Lara Teeter

Lara Teeter (born 1955) is an American dancer, actor, singer, theatre director and college professor.

Biography

Born in Guthrie, Oklahoma,^[1] Teeter earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Oklahoma City University.^[2]

He made his Broadway debut in the short-lived 1980 musical Happy New Year,^[3] followed by another short-lived musical, the stage adaptation of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which ran on Broadway in 1982 for five performances.^[4]

His third effort proved to be the charm, for the 1983 revival of On Your Toes won him critical recognition and a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, as "The Hoofer" and "Junior",^[5] originally played by Ray Bolger in 1936.^[6] He won the 1983 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Debut Performance.^[7] The show ran for 505 performances.^[5]

Additional Broadway credits include The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and The Pirates of Penzance (chorus).^[8] Off-Broadway and national touring credits include the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (in 1998),^[9][10] The Robber Bridegroom, She Loves Me as Kodaly in 1987 at the Ahmanson Theatre,^[11] My Fair Lady as Henry Higgins at the North Shore Music Theatre (Beverly, Massachusetts) in 1999,^[12] Little Shop of Horrors, Follies in 2005 as "Buddy"^[13] and Oklahoma! (national tour).^[8]

He appeared with the New York City Opera in Naughty Marietta in 1979 as "Private Silas Slick"^[14] and The Most Happy Fella at Lincoln Center in 1991 as "Herman".^[15]

He performed in many productions at The Muny Theater in St. Louis, Missouri, including "Scuttle" in The Little Mermaid, with his daughter playing "Flounder" in 2011. Teeter commented “At Webster, I teach it. At the Muny, I do it..."^[16] He performed the role of Don in Singin' in the Rain at the Muny in 1995.^[17]

He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2000 portraying Henry Higgins in a tribute to the work of Lerner and Loewe ^[18] and his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut in 2001 performing the role of Steve Sankey in Street Scene.^[19]

His regional directing credits include My Fair Lady (Opera Pacific) in 1989,^[20]The Pirates of Penzance, at both the San Bernardino Civic Light Opera and the Light Opera Works of Chicago (in 2002),^[8]Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (Hollywood Cinegrill) and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Fullerton Civic Light Opera) in 1994.^[21]

Teeter was the artistic director of Light Opera Works (Evanston, Illinois), starting in August 1999, and directed many shows there, starting with the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta The Gondoliers in May 2000^[22] and including Ragtime (Light Opera Works of Chicago) in 2003^[23] and Candide (Light Opera Works of Chicago) in 2004.^[24]

Teaching

Teeter's academic credits include positions at California State University, Fullerton, where he helped start the pilot program for a BFA in Musical Theatre and was an associate professor with the theatre and dance department.^[25] He held positions at Northwestern University^[24] and Shenandoah University.^[24] Since 2007 he has been a faculty member at The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri where he now serves as an Associate Professor of Theatre and Head of Musical Theatre.^[26]

Select recordings

Teeter's recordings include On Your Toes (Broadway Revival Cast, 1983),^[27] Lady, Be Good! (Studio Cast, Roxbury Recordings, 1992),^[28] The Musicality of Rodgers & Hart (Compilation, 1997) ^[29] and The Wizard of Oz (Original New York Cast, 1998 Grammy nomination).^[30][31]

• On Your Toes (1983)
• Lady Be Good (1992)
• The Wizard of Oz (Grammy Award nominated) (1998)

Personal

Teeter is married to Kristen, a dancer who is also a teacher of jazz and contemporary dance classes. They married at a Sonoma Valley winery, with cast members from the tour of The Wizard of Oz attending, and celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary in 2013. They have four children.^[32]

References

External links

• Lara Teeter at the Internet Broadway Database