grew up in the Ridgewood, New Jersey
area. He graduated from Ridgewood High School
and then attended Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania
where he was a voice major. He began his career as a member of the New York City Opera
's chorus with whom he sang for three seasons during the early 1970s. At the same time he became a member of the Gregg Smith Singers
, with whom he made nine recordings over a couple of years; including William Schuman
's The Mighty Casey
. He also had the honor of performing Brahms's Liebeslieder Waltzes at Carnegie Hall
with the ensemble.
In 1975 Muenz performed the role of Sam in a production of Leonard Bernstein
’s Trouble in Tahiti
at the Whitney Museum. Bernstein was in the audience and after the show he invited Muenz personally to join the cast of his upcoming Broadway
musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
. He accepted and made his Broadway debut when the production premiered in the Spring of 1976 portraying a variety of smaller roles. The following year he joined the long running Off-Broadway
production of The Fantasticks
as El Gallo. In 1979 he returned to Broadway as Joe in the revival of The Most Happy Fella
which was recorded live for television broadcast on PBS's Great Performances
. That same year he joined the cast of Ryan's Hope
, portraying the role of Joe Novak from 1979-1980.
In 1980 Muenz was cast as Lancelot in the revival of Lerner and Loewe
's Camelot
with Richard Burton
as King Arthur and Christine Ebersole
as Guenevere. When the show moved from the New York State Theatre to the Winter Garden Theatre
the following year, he stayed with the production, now sharing the stage with Richard Harris
as Arthur and Meg Bussert
as Guenevere. This second cast was recorded live for television broadcast on HBO. In 1983 he portrayed Cadet Dick Thorpe in George Gershwin
and Sigmund Romberg
's Rosalie at Town Hall
with the New Amsterdam Theater Company. In 1985 he appeared as a guest star on the Scarecrow and Mrs. King
episode Over the Limit. In 1986 he was a guest star on Highway to Heaven
in the episode To Bind the Wounds and the following year he appeared on Kate & Allie
in the episode Ted's Fix-Up. In 1988 he returned to Broadway as Joe in the original cast of Chess
. In 1989 he appeared in the world premiere of the Off-Broadway hit of Richard Maltby, Jr.
and David Shire
's Closer Than Ever
at the Cherry Lane Theatre
. A critical success, the show ran for 312 performances and a CD recording was made on the RCA Victor label.
In 1990 Muenz portrayed the role of Samuel Cooper in Kurt Weill
's Love Life at the American Music Theater Festival in Philadelphia. In 1995 he appeared as Frank Sinatra
in the television movie
Love and Betrayal: The Mia Farrow Story. In 1996 he appeared Off-Broadway as Eddie Flagrante in John Dempsey
's Zombie Prom
at the Variety Arts Theatre. In 1998 he was a guest star on the Law & Order
episode Scrambled. In 1999 he stepped in to cover a few performancee for Tom Wopat
as Frank Butler in the Broadway revival of Irving Berlin
's Annie Get Your Gun
, portraying the role opposite Bernadette Peters
. In 2000 he appeared as Robert Baker in New York City Center
Encores!
's production of Bernstein's Wonderful Town
. In 2001 he narrated Great Performancess tribute to Aaron Copland
, Copland's America. In 2005 he returned to Broadway as Pat Denning in the revival of 42nd Street
, a role he had previously portrayed on Broadway in 2001.
Muenz's other performing credits include appearances on three seasons of Garrison Keillor
’s The American Radio Company of the Air, Jean-Luc” on Guiding Light
, “Dr. Kessler” on Another World
, the national tour of Jerry Zaks
’ revival of Guys and Dolls as Sky Masterson, the National tour of The Sound of Music
, performances with the Night Kitchen Radio Theater
, and the Broadway companies of High Society
and Nick & Nora
. He has also appeared in several productions with the New York City Opera
, including Bob in Wonderful Town
, File in 110 in the Shade
, Danilo in The Merry Widow
, and Sid in The Pajama Game
, the latter of which garnerd him a Drama Desk Award
nomination.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
who is mostly known for his work within American theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
. Muenz has frequently performed in musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
s and in concerts. He has also periodically acted on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
Biography
Born in Hartford, ConnecticutHartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
and grew up in the Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 24,958. Ridgewood is an affluent suburban bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown Manhattan.The Village of Ridgewood was...
area. He graduated from Ridgewood High School
Ridgewood High School (New Jersey)
Ridgewood High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students from Ridgewood, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Ridgewood Public Schools....
and then attended Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania
St. Davids, Pennsylvania
St. Davids is an unincorporated community in Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is served by its own train station. St. Davids is home to the main campus of Eastern University, a four-year, liberal arts university affiliated with the American Baptist Churches...
where he was a voice major. He began his career as a member of the New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
's chorus with whom he sang for three seasons during the early 1970s. At the same time he became a member of the Gregg Smith Singers
Gregg Smith Singers
The Gregg Smith Singers is a mixed chorus from the United States, directed by Gregg Smith . The group, which comprises 16 singers, was founded at an all-Japanese Methodist church in West Los Angeles, California in 1955, while Smith was studying for his master's degree in music at the University of...
, with whom he made nine recordings over a couple of years; including William Schuman
William Schuman
William Howard Schuman was an American composer and music administrator.-Life:Born in Manhattan in New York City to Samuel and Rachel Schuman, Schuman was named after the twenty-seventh U.S. president, William Howard Taft, although his family preferred to call him Bill...
's The Mighty Casey
The Mighty Casey
"The Mighty Casey" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.The episode title is a reference to the baseball poem "Casey at the Bat".-Synopsis:...
. He also had the honor of performing Brahms's Liebeslieder Waltzes at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
with the ensemble.
In 1975 Muenz performed the role of Sam in a production of Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
’s Trouble in Tahiti
Trouble in Tahiti
Trouble in Tahiti is a one-act opera in seven scenes composed by Leonard Bernstein with an English libretto by the composer. The opera received its first performance on 12 June 1952 at Berstein's Festival of the Creative Arts on the campus of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts to an...
at the Whitney Museum. Bernstein was in the audience and after the show he invited Muenz personally to join the cast of his upcoming Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (musical)
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is a 1976 musical with music by Leonard Bernstein and book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. It is considered to be a legendary Broadway flop, running only seven performances...
. He accepted and made his Broadway debut when the production premiered in the Spring of 1976 portraying a variety of smaller roles. The following year he joined the long running Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
production of The Fantasticks
The Fantasticks
The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It was produced by Lore Noto. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play "The Romancers" by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into...
as El Gallo. In 1979 he returned to Broadway as Joe in the revival of The Most Happy Fella
The Most Happy Fella
The Most Happy Fella is a 1956 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Frank Loesser. The story, about a romance between an older man and younger woman, is based on the play They Knew What They Wanted by Sidney Howard...
which was recorded live for television broadcast on PBS's Great Performances
Great Performances
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
. That same year he joined the cast of Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
, portraying the role of Joe Novak from 1979-1980.
In 1980 Muenz was cast as Lancelot in the revival of Lerner and Loewe
Lerner and Loewe
Lerner and Loewe are the duo of lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe, known primarily for the music and lyrics of some of Broadway's most successful musical shows, including My Fair Lady, Camelot, and Brigadoon....
's Camelot
Camelot (musical)
Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe . It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King....
with Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
as King Arthur and Christine Ebersole
Christine Ebersole
Christine Ebersole is an American actress and singer.-Early life:Ebersole was born in Winnetka, Illinois, where she attended New Trier High School...
as Guenevere. When the show moved from the New York State Theatre to the Winter Garden Theatre
Winter Garden Theatre
The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1634 Broadway in midtown Manhattan.-History:The structure was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt in 1896 to be the American Horse Exchange....
the following year, he stayed with the production, now sharing the stage with Richard Harris
Richard Harris
Richard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
as Arthur and Meg Bussert
Meg Bussert
Meg Bussert is an American actress, singer and a university professor.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Bussert received her BA degree from Purchase College and her MAT from Manhattanville College...
as Guenevere. This second cast was recorded live for television broadcast on HBO. In 1983 he portrayed Cadet Dick Thorpe in George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
and Sigmund Romberg
Sigmund Romberg
Sigmund Romberg was a Hungarian-born American composer, best known for his operettas.-Biography:Romberg was born as Siegmund Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Gross-Kanizsa during the Austro-Hungarian kaiserlich und königlich monarchy period...
's Rosalie at Town Hall
The Town Hall
The Town Hall is a performance space, located at 123 West 43rd Street, between Sixth Avenue and Broadway, in New York City. It seats approximately 1,500 people.-History:...
with the New Amsterdam Theater Company. In 1985 he appeared as a guest star on the Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Scarecrow and Mrs. King is an American television series that aired from October 3, 1983, to May 28, 1987 on CBS. The show starred Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner as divorced housewife Amanda King and top-level "Agency" operative Lee Stetson who begin a strange association, and eventual romance,...
episode Over the Limit. In 1986 he was a guest star on Highway to Heaven
Highway to Heaven
Highway to Heaven is an American television drama series which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989.- Season 1 :- Season 2 :- Season 3 :- Season 4 :- Season 5 :...
in the episode To Bind the Wounds and the following year he appeared on Kate & Allie
Kate & Allie
Kate & Allie is an American television situation comedy which ran from March 19, 1984 to May 22, 1989. Kate & Allie first aired on CBS as a midseason replacement series and only six episodes were initially commissioned, but the favorable response from critics and viewers alike easily convinced CBS...
in the episode Ted's Fix-Up. In 1988 he returned to Broadway as Joe in the original cast of Chess
Chess (musical)
Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
. In 1989 he appeared in the world premiere of the Off-Broadway hit of Richard Maltby, Jr.
Richard Maltby, Jr.
Richard Eldridge Maltby, Jr. is an American theatre director and producer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He is also well known as a constructor of cryptic crossword puzzles. He has done this for Harper's Magazine, sometimes in collaboration with E. R...
and David Shire
David Shire
David Lee Shire is an American songwriter and the composer of stage musicals, film and television scores. The soundtrack to the movie The Taking of Pelham 123 and parts of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack such as Night on Disco Mountain, an adaptation of Modest Mussorgsky's Night on Bald...
's Closer Than Ever
Closer Than Ever
Closer Than Ever is a musical revue in two acts, with words by Richard Maltby, Jr. and music by David Shire. The revue contains no dialogue, and Maltby and Shire have described this show as a "bookless book musical"...
at the Cherry Lane Theatre
Cherry Lane Theatre
The Cherry Lane Theatre , located at 38 Commerce Street in the borough of Manhattan, was New York City's oldest, continuously running off-Broadway theater...
. A critical success, the show ran for 312 performances and a CD recording was made on the RCA Victor label.
In 1990 Muenz portrayed the role of Samuel Cooper in Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
's Love Life at the American Music Theater Festival in Philadelphia. In 1995 he appeared as Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
in the television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
Love and Betrayal: The Mia Farrow Story. In 1996 he appeared Off-Broadway as Eddie Flagrante in John Dempsey
John Dempsey
John Dempsey may refer to:* John Dempsey , Irish retired footballer* John Dempsey , also playwright* John Dempsey , American sailor and Medal of Honor recipient...
's Zombie Prom
Zombie Prom
Zombie Prom is an Off-Broadway musical, also adapted into a short film. It was first produced at the Red Barn Theatre, Key West, Florida in 1993. It opened off-Broadway in New York City at the Variety Arts Theatre in 1996. It opens November 2009 in London with a UK Premiere at the off-west end...
at the Variety Arts Theatre. In 1998 he was a guest star on the Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
episode Scrambled. In 1999 he stepped in to cover a few performancee for Tom Wopat
Tom Wopat
Tom Wopat is an American actor and singer. He first achieved fame as Luke Duke in the long-running 1979 television series The Dukes of Hazzard, along with John Schneider. He also played Jeff, one of Cybill Shepherd's ex-husbands in the TV series Cybill.-Life and career:Wopat was born in Lodi,...
as Frank Butler in the Broadway revival of Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
's Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun may refer to:*Annie Get Your Gun , a 1946 musical play*Annie Get Your Gun , a 1950 film version of the 1946 musical*Annie Get Your Gun , 1946, with Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton...
, portraying the role opposite Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...
. In 2000 he appeared as Robert Baker in New York City Center
New York City Center
New York City Center is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival theater located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall...
Encores!
Encores!
Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert is a program that has been presented by New York City Center since 1994. Encores! is dedicated to performing the full score of musicals that rarely are heard in New York City...
's production of Bernstein's Wonderful Town
Wonderful Town
Wonderful Town is a musical with a book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Leonard Bernstein...
. In 2001 he narrated Great Performancess tribute to Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
, Copland's America. In 2005 he returned to Broadway as Pat Denning in the revival of 42nd Street
42nd Street (musical)
42nd Street is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyrics by Al Dubin, and music by Harry Warren. The 1980 Broadway production, directed by an ailing Gower Champion and orchestrated by Philip J. Lang, won the Tony Award for Best Musical and became a long-running hit...
, a role he had previously portrayed on Broadway in 2001.
Muenz's other performing credits include appearances on three seasons of Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor
Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...
’s The American Radio Company of the Air, Jean-Luc” on Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
, “Dr. Kessler” on Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
, the national tour of Jerry Zaks
Jerry Zaks
Jerry Zaks is a German-born American stage and television director, and actor. He won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Drama Desk Award for directing The House of Blue Leaves, Lend Me A Tenor, and Six Degrees of Separation and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and Drama...
’ revival of Guys and Dolls as Sky Masterson, the National tour of The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
, performances with the Night Kitchen Radio Theater
Night Kitchen Radio Theater
Night Kitchen Radio Theater is a radio theater company founded and directed by Arthur Yorinks. It has produced two dramatic radio programs: "Live From The Kennedy Center", featuring original radio plays and adaptations for family audiences; and "@7 The Henry Street Series", radio adaptations of...
, and the Broadway companies of High Society
High Society (musical)
High Society is a musical with a book by Arthur Kopit and music and lyrics by Cole Porter.Based on the Philip Barry play The Philadelphia Story and the 1956 musical screen adaptation with Porter's songs, High Society, the plot centers on pretentious Long Island socialite Tracy Lord, who is planning...
and Nick & Nora
Nick & Nora
Nick & Nora is a musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr., and music by Charles Strouse.The plot involves witty and urbane high society couple Nick and Nora Charles, characters created by Dashiell Hammett in his novel The Thin Man, which inspired six films, a radio...
. He has also appeared in several productions with the New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
, including Bob in Wonderful Town
Wonderful Town
Wonderful Town is a musical with a book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Leonard Bernstein...
, File in 110 in the Shade
110 in the Shade
110 in the Shade is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Tom Jones, and music by Harvey Schmidt.Based on Nash's 1954 play The Rainmaker, it focuses on Lizzie Curry, a spinster living on a ranch in the American southwest, and her relationships with local sheriff File, a cautious...
, Danilo in The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
, and Sid in The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded...
, the latter of which garnerd him a Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
nomination.