Drew Sarich

Drew Sarich is an American stage actor and singer-songwriter born on August 24, 1975, in St. Louis, Missouri. Bilingual in English and German, he has built a career spanning Broadway, the West End, and major musical theater houses across Europe. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre with a concentration in Directing from Boston Conservatory in 1997.

Sarich began his professional career in New York with an Off-Broadway appearance in Tony n' Tina's Wedding, after which he toured as a backup singer for Liza Minnelli with the Cortes Alexander Trio. In 1998, he portrayed Judas in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar in Nyack, New York, sharing the stage with Billy Porter. That same year he contributed vocals to the Varese Sarabande compilation Broadway Sings Paul Simon.

In 1999, Sarich relocated to Berlin to originate the role of Quasimodo in the world premiere of Der Glöckner von Notre Dame, a production that yielded an original cast recording. He subsequently moved to Vienna, where he played Berger in a revival of Hair, Cousin Kevin in Tommy in Amstetten, Austria, and the title role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch in Berlin. In 2000, he released his debut album, Say It, under his self-titled Drew Sarich Band. His European work continued with the title roles in Jekyll and Hyde in Cologne and Dracula, the Musical in St. Gallen, the latter shared with Thomas Borchert. He also appeared as Sun and Master of the Keys in Barbarella, which opened in Vienna on March 11, 2004, and co-wrote the 2003 productions Lapdog and Wildcat with his wife, Ann Mandrella.

Sarich made his Broadway debut in the spring of 2006 in the musical Lestat. Prior to the New York run, he had covered the roles of Armand and Lestat during the show's San Francisco engagement while performing the role of Laurent. On Broadway he took over the role of Armand following Jack Noseworthy's departure from the production. On May 27, 2006, the day before the show's closing, Sarich stepped into the title role for two performances when Hugh Panaro was ill. Lestat closed on May 28, 2006. A cast recording was made at Sony Studios in New York City on May 22, 2006, by Mercury Records, though it was never commercially released.

Later in the summer of 2006, Sarich replaced Rodney Hicks in the Off-Broadway production of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, appearing alongside Robert Cuccioli, Natascia Diaz, and Gay Marshall. He returned to Broadway that autumn in the revival of Les Misérables, joining the cast in October 2006 in the role of Grantaire, along with the Innkeeper and a worker, and understudying the roles of Enjolras and Javert. Following Alexander Gemignani's exit from the production, Sarich was chosen to assume the lead role of Jean Valjean in July 2007, a position he held until October 2007. At that point he and West End veteran John Owen-Jones exchanged productions: Sarich began performing as Valjean in the London company on October 22, 2007, while Owen-Jones made his Broadway premiere in the role the following day. Sarich's run in the London production concluded on November 8, 2008.

Sarich's European career continued with a wide range of leading roles. In 2009 and 2010, he premiered the title role in Rudolf – Affaire Mayerling at the Raimund Theater in Vienna, a production that generated both a cast album and a DVD release. Beginning November 6, 2010, he took over the role of Graf von Krolock in the Vienna production of Tanz der Vampire, playing the part through 2012 and returning to it in 2017 and 2018. In 2011, he played Curtis Shank in Sister Act in Vienna. From 2012 to 2015, he performed the title role in the world premiere of Rocky das Musical in Hamburg. In October 2013, he starred as the Phantom in a German-language concert production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies in Vienna. In 2015, he performed alongside Alfie Boe in Classic Quadrophenia – The Who at the Konzerthaus in Vienna.

Sarich played Ché in Evita at Vienna's Ronacher theater in 2016, a role for which he received the Austrian Musical Theater Krone award in 2017. That same year he was honored with the German Musical Theater Prize for best main actor for his portrayal of Antonio Vivaldi in Vivaldi – The Fifth Season at the Volksoper Vienna, a Ba-Rock Musical composed by Christian Kolonovits specifically with Sarich in mind for the role. He performed in that production from 2017 through 2022, and a cast recording and DVD were both released. Between 2018 and 2019, he played Jamie in The Last Five Years in Vienna. At the Volksoper Vienna between 2018 and 2023, he appeared as Robert Baker in Wonderful Town, Daddy Brubeck in Sweet Charity, the Wolf and Cinderella's Prince in Into the Woods, and Albin/Zaza in La Cage aux Folles.

In 2023, Sarich starred as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Vindobona in Vienna, as Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Raimund Theater in Vienna, and again as Albin/Zaza in La Cage aux Folles in Vienna. In 2024, he received the German Musical Award for best main actor for his portrayal of Juanita in Kasimir und Karoline at the Staatsoper Hannover.

Alongside his stage work, Sarich has maintained an active recording career as a solo artist, releasing numerous studio albums and singles through labels including Endwerk Records and Statesman Sound, with releases spanning from Say It in 2000 through a series of singles and an EP under the project Everyone's Darling in 2024 and 2025. He has also appeared as a guest vocalist on recordings by various other artists and contributed to multiple cast albums across his European productions.