Erik Liberman

Erik Liberman is an American actor, author, and director whose Broadway career spans from 2007 to 2017. Born in Miami to Marsha, a social worker, and Jacob, a Havana-born vision scientist and author, Liberman attended New World School of the Arts, where he earned a YoungArts award and was later named Alumnus of the Year. Following high school, he pursued training at London's Complicité and Royal National Theatre, The Groundlings, Ann Reinking's Broadway Theatre Project, and École Philippe Gaulier in France. He has cited Maureen Stapleton and Judi Dench as influences on his work.

Liberman originated roles in several Broadway productions. In Alfred Uhry's LoveMusik, directed by Harold Prince and featuring Donna Murphy and Michael Cerveris, he appeared in a production that earned four Tony Award nominations and twelve Drama Desk Award nominations, including Best Musical, and produced an original cast recording. He originated the role of Charles Revson, founder of Revlon, in War Paint opposite Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole, directed by Michael Greif, a production that also released an original cast recording. He additionally appeared on Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof.

Among his most noted stage work is his origination of the role of Telephone Guy in The Band's Visit, which received the 2017 New York Drama Critics' Circle, Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle, and Obie Awards for Best Musical. The New York Times wrote that when the ensemble, led by Liberman, performed the show's final number, "Answer Me," the music took on "a transcendent harmonic shimmer that stops the heart." According to interviews, the song was written specifically for him.

Liberman originated the role of Clopin Trouillefou in the world premiere of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. The original cast recording reached number one on the Billboard charts. He also originated roles in stage adaptations of Reefer Madness! and Somewhere in Time. His portrayal of Motel the Tailor in the North American tour of Fiddler on the Roof, which featured Topol, Harvey Fierstein, and Theodore Bikel, drew reviews describing it as "one of the best Motels I've ever seen anywhere." He later co-conceived and co-directed Raising the Roof, a 50th anniversary celebration of Fiddler on the Roof at New York City's Town Hall featuring Joshua Bell and Chita Rivera, and performed in Symphony Space's Fiddler at 50 gala, co-chaired by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Harold Prince, and Stephen Sondheim.

His stage work in revivals includes Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along, for which he received a Helen Hayes Award, and a 25th anniversary production of Into the Woods opposite original cast member Danielle Ferland. He played Groucho Marx twice Off-Broadway and at the Obama White House. Liberman made his Off-Broadway debut in The Calamity of Kat Kat and Willie, followed by For Elise. He appeared in concert stagings of Stravinsky's L'Histoire du Soldat, The Who's Tommy, and Carol Burnett's Hollywood Arms with Tyne Daly, and provided choreography for Mabou Mines Dollhouse, which played Off-Broadway twice, toured internationally, and was filmed for television. He also appeared in Kooman and Diamond's Dani Girl.

On screen, Liberman began working in television as a child, including an early appearance opposite Joe DiMaggio. Developmental concerts at Joe's Pub led to his role as the musical doppelgänger of Jay Duplass in the series finale of Amazon's Transparent. He appeared in episodes of Vinyl, created by Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger, as well as Modern Family, Unforgettable, and Angel. He played one half of the first gay couple to appear in a Procter & Gamble commercial, for Tide.

As a writer, Liberman contributed to Luminous Life: How the Science of Light Unlocks the Art of Living and Wisdom from an Empty Mind, both co-authored with his father, and to Performance of the Century, a volume celebrating the Actors Equity centennial. He has written for The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, and Huffington Post, and is preparing a book and documentary about actress Jayne Mansfield. He is also a Moth storyteller.

In 2020, Liberman launched Bridge to Broadway, an online educational platform connecting master teachers with theatre students, benefiting The Entertainment Community Fund and other charities. Guest artists included Chita Rivera, Joel Grey, Alan Menken, Judith Light, Ali Stroker, Ben Vereen, Lea Salonga, and André de Shields. He received an Encore Award for the initiative.

Liberman won the Lotte Lenya Competition in 2005, with Harold Prince serving as a judge. He received subsequent grants from the National YoungArts Foundation to act at the Sundance Theatre Lab and appeared in Singing the Story, a documentary about the Lenya Competition, as well as a concert of competition winners at Lincoln Center. He paid tribute to Prince in a concert at 54 Below and at the Lenya Competition's 25th anniversary celebration at the Eastman School of Music. His additional honors include Encore, Helen Hayes, Ovation, Garland, Connecticut Critics Circle, and New York Musical Theatre Festival Awards.