Lewis Cleale

Lewis Cleale is an American theatre actor and singer originally from Houlton, Maine. He studied at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music, where he was later named a Distinguished Alumnus, and trained at the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre. His professional path shifted when a teacher encouraged him to pursue acting over his original business major, introducing him to the cast album of Into the Woods. That recording, and the work of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, became a defining influence on his decision to move to New York. An early career milestone came when he was cast in a European tour of Oklahoma!, where he was noticed by Mary Rodgers, who subsequently recommended him for a Los Angeles production of State Fair.

Cleale made his Broadway debut in 1995 in Swinging on a Star, a revue built around the songs of Johnny Burke. The role earned him a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. He returned to Broadway the following year in the 1996 revival of Once Upon a Mattress, which starred Sarah Jessica Parker. Subsequent Broadway appearances included the Michel Legrand musical Amour in 2002 and the 2005 production of Spamalot. In 2011, Cleale joined the original Broadway cast of The Book of Mormon, playing roles including the Mission President and Joseph Smith, among others. He remained the longest-serving original principal cast member of that production, departing on October 26 of that year.

On national tour, Cleale portrayed Joe Gillis opposite Petula Clark's Norma Desmond in the 1999–2000 touring production of Sunset Boulevard. In 2002 he returned to the road as Lieutenant Joe Cable in South Pacific, a production that featured Robert Goulet. Off-Broadway, his credits include Call Me Madam opposite Tyne Daly and A New Brain, performed with Malcolm Gets and Kristin Chenoweth for Lincoln Center Theater. From September 2008 through March 2009, and again from June 2009 through March 2010, he played El Gallo in the Off-Broadway revival of The Fantasticks at the Jerry Orbach Theater. He subsequently left that production to serve as an understudy for Sondheim on Sondheim.

In Washington, D.C., Cleale played John Adams in 1776 at Ford's Theatre and took on the role of Giorgio in Stephen Sondheim's Passion at the Signature Theatre, a performance that earned him the 1997 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Resident Musical. In May 2009, he played the lead in the new musical Giant, based on Edna Ferber's novel, also at the Signature Theatre. His regional work spans productions at Goodspeed Opera, George Street Playhouse, Cleveland Opera, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Long Beach Civic Light Opera, and The Muny in St. Louis. He also appeared in the revue I Love New York at the Rainbows and Stars room alongside Bryan Batt, Janet Metz, and Heather MacRae.

Cleale's discography includes the original cast albums of Swinging on a Star, Once Upon a Mattress, Call Me Madam, and Amour, as well as William Finn's Infinite Joy, Adam Guettel's Myths and Hymns, and the RCA Victor anthology Great Musicals.