Ben Fankhauser

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Ben Fankhauser
Born
Benjamin Fankhauser

(1989-05-11) May 11, 1989 (age 32)
Zürich, Switzerland[1]
NationalityAmerican
Alma materIthaca College (BFA)
Occupation
  • Actor
  • singer
  • playwright
Years active2008–present

Benjamin Fankhauser[2] (born May 11, 1989) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for originating the role of Davey in the 2012 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Newsies and its 2017 filmed adaptation. Other musical theater credits include the national tours of Spring Awakening and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

Biography[]

Fankhauser was raised in Orange, Ohio, outside of Cleveland, where he attended Orange High School and was active in community theater.[3][1] He attended Ithaca College, from which he received a BFA.[4] During college, he performed in productions of A New Brain and A Midsummer Night's Dream, among others.[5]

During his sophomore year, he was cast in his first professional role, the national tour of Spring Awakening, replacing Ernst.[6] Following college graduation, he was cast in the regional try-out of the musical version of Newsies. He was the last person cast in the production and was spotted by a casting director while auditioning for the tour of The Addams Family.[7] Fankhauser made his Broadway debut in 2012 when the musical transferred to Broadway. Outside of a two month leave, Fankhauser performed during the entire Broadway run.[8] In 2016, he reunited with most of the original cast to record the filmed stage production, which was released in theaters and on Netflix.

Following some regional theater productions, Fankhasuer joined the first national tour of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical as Barry Mann from 2015–2017. He returned to New York and performed in concerts, readings, and Off-Broadway productions, including Kerrigan-Lowdermilk's The Mad Ones. In 2021, his play A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet opened Off-Broadway at the Daryl Roth Theatre. The play and music was co-written by Alex Wyse.[9]

Fankhauser often performs in New York concerts, particularly at Feinstein's/54 Below;[10] his 2018 run of solo shows there were sold out.[11][12]

Acting credits[]

Theatre[]

Selected credits

Year Title Role Venue Notes
2009-10 Spring Awakening Ernst National Tour Tour replacement
2011 Gloryana Nathaniel The Public Theater Workshop
2011 Newsies Davey Paper Mill Playhouse Premiere production
2012-14 Nederlander Theatre Original Broadway production
2014 Saturday Night Gene St. Peter's (New York) Musicals in Mufti Concert series
2015 Next to Normal Henry NC Theatre Regional[13]
2015 Big River Huckleberry Finn Wells Fargo Pavilion Regional
2015-17 Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Barry Mann First National Tour
2017 The Mad Ones Adam 59E59 Theaters Off-Broadway
2018 Bar Mitzvah Boy Harold York Theatre Concert; Off-Broadway
2019 The Flamingo Kid Steve Hartford Stage Premiere production
2019 An American in Paris Adam Hochberg Century II Concert Hall Regional
2020 Mack and Mabel Frank Wyman New York City Center Encores! concert
2021 A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet Book, music, lyrics DR2 Theatre Off-Broadway premiere

Television and film[]

Year Title Role Notes
2012 Submissions Only Ben Episode: "Another Interuption"
2014 It Could Be Worse Dylan Episode: "Too Much Candy"
2017 Disney's Newsies: The Broadway Musical! Davey Filmed version of stage play
2018 The Deuce Episode: "Inside the Pretend"
2019 Indoor Boys Ethan Episode: "Roomies"

Discography[]

Cast albums

Guest appearances

  • 2012: Live by Scott Alan
  • 2013: Drafts: The Music and Lyrics of Alexander Sage Oyen, Vol. 2
  • 2014: Where the Sky Ends: The Songs of Michael Mott
  • 2014: Young Kind of Love by Joey Contreras

External links[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Blank, Matthew (September 10, 2013). "PLAYBILL.COM'S CUE & A: Newsies' Ben Fankhauser". Playbill. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  2. ^ "BEN FANKHAUSER BIOGRAPHY". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  3. ^ "Cleveland-area native plays Carole King's competitor in story of her rise to stardom". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  4. ^ "Ben Fankhauser". A Class Act NY. November 8, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  5. ^ "Ben Fankhauser Resume" (PDF). Nicolosi & Co. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  6. ^ Ferri, Josh (May 2, 2012). "Ben Fankhauser Dishes on Newsies, Spring Awakening and Living Like a Rock Star". Broadway.com. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  7. ^ Stanton, Angie. "BWW Interview: Ben Fankhauser of BEAUTIFUL THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL at Overture Center". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  8. ^ "Jeremy Greenbaum Temporarily Joins the Cast of Broadway's Newsies in the Role of Davey | TheaterMania". www.theatermania.com. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  9. ^ "Bryonha Marie Parham Joins Alex Wyse & Ben Fankhauser in A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet Off-Broadway". Broadway.com. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  10. ^ "Ben Fankhauser". Feinstein's/54 Below. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  11. ^ "Ben Fankhauser". Artists and Beyond. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  12. ^ "Interview: Ben Fankhauser Feinstein's 54 Below". StageBuddy.com. February 21, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  13. ^ "Meet the Cast of NEXT TO NORMAL: Ben Fankhauser as "Henry"". NC Theatre. July 5, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
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