Steve Blanchard
Steve Blanchard (born December 4, 1958) is an American stage actor best known for his musical theatre roles, being most closely associated with the role of Beast in the musical "Beauty and the Beast", which he played both on Broadway and on tour for eleven years. In recent years, he has played the role of "Pa" in several regional theatre productions of the musical version of "Little House on the Prairie". He also guest stars in television roles. Early life and career. Blanchard was born in Baltimore, Maryland, according to Broadwayworld. He attended the University of Maryland. Blanchard  is an alum of the Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts. After college, Blanchard performed in dinner theatre. In 1981, he played the title role in "Hans Christian Andersen" in New York City. After this, he appeared in productions in "The Threepenny Opera" in Boston at the Charles Playhouse; in "Sleep of Reason" at Baltimore's Center stage; in "Godspell" and "Hot Mikado" at the Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC; in "The Robber Bridegroom" at the West End in Virginia; and in "Jesus Christ Superstar" at the Candlewood Playhouse. He understudied Brent Spiner as Aramis in the 1984 Broadway revival  of "The Three Musketeers", but the show closed after a week, and Blanchard did not get the opportunity to perform the role. Broadway and later roles. Blanchard's first Broadway appearance was in the role of Lancelot Du Lac in the 1993 revival of "Camelot" and subsequent national tour. He then starred in the musical "Beauty and the Beast" as Gaston and the Beast, playing the latter role, both on Broadway and on tour for eleven years, ending in 2007. Blanchard toured in the U.S. National companies of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" in 1987 , Ken Hill's "Phantom of the Opera" in 1989 (in which he performed for almost three years), and "Camelot" in 1992. Off-Broadway, Blanchard played the role of Johnny in the musical version of "Johnny Guitar" at the Century Center for the Performing Arts in March 2004. He appeared in the off-Broadway musical "Frankenstein, a New Musical", in 2007 as the Condemned Man/the Creature. He also appeared in "An Oak Tree" off-Broadway. On national tours, Blanchard played Joseph Pulitzer on the first national tour of Newsies with his wife, Meredith Inglesby (Hannah). He began the tour when  it kicked off on October 22, 2014 in Schenectady, NY and continued to play the role until its close on October 02, 2016 in Austin, TX. In regional theatre, he appeared in the musical "Chess" at the Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, New Jersey in 1992. In the mid-1990s, he appeared St. Louis Rep's "Esmeralda", Westbury's "Annie Get Your Gun" and Atlanta's "South Pacific". In 1995, he played the roles of "Fred" and the "Headless Ghost" in Alan Menken's version of "A Christmas Carol" at the Madison Square Garden theatre. He has performed the role of "Pa  in productions of the stage musical version of Little House on the Prairie" in regional theatres starting at the Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2008 and then the Paper Mill Playhouse, from September 2009-October 2009. He portrayed Julian Marsh in "42nd Street" at the TUTS, Houston, Texas in July 2009 and at Ogunquit Playhouse, Ogunquit Maine in July 2019. On television, Blanchard has made guest appearances on prime-time shows such as "Law & Order" and "Third Watch" and in daytime dramas. He also sang the title role in the original recording of the new musical, "Sundown", based on the  Legend of Doc Holliday. He has a solo CD, "Northbound Train", on which he sings songs from shows that he has been in.