Stephen Bogardus originated the role of Bob Wallace in the Broadway production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.   He was featured in the Broadway revivals of Old Acquaintance and Man of La Mancha.  Prior to these engagements he starred on Broadway as Gabriel Conroy in James Joyce’s The Dead and subsequently played the role at the Ahmanson Theater (Los Angeles) and the Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.).  He has also appeared on Broadway as reporter Mike Connors in High Society and choreographer Gregory Mitchell in Terrance McNally’s Love! Valour! Compassion! for which he received a Tony Award nomination and an Obie Award.  He was featured in the Alan Menken/Tim Rice opus King David which opened Disney’s newly restored New Amsterdam Theatre and the Tony winning productions of Les Miserables and The Grapes of Wrath.

Mr. Bogardus is an original cast member of the Broadway production of Falsettos.  He created the role of Whizzer in the 1981 off-Broadway production of William Finn’s March of the Falsettos at Playwrights Horizons.  Nine years later he reprised the role in Falsettoland at Playwrights Horizons and the Lucille Lortel Theatre.  Between these engagements he portrayed Marvin in a revival of Finn’s In Trousers at the Promenade Theatre.  Stephen made his Broadway debut in the 1980 revival of West Side Story as Mouthpiece and later starred as Tony in Paris and at the Hamburg Stattsoper.  He sings the role of Baby John on Leonard Bernstein’s Deutsche Grammonphon recording of the show.

He played opposite Frederica von Stade in the concert version of Bernstein’s On The Town with the San Francisco Symphony and was featured in the Kennedy Center’s tenth anniversary production of Mass.  Stephen’s extensive off-Broadway work includes Craig Wright’s, The Pavilion (Rattlesnake), Genesis and Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Public Theatre), Feathertop (WPA Theatre) No Way to Treat A Lady (Hudson Guild) and Love! Valour! Compassion! (Manhattan Theatre Club).  For the City Center series entitled, ‘Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert’, he has co-starred in productions of Sweet Adeline and Allegro.  For Los Angeles’ like-minded ‘Reprise!’ series he co-starred in Bells Are Ringing.

Stephen’s concert work includes guest performances with the San Francisco Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and in Sweden with the Gothenburg Symphony.  He  has performed as a guest artist at Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops.  Stephen portrayed Gaylord Ravenal in the national tour of Show Boat, the writer Stine in the L.A. production of City of Angels and Freddy Trumper in the national tour of Chess.  He appeared in the American premiere of Doug Lucie’s Progress at the Long Wharf Theatre as Rene Gallimard in the Arena Stage production of M. Butterfly and starred in Ray Davies’ 80 Days at the La Jolla Playhouse.

For television, Mr. Bogardus has guest starred on Monk (he was “the Leper” on ‘Mr. Monk and the Leper’), the trilogy of Law and Order shows, Ed, Without A Trace, Life and Eleventh Hour.  His films include Julie and Julia, Second Best, States of Control, and Love! Valour! Compassion! Stephen was graduated from Princeton University where he was a member of The Triangle Club and The Nassoons.

Photo: Carol Rosegg