Walter Bobbie Jr. (born November 18, 1945) is an American theatre director, choreographer, and occasional actor and dancer. Bobbie has directed both musicals and plays on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and was the Artistic Director of the New York City Center Encores! concert series. He directed the long-running Broadway revival of the musical Chicago. His most well-known acting roles were Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the 1992 Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls and Roger in the original Broadway cast of Grease.
Early life Bobbie was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Raised in Lincoln Park, New Jersey, he graduated from Boonton High School in 1963.Clemens, Mary. "Lincoln Park Youth's Family Hoping to Hear from Him Soon", Herald News, August 29, 1968. Accessed February 24, 2026, via Newspapers.com. "The family of Walter Bobbie Jr., who is currently Poland, have some idea might be like to live under communism.... The Bobbie family is of Polish descent and has relatives in Poland. She said her son hoped to locate some of them and that he speaks Polish fluently. Bobbie, who is 23 years old, is a graduate of Boonton High School and the University of Scranton." and attended the University of Scranton and did graduate work at The Catholic University of America."Walter Bobbie interview" donshewey.com (Interviewed for The Advocate, 1998), accessed January 8, 2011 His family was Polish Roman Catholic, and his father was a coal miner. He spoke fluent Polish.
Bobbie explains what inspired him to work in theater: "My first Broadway show was How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, maybe in 1964. I came in to New York from college in Pennsylvania for the World's Fair...I remember sitting there — I practically had to be held down in my seat — and I had never seen anything like it. That day it was clear to me that I wanted to come back to New York, and theater was what I wanted to do. It was transforming."Piepenburg, Erik. "Walter Bobbie 'How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying'; Broadway, Before It Was Their Job" The New York Times, June 1, 2008.
Career Performer As a performer, Bobbie played Roger in the original Broadway production of Grease in 1972. He was featured in the 1976 Broadway revival of Going Up and played Lord Oakleigh in the 1987 revival of Anything Goes. He also starred on Broadway as Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls, for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. He also was in the Off-Broadway productions of Company as Harry in 1980 and Assassins in 1989. Bobbie was in the 1995 concert production of Anyone Can Whistle at Carnegie Hall portraying Comptroller Schub. He most recently appeared on Broadway in 2018 in Saint Joan as Peter Cauchon/Bishop of Beauvais.
Director Bobbie directed the Rodgers and Hammerstein revue A Grand Night for Singing at Rainbow & Stars in 1992 and at the Roundabout Theatre in 1993 for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical, the only Broadway revue in history to be nominated for Best Book of a Musical since revues are generally not eligible for awards that require a narrative framework. The nomination for Best Book of a Musical was in recognition of the sequence of the songs since the show has no script and no spoken words. The show was also nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revue. The New York Times called the Rainbow & Stars production a "radiant new revue" and a "musical masterstroke" and reported of Bobbie's direction that he "has given its Broadway elaboration an impressive fluidity that whisks the performers through various groupings with a minimum of stiffness and posturing. In Mr. Bobbie's hands, the songs flow together in a sequence that treats them as lighthearted extensions of one another."Holden, Steven. "Review/Theater: A Grand Night for Singing; New Image for Rodgers And Hammerstein: Hip" The New York Times, November 18, 1993.
In 1996, he directed a revival of Chicago for Encores! The production transferred to Broadway later that year, and Bobbie won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. The staging has gone on to become the longest-running American musical in Broadway history.
Bobbie next directed the Broadway productions of the stage musical Footloose in 1998, and co-wrote the book.Brantley, Ben. "Theater Review:A Little Town Goes A Little Footloose" The New York Times, October 23, 1998. He co-wrote and directed The Road to Hollywood, a new musical performed at the Goodspeed Opera House in 2002.Croteau, Genevieve. Swing To 'Road To Hollywood'" Hartford Courant, August 8, 2002.
Bobbie directed the 2004 Roundabout Theater production of Twentieth Century with Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche,Brantley, Ben. "Theater Review:Three Egos, Two Stars, One War" The New York Times, March 26, 2004. as well as the 2005 Sweet Charity revival with Christina Applegate,Brantley, Ben. "Theater Review:'Sweet Charity,' After a Rocky Road, Finally Reaches Broadway" The New York Times, May 5, 2005. and then High Fidelity in 2006. Bobbie also directed the one-night-only 2005 concert of South Pacific, a benefit for Carnegie Hall, starring Reba McEntire and Brian Stokes Mitchell.Brantley, Ben. "Theatre Review:Sultry City Night Is Transformed Into an Enchanted Bali Ha'i The New York Times, June 11, 2005.
The musical White Christmas which he directed had limited engagements on Broadway in November 2008 through January 2009 and again in November 2009 through January 2010. Bobbie received a 2009 Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Director of a Musical.Gans, Andrew. "Drama Desk Nominees Announced; 9 to 5 Garners Record-Breaking 15 Noms" Playbill, April 27, 2009.
Bobbie directed the New York premiere of The Savannah Disputations by Evan Smith at the Off-Broadway Playwrights Horizons in 2009, with Marylouise Burke, Dana Ivey, Kellie Overby and Reed Birney.Isherwood, Christopher. "Dodging Hellfire, Armed With Quips and the Obliging Father Murphy" The New York Times, March 4, 2009. In regional theatre, he directed the new Terrence McNally play Golden Age at the Kennedy Center in 2010.Hetrick, Adam. "Walter Bobbie Talks About McNally's Golden Age at the Kennedy Center" Playbill, March 29, 2010.
Artistic director Bobbie was artistic director of the New York City Center Encores! concert series in 1995 and 1996, and also directed the staged concerts of Fiorello! (1994), Tenderloin (2000), and Golden Boy (2002). For Du Barry Was a Lady (1996) he co-adapted the book. Encores! Previous Seasons, 1994-2010" New York City Center, accessed January 8, 2011. He directed the 2008 production of No, No, Nanette.Brantley, Ben. "Theater Review:Roaring Twenties Speakeasies With Tubs Full of Ginger Ale Fizz" The New York Times, May 10, 2008. He appeared in Face the Music in 2007 with The New York Times reviewer writing: "A last, affectionate word for Mr. Bobbie, whose career took off in another direction when his staging of Chicago for the Encores! series became a Broadway smash. As the harried Hal Reisman...he breathes fresh comic life into even some of the hoariest routines."Isherwood, Christopher. "Theater Review:Let's Put on an Automat! Cue Cops and Cheesecake" The New York Times, March 31, 2007.
Filmography + Walter Bobbie film and television credits Year Title Role Notes 1981, 2004 One Life to LiveReporter / William Davis Dawes2 episodes 1986 Hill Street Blues Councilman Wade 2 episodes 1986 The Equalizer Cox Episode: "Unpunished Crimes" 1987 L.A. Law Joel Zweibel Episode: "Becker on the Rox" 1987 The Equalizer Virgil Episode: "Shadow Play" 1988 ShakedownDean HowlandFilm 1990–1991 LovingWally Anderson5 episodes 1991 ABC Afterschool SpecialsSheriffEpisode: "It's Only Rock & Roll" 1991 Law & Order Peter Cummins Episode: "His Hour Upon the Stage" 1992 Law & Order Fred Drake Episode: "Wedded Bliss" 1994 NYPD Blue Manfredi Episode: "Up on the Roof" 1995 Guiding LightMal DaviesEpisode #1.11861 1995 New York NewsEpisode: "New York News" 1996 Edie & PenSpeeding CabbieFilm 1996 The First Wives Club Man in Bed Film 1996 Thinner Kirk Penschley Film 1999 Law & Order Michael Garrison Episode: "Merger" 2000 Between the LionsEpisode: "Sausage Nose" 2003 Marci XWalt SeldonFilm 2004 PalindromesBo SunshineFilm 2013 The Good Wife Seth DeLuca Episode: "Runnin' with the Devil" 2021 Dopesick Mortimer Sackler 5 episodes
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