Brandon Uranowitz has played a variety of characters in his seven Broadway shows, including a psychiatrist, an ex-GI, the Emcee (at least for a number) and now, in Tom Stoppard’s new play, “Leopoldstadt,” he doubles as a professor of mathematics and Auschwitz survivor.
In the latest episode of “The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal,” Uranowitz and Broadway.com’s Paul Wontorek walked through the Theater District to every theater Uranowitz has worked in and chatted about the three-time Tony Award nominee’s career.
The two strolled to the Broadhurst Theatre where Uranowitz made his Broadway debut in “Baby It’s You!” in 2011. There, he met his partner of 12 years, Zachary Prince, who was Uranowitz’s standby. “It sounds crazy and like weirdly narcissistic, but we’re very different,” Uranowitz said of how they met.
Uranowitz also starred in the acclaimed 2016 revival of “Falsettos,” a show he discovered as a young boy. He recalled marveling at the fact that there was a musical where a kid has a bar-mitzvah and what it felt like to see himself reflected onstage for the first time.
“It was the first time I really felt like there was something about me in the musical theater cannon. And it was really important for Jewish theater people, to be honest, and of course for the gay community, too.”
Uranowitz is, as Wontorek noted, a “proudly out actor” who has been able to explore some “great gay men characters.” In “Burn This” — in which Uranowitz starred at the Hudson Theatre in 2019 — he played an out gay character on Broadway for the first time.
“I felt a big responsibility to the community and to gay people everywhere to represent, to be out and to be open and proud,” Uranowitz said. “It was a big moment for me.”
In “Leopoldstadt,” Uranowitz pulls double duty as two different characters, Ludwig and Nathan. While Wontorek shared a general description of the play’s plot, Uranowitz said he likes to steer the conversations around “Leopoldstadt” towards anti-Semitism and how it affects the family at the center of the story.
“Before the anti-Semitism conversation in America got as loud as it is, I had felt like I’d been waiting my whole life for this play,” Uranowitz said. He added that as the lines between the theater and real world blur, he feels even more of an obligation to be telling this story.
“As an actor, I feel like there’s no other thing that I should be or could be doing right now.”
This week’s episode of “The Broadway Show” also features Jefferson Mays, currently starring in “A Christmas Carol,” sharing how he memorized all 50 parts in his one-man version of the show. Viewers can also catch a glimpse inside the legendary Theater District eatery Joe Allen, named after the restauranteur who passed away in 2021. Other episode highlights include interviews from the opening nights of “Kimberly Akimbo” and “Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man & The Pool,” the 25th-anniversary performance of “The Lion King” and the debut of the brand-new Museum of Broadway.
“The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal” airs on weekends. Check your local listings for air time and channel.
