Bruce A. Hubbard

Bruce A. Hubbard (1952 – November 12, 1991) was an American operatic baritone and Broadway performer born in Indianapolis, Indiana. A graduate of Arlington High School in 1971, he studied music at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, where as early as 1973 he assisted in coaching actors appearing in student musicals. During his time as a student, he recorded two songs with the Arlington High School concert choir for a custom vinyl LP: "Antiphon" from Ralph Vaughan Williams's Five Mystical Songs and "Without a Song" by Vincent Youmans, a release that may have constituted his first formally recorded work.

Hubbard's Broadway career spanned from 1976 to 1983 and encompassed several significant productions. Among his earliest stage work was a touring production of Show Boat featuring Van Johnson as Cap'n Andy, which he joined as far back as 1976. He also appeared in the original company of Alan Jay Lerner and Leonard Bernstein's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, in the role of Rev. Bushrod, and performed in the first Broadway production of Scott Joplin's Treemonisha. His Broadway credits additionally include Porgy and Bess, in which he played both Jake and Porgy, and Timbuktu!, the production starring Eartha Kitt, Melba Moore, Gilbert Price, and William Marshall, directed by Tony Award-winning director, costume designer, and choreographer Geoffrey Holder. In Timbuktu!, Hubbard first served as understudy to Price in the leading role of the Mansa of Mali before eventually succeeding him in that part. The production also generated two Broadway national tours, in which Hubbard participated between 1978 and 1980.

His most celebrated Broadway appearance came in 1983, when he played Joe in the Houston Grand Opera's Broadway production of Show Boat, which starred Donald O'Connor. That performance earned Hubbard a nomination for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. In 1991, he received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for reprising the role of Joe in the London Palladium production of Show Boat.

Beyond the stage, Hubbard became closely associated with the role of Joe through the landmark 1988 EMI three-CD recording of Show Boat, conducted by John McGlinn. The set presented the complete musical score using the original 1927 vocal arrangements and orchestrations, and became a best seller. It was subsequently named one of EMI's Great Recordings of the Century. The recording carried significant controversy: baritone Willard White had originally been cast as Joe, but withdrew three days before the session after the all-black chorus, recruited from the Glyndebourne production of Porgy and Bess, objected to McGlinn's intention to use the original 1927 lyrics to "Ol' Man River," which included a racial slur rather than the more commonly performed substitution. The chorus sent a letter of protest to EMI, and both White and the chorus departed the project. McGlinn then approached Hubbard, who was in England at the time singing the role of Jake in the Glyndebourne production of Porgy and Bess. Hubbard took a day to consider the decision, consulting several friends including Eartha Kitt, before agreeing to record the role. He became the first singer in modern times to record "Ol' Man River" with its original lyrics. The Ambrosian Chorus, previously engaged to sing the white choral passages, took over all choral duties for the recording.

Hubbard's association with Porgy and Bess extended across multiple major productions. He appeared in the acclaimed 1986 Glyndebourne Festival revival, singing the role of Jake, and also performed in the Metropolitan Opera production. The Glyndebourne recording was likewise named an EMI Great Recording of the Century. When the Glyndebourne production was adapted for a 1993 television broadcast, Hubbard had already died, but his voice is heard as Jake because the original soundtrack recording was used; baritone Gordon Hawkins performed the role onscreen. Hubbard was, however, seen on camera in a 1987 televised Metropolitan Opera production of Bizet's Carmen, in which he played the smuggler Le Dancaïre. He also appeared on The Equalizer in 1987, co-starring as a club manager in the episode "Solo," and had a film role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1984 production The Cotton Club, playing one of the henchmen of Bumpy Rhodes, a character portrayed by Laurence Fishburne.

Following the success of the EMI Show Boat recording, Hubbard recorded his only solo album, For You, For Me, released on EMI Records in time for Christmas 1990. Produced by Patti Laursen and conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, the album included Aaron Copland's Old American Songs, Irving Berlin's "Always," and selections from Porgy and Bess, Girl Crazy, Centennial Summer, and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Metropolitan Opera soprano Marvis Martin joined him on the duet "Bess, You Is My Woman Now." In addition to his recordings and stage work, Hubbard performed at the White House on three occasions, including an appearance on the PBS series In Performance at the White House.

Hubbard died on November 12, 1991, from pneumonia at New York University Hospital at the age of 39. In 1992, family members, friends, and colleagues established the Bruce Hubbard Memorial Scholarship Fund at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music. The scholarship is awarded annually to voice majors, with preference given to minority students.