Michael McCormick (born July 24, 1951) is an American actor who has appeared in many Broadway productions as well as national tours, off-Broadway and regional theatre, as well as television.
Early life and career McCormick was born on July 24, 1951, in Gary, Indiana, where his father was a steelworker. At 12, he made his stage debut in a touring company of Oliver! at the then-Sam Shubert Theatre (now CIBC Theatre) in Chicago. After the touring company, he performed on a return performance of Oliver! on broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. After Oliver!, in 1965 he was cast as one of teenage children of the lead characters in The Porcelain Year, an ill-fated broadway show written by Reginald Rose that closed quickly after poor reviews; McCormick said "It was a real drama. It was tough because I was just a kid and had never taken acting classes."
Following the disappointing experience on Porcelain, he returned to Indiana and had a difficult time rejoining high school midway through the first year. After high school, he was a theater student at Northwestern University and graduated in 1973, having won the senior best actor award.
Theater career
His Broadway roles include The Wizard in Wicked, Judge in Hello Dolly!, Mack Sennett, Charlie Chaplin Sr. and McGranery in Chaplin, Mr. Greenway in Elf, Oscar Shapiro in Curtains, Grandpa Seth Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Pop in The Pajama Game, Leary in Marie Christine, John Adams and Caesar Rodney in 1776, and Gangster (First Man) in Kiss Me, Kate. On tour, he starred as Max in The Producers and played Thénardier in Les Miserables, among others."Michael McCormick (touring)", Internet Broadway Database, accessed February 15, 2023
In 2022 he created the roles of Fred Colby and Tommy O’Rourke in A Beautiful Noise on Broadway. A review in Variety praised McCormick's "comedic talents" in the role.Amorosi. A. D. "A Beautiful Noise Review: Neil Diamond Musical Unpacks Hitmaker’s Life in Therapy and Song", Variety, December 5, 2022
Personal life He lives in Connecticut with his wife Alison Bevan, who he met in a play, although they never worked together professionally since. She starred in a number of productions at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, among others, before leaving acting. They have one son together.
Acting credits Selected theatre credits Sources:Michael McCormick AboutTheArtists Year(s)ProductionRoleNotes1964-65Oliver!Workhouse Boy / Fagin's GangNational tour1965Londoneru/s Noah ClaypoolBroadway1987-91Les MisérablesGrantaire / Bamatabois / Chain Gang / Drinkeru/s Monsieur ThénardierNational tourMonsieur Thénardier1989The Secret GardenDr. Neville CravenRegional1991La BêteServantu/s Rene Du ParcBroadway1993Kiss of the Spider WomanMarcosu/s Warden1995WardenNational tour19971776Caesar Rodneyu/s John HancockBroadwayJohn Adams2003GypsyCigar/Uncle Jockou/s Herbie2004The ProducersFranz LiebkindNational tour2006Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The MusicalGrandpa Seth WhoBroadway2007-08CurtainsOscar Shapiro2008Les MisérablesMonsieur ThénardierHollywood Bowl2010-11ElfMr. GreenwayBroadway2011The ProducersMax BialystockRegional2013RegionalRagtimeJ.P. MorganAvery Fisher HallLes MisérablesMonsieur ThénardierThe Muny2015My Fair LadyAlfred P. DoolittleInto the WoodsThe Mysterious Man / Cinderella's Father2016 1776 John Hancock Encores!Fiddler on the RoofTevyeThe Muny2017Hello, Dolly!Judge / Ensembleu/s Horace VandergelderBroadway2019–22WickedThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz2022–23A Beautiful NoisePaul Colby / Tommy O’Rourkeu/s Neil (Now)2023-24Fred Weintraub / Tommy O’Rourkeu/s Neil (Now)2025WickedThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz Theatre People Arthur Sanders Westport Country Playhouse The Rink Ben Classic Stage CompanyCulwell-Block, Logan Santino Fontana, Alexander Gemignani, Alex Boniello, More Lace Up for Sold-Out The Rink Benefit Concerts Playbill, August 28, 2025
References
External links