John Dossett

John Dossett is an American actor and singer born on April 15, 1958, in Louisville, Kentucky. He attended Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Delaware, from 1972 through 1976, where he participated in student theater productions and served as an announcer for the school's radio station, WMPH.

Dossett made his Broadway debut in 1979 in the short-lived musical King of Schnorrers. In 1982 he joined the cast of Fifth of July on Broadway, after which much of his work shifted to off-Broadway and television. He became a member of the off-Broadway Circle Repertory Company, where he performed in numerous productions between 1980 and 1994 and originated the role of Dewey Maples in The Diviners. A notable screen credit from this period is the 1990 AIDS drama Longtime Companion.

Dossett returned to Broadway prominence with the 1998 musical Ragtime. He subsequently appeared in the 2003 revival of Gypsy, playing Herbie opposite Bernadette Peters, a performance that earned him both a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. In September 2007, he reunited with Peters in a one-night-only benefit reading of Love Letters for Opening Act.

In 2005, Dossett took over the role of Sam Carmichael in Mamma Mia! on Broadway, and he returned to that production in September 2009, appearing opposite Beth Leavel and later Lisa Brescia. That same year he played Aaron in the world premiere of First Wives Club at the Old Globe in San Diego. He also appeared as Bawley in the world premiere of the Michael John LaChiusa and Sybille Pearson musical Giant at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, through May 31, 2009, reprising the role at the Dallas Theater Center from January 18 through February 19, 2012.

In September 2011, Dossett originated the role of Joseph Pulitzer in the premiere of the Disney stage musical Newsies at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey. He had been cast in the Broadway production of Rebecca as Frank Crawley but departed that production to reprise his role as Pulitzer when Newsies transferred to Broadway, where it opened in previews on March 15, 2012. His Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical in 2013 was associated with that performance. He later joined the Broadway production of Chicago as Billy Flynn for an engagement running from March to May 2015.

Dossett played Larry Murphy in the off-Broadway production of Dear Evan Hansen, which ran at Second Stage Theatre from previews beginning March 26, 2016, through May 29, 2016. He appeared as Tommy Lewis in War Paint, a musical with book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, and lyrics by Michael Korie, starring Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole, which premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago on June 28, 2016. His Broadway credits also include Mastergate, Dinner at Eight, and The Constant Wife.

On March 7, 2023, Dossett took over the role of the Wizard in the Broadway production of Wicked, playing his final performance with the show on March 3, 2024. His Broadway career thus spanned from 1979 to 2024.

Dossett married actress Michele Pawk on February 13, 2004. The two met in 1994 while both were performing in the off-Broadway musical Hello Again, and they later appeared together in Mamma Mia! in 2005 and in Wicked beginning in March 2023. The couple has a son, Jack, born in February 2000, and resides in South Orange, New Jersey.