Cast Spotlight Gregory Jbara

Gregory Jbara (pronounced juh bar uh) will be playing Les Hirsch, Tyler and Caroline’s step-father.

Gregory was born in Westland, MI and attended Wayne Memorial High School in Wayne, MI. He began college at the University Of Michigan School Of Music in the musical theater program, but he would transfer to The Juilliard School where he would study acting and receive his BFA.

His resume is both extensive and varied. He has done work on and off Broadway, has been in films and on television, has done voiceovers for animation and preformed songs for recordings. There is a very good chance that you have seen Gregory in something that he has done.

He first appeared on TV in 1987 in a guest spot on The Newhart Show. In 1988 he appeared in the stage production of Serious Money as a LIFFE Member and a trader. 1988 also was the year that he first appeared on the big screen. He played Tommy, an office boy in the the feature, The House on Carroll Street (1988) starring Kelly McGillis and Jeff Daniels.

Since then, Gregory has been busy. On Broadway, he originated the roles of the catcher Sohovik in the revival of Damn Yankees! (1994-95), Squash Bernstein in Victor/Victoria (1995-97), Andre Thibault in Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels (2005-06) and Dad in Billy Elliot (2008-present). He was a Drama Desk nomination for his role as Thibault and won both the 2009 Drama Desk and the Tony Award for best featured actor for his role as Dad. He was also in Chicago as the second Billy Flynn. He has signed on for another season of Billy Elliot.

Some of his other theater projects include roles in Precious Sons for which he received the Backstage West Garland 2000 award and Neil Simon’s Oscar and Felix. Other off-Broadway and touring plays that he appeared in include Forever Plaid, Privates on Parade, Little Fish and There’s Someone in the House that Jack Built.

His film projects include Walter Brackett in In & Out (1997), Edward in The Out-of-Towners (1999), Snug in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999), Hank in The First $20 Million Is Always The Hardest (2002). He also appeared in Ira and Abby (2006), World Trade Center (2006), Project 96b (2007), Exit Speed (2008), the short film Out of Step (2008) and his voice is heard singing in Enchanted (2007).

Gregory has been a guest star on many television programs including Suddenly Susan (1998), Frasier (1999), Malcolm in the Middle (2001), Ally McBeal (2001), Crossing Jordan (2002), Providence (2002), The West Wing (2003), Touched by an Angel (2003), Without a Trace (2003), Friends (2004), Century City (2004), Conviction (2006), The Unit (2007) and Monk (2008). He has also had recurring roles in Drew Carey (1998), That’s Life (2000, 2001) and Grounded for Life (2002-2005).

He has also provided voice overs for the animated shows Rocket Power (1999-2000), The Family Guy (1999-2008) and American Dad (2008-2009).

His recordings include the Broadway cast recordings of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Victor/Victoria and Damn Yankees! and Little Fish on Ghostlight Records; First Lady Suite on PS Classics; Brigadoon and Annie Get Your Gun on EMI; A Broadway Christmas, Unsung Musicals II, Unsung Berlin, Peter Pan, and Drat The Cat! on Varese/Sarabande.

Gregory was also the announcer on Ripley’s Believe It or Not for three seasons, played Kenny in a Carnegie Hall concert of Very Warm May, and sang You’ve Got a Friend in Me from Toy Story for the TV special 75 Years of Disney Music. He also sang the title song for the animated Disney flick Home on the Range.

Sources:
GregoryJbara.com
IMDb.com
IBDb.com

Photo Credit:
BroadwayWorld.com