Merritt David Janes

Merritt David Janes is an American stage actor and singer whose Broadway career has spanned from 2013 to 2025. Raised in a family of musicians, Janes pursued music education at the University of Maine before shifting his focus to performance and training at Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City.

Janes launched his professional career on the national touring circuit in 2007, originating the lead role of Robbie Hart in the national tour of The Wedding Singer. He subsequently took on the title role in the second national tour of John Doyle's production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. In 2010, he joined the national tour of Beauty and the Beast as Lumiere, a role he performed with the company for more than a year. The following year, he portrayed Lord Farquaad in the national tour of Shrek the Musical. From October 2012 through June 2013, Janes played Agent Carl Hanratty in the first national tour of Catch Me If You Can, and in November 2013 he joined the North American touring production of The Phantom of the Opera.

Janes made his Broadway debut as a member of the original cast ensemble of Andrew Lloyd Webber's School of Rock – The Musical, a credit that also appears among his verified Broadway productions alongside The Phantom of the Opera and SMASH. He subsequently joined the first national tour of School of Rock, where he eventually took on the role of Dewey. In June 2023, Janes began performing in the Broadway production of Back to the Future: The Musical, where he plays both Principal Strickland and Mayor Red Thomas.