Steven Skybell
{{Short description|American actor}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Steven Skybell
| birth_place = Amarillo, Texas, U.S.
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1988-present
| education = Yale University (BA, MFA)
}}
Steven Skybell is a theater, film and television actor. He has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in regional theater productions, on television, and in film.
Biography
= Early life and education =
Skybell grew up in Lubbock, Texas, and performed in two productions of Fiddler on the Roof from an early age: First as a "chuppa boy" and then Tevye at the Interlochen Center for the Arts summer camp. He went on to attend the Yale School of Drama, performing alongside Jodie Foster in Getting Out, directed by Tina Landau.{{Cite web |title=Tradition! |url=https://yalealumnimagazine.org/articles/5010-steven-skybell |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=yalealumnimagazine.org |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=chad@tjpnews.com |date=2023-03-02 |title='Tevye': a night of Yiddish tradition - Texas Jewish Post |url=https://tjpnews.com/tevye-a-night-of-yiddish-tradition/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |language=en-US}} At Yale, Steven would reprise the role of Tevye again.{{Cite web |last=Fierberg |first=Ruthie |date=November 4, 2018 |title=After a Lifelong Quest to Play Tevye, Steven Skybell's Prayers Were Answered—But Not How He Thought |url=https://playbill.com/article/after-a-lifelong-quest-to-play-tevye-steven-skybells-prayers-were-answeredbut-not-how-he-thought |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529094835/https://playbill.com/article/after-a-lifelong-quest-to-play-tevye-steven-skybells-prayers-were-answeredbut-not-how-he-thought |archive-date=May 29, 2024 |access-date=December 8, 2024 |website=Playbill}}
= On stage (2000s-2010s) =
Skybell worked with Stephen Schwartz and Joe Mantello on the workshop for Wicked, playing the character Doctor Dillamond. He would later reprise this role in the Chicago{{Cite web |last=Gans |first=Andrew |date=June 24, 2005 |title=New Wicked Production Begins Performances in Chicago June 24 |url=https://playbill.com/article/new-wicked-production-begins-performances-in-chicago-june-24-com-126647 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302104851/https://playbill.com/article/new-wicked-production-begins-performances-in-chicago-june-24-com-126647 |archive-date=March 2, 2021 |access-date=December 10, 2024 |website=Playbill}} and Broadway productions, as well as on the Wicked National Tour.{{Cite web |last=Gans |first=Andrew |date=December 5, 2010 |title=National Tour of Wicked Gets a New Wizard Beginning Sept. 14 |url=https://playbill.com/article/national-tour-of-wicked-gets-a-new-wizard-beginning-sept-14-com-171558 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207112917/https://playbill.com/article/national-tour-of-wicked-gets-a-new-wizard-beginning-sept-14-com-171558 |archive-date=December 7, 2021 |access-date=December 10, 2024 |website=Playbill}} They held adjunct faculty positions at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts{{Cite web |title=Steven Skybell |url=https://tisch.nyu.edu/about/directory/grad-acting/1965710751 |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=tisch.nyu.edu |language=en}} and at Fordham University{{Cite web |title=Steven Skybell {{!}} Fordham |url=https://www.fordham.edu/academics/departments/theatre/faculty/adjunct-faculty/steven-skybell/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=www.fordham.edu}} in their theater departments. His credits in the 2000s and early 2010s would include productions by the Classic Stage Company and Shakespeare in the Park. During this time, Skybell yearned to play Tevye again when he was much closer to the character's age.
= Fiddler on the Roof and Fidler Afn Dakh (2015–2022) =
In 2015, Skybell took over the role of Lazar Wolf in a Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof. He starred as Tevye in the all-Yiddish production, directed by Joel Grey, Fidler Afn Dakh at the Museum of Jewish Heritage by National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. The production was a critical success,{{Cite web |date=2018-09-04 |title=REVIEW: Wonder of Wonders! Miracle of Miracles! "Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish" |url=https://www.stageleft.nyc/blog/2018/9/4/review-wonder-of-wonders-miracle-of-miracles-fiddler-on-the-roof-in-yiddish |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=Stage Left |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Windman |first=Matt |date=2018-07-15 |title='Fiddler on the Roof' review: Yiddish-language production triumphs at Museum of Jewish Heritage {{!}} amNewYork |url=https://www.amny.com/entertainment/fiddler-on-the-roof-yiddish-review-1-19846570/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=www.amny.com |language=en-US}} leading to four separate extensions. In February 2019, the show transferred uptown to Stage 42 where it played until January 5, 2020.{{Cite web |last=Goldblum |first=Robert |date=2020-01-02 |title=Last Chance To See Yiddish 'Fiddler' & More Tips Of What To Do In NYC This Week |url=https://www.jta.org/2020/01/02/ny/last-week-to-see-yiddish-fiddler-and-more-tips-of-what-to-do-in-nyc-this-week |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US}} For his portrayal of Tevye, Skybell won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical,{{Cite web |title=2019 Nominees : Lucille Lortel Awards |url=https://lortelaward.com/2019-nominees/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=lortelaward.com}} and was nominated for the Drama League Distinguished Performance Award,{{Cite web |title=Get Inside the Starry 2019 Drama League Awards with These Exclusive Portraits |url=https://www.broadway.com/photos/gallery/839/get-inside-the-starry-2019-drama-league-awards-with-these-exclusive-portraits/109176/ |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=Broadway.com |language=en}} Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical,{{cite web |last=Fierberg |first=Ruth |date=June 2, 2019 |title=Tootsie, Hadestown, and The Ferryman Lead 2019 Drama Desk Award Winners |url=http://www.playbill.com/article/tootsie-hadestown-and-the-ferryman-lead-2019-drama-desk-award-winners |access-date=June 4, 2019}} and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical.{{Cite web |title=Hadestown Leads Winners of 2019 Outer Critics Circle Awards |url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/195791/hadestown-leads-winners-of-2019-outer-critics-circle-awards/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=Broadway.com |language=en}} Skybell would reprise his role as Tevye at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, his first English performance in the role on a larger stage, and again for a limited run of the Yiddish version at New World Stages both in 2022.
= Cabaret (2024) =
In 2024, Skybell played Herr Schultz in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, opposite Bebe Neuwirth as Fraulein Schneider. The two had previously worked together for a Classic Stage Company production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.{{Cite web |last=Evans |first=Greg |date=2023-11-09 |title=Bebe Neuwirth & Steven Skybell Join Cast Of Broadway's Cabaret Revival |url=https://deadline.com/2023/11/bebe-neuwirth-steven-skybell-cabaret-broadway-1235597447/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}} In this role, he received his first Tony Award nomination, for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.{{Cite web |title=The Tony Award Nominations |url=https://www.tonyawards.com/nominees/year/2024/category/actor-featured-role-musical/show/any/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=www.tonyawards.com |language=en-US}}
Stage credits
| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%width:60%;" |
| style="text-align:center;"
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Show ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Production Level ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Ref |
| style="text-align:center;" |2024
|Herr Schultz |Broadway April 21, 2024 – Present |
| style="text-align:center;" |2023
|Amid Falling Walls |Performer |Regional November 20, 2023 - December 10, 2023 |
| style="text-align:center;"| 2023
|Boston, MA June 13, 2023 - July 16, 2023 |
| style="text-align:center;"| 2022
| rowspan="4" |Tevye |Chicago, IL September 17, 2022 - October 7, 2022 |
| style="text-align:center;"| 2022
| rowspan="3" |Fidler Afn Dakh |Off-Broadway November 21, 2022 - January 1, 2023 |
| style="text-align:center;" |2019
|Off-Broadway February 21, 2019 - January 5, 2020 (moved from Museum of Jewish Heritage production after 4 extensions) |
| style="text-align:center;" |2018
|Off-Broadway July 4, 2018 - December 30, 2018 |
| style="text-align:center;" | 2015
| Fiddler on the Roof | Lazar Wolf (understudy) | Broadway December 20, 2015 - December 31, 2016 |
| style="text-align:center;" | 2015
| Gaoler, Pisanio, Frenchman | rowspan="5" | Off-Broadway August 10, 2015 - August 23, 2015 |
| style="text-align:center;" | 2014
| Jesse Mahoney | Classic Stage Company January 30, 2014 - February 16, 2014 |
| style="text-align:center;"|2012
|Bottom |Classic Stage Company April 29, 2012 - May 20, 2012 |
| style="text-align:center;"|2012
|Gallileo |Performer |Classic Stage Company February 12, 2012 - March 18, 2012 |
| style="text-align:center;"|2011
|Holofernes October 31, 2011 - November 6, 2011 |
| style="text-align:center;"|2010
| rowspan="4" |Wicked | rowspan="4" |Doctor Dillamond |National tour |August 3, 2010 - April, 2011 |
| style="text-align:center;"|2006
| Broadway August 8, 2006 - September 1, 2008 | {{Cite web |title=Annaleigh Ashford and Stephanie J. Block Set to Play Wicked's Witches |url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/96743/annaleigh-ashford-and-stephanie-j-block-set-to-play-wickeds-witches/ |access-date=2024-07-15 |website=Broadway.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2006-03-07 |title=His inner goat |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2006/03/07/his-inner-goat/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}} |
| style="text-align:center;"|2005
|Chicago, IL |Nederlander Theatre (Chicago) July 13, 2005 - Mar 27, 2006 |{{Cite web |title=Wicked - Chicago at The Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre 2005-2009 |url=https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/16391-wicked-chicago-at-the-ford-center-for-the-performing-arts-oriental-theatre-2005-2009 |access-date=2024-07-15 |website=www.abouttheartists.com}}{{Cite web |last=intern |date=2022-08-23 |title=Fiddler's Night at the Opera: Steven Skybell on his Return to Play Teyve at the Lyric Opera |url=https://better.net/arts-events/fiddlers-night-at-the-opera-steven-skybell-on-his-return-to-play-teyve-at-the-lyric-opera/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=Better Magazine |language=en-US}} |
| style="text-align:center;"|2002
|Workshop |Sings "As If By Magic", a song cut from the final score |{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFpwu6sOSyg |title=3º As if By Magic - Wicked Workshop |date=2017-01-17 |last=Wicked México |access-date=2024-11-29 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Stephen |date=December 8, 2024 |title=Stephen Schwartz Answers Questions About Wicked's Score |url=https://stephenschwartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/WickedSongs.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241126182221/https://stephenschwartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/WickedSongs.pdf |archive-date=November 26, 2024 |access-date=December 8, 2024 |website=StephenSchwartz.com}} |
| style="text-align:center;"|2008
|Ernest |Broadway December 11, 2008 - March 1, 2009 |
| style="text-align:center;"|2005
|The Controversy Of Valladolid |Sepulvelda |Off-Broadway |The Public Theater February 20, 2005 - March 13, 2005 |
| style="text-align:center;"|2004
|The Bald Soprano And The Lesson |The Professor |Off-Broadway September 19, 2004 - October 17, 2004 |
References
{{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{improve categories|date=February 2025}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skybell, Stephen}}