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Andy Mientus

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Andy Mientus
Mientus on the It Gets Better Project Holiday Show in 2014
Born
Andrew Michael Mientus

(1986-11-10) November 10, 1986 (age 38)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Michigan
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
Years active2008–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2016)​

Andrew Michael Mientus (born November 10, 1986) is an American actor. He is best known for starring in the Broadway musicals Spring Awakening, Les Misérables, and Wicked, and on television in the NBC musical drama Smash and as Hartley Rathaway / Pied Piper in the CW series The Flash.

Early life

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Mientus was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, son of Jean Marie (née Gleeson) and Robert J. Mientus. He is of Polish, Italian, and Irish descent.[1] Before starting his career in theatre, Mientus was a fan of the musical Spring Awakening. After seeing the show at the Atlantic Theatre Company, he created a Facebook group for his friends and himself to discuss the show on. However, Mientus began to notice strangers (fellow fans) were joining the group, and soon one of the producers from Spring Awakening contacted Mientus and asked him to make his group the official show Facebook page, which Mientus could moderate. He agreed, and was later recommended by the same producer to audition for the touring company of Spring Awakening.[2] He left the University of Michigan after his junior year to be in the show, and never returned to graduate.[3]

Career

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Theater

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Mientus has toured with the first national touring company of Spring Awakening as Hanschen and in the 2010/11 international tour of Academy[4] and appeared in the 2012 Off-Broadway revival of Carrie: The Musical.[5] He made his Broadway debut in the 2014 revival of Les Misérables as Marius Pontmercy.[6]

In February 2015, he was cast as journalist Brett Craig in Parade, for a one-night-only concert presentation at the Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall.[7] After finishing his run of Les Misérables in early 2015 and being succeeded by Chris McCarrell, Mientus moved to Los Angeles with fiancé Michael Arden, where he appeared in the show Bent at the Mark Taper Forum.[8] He also reprised his role as Hänschen in the Deaf West production of Spring Awakening, directed by Arden. The production then transferred to Broadway, and closed on January 24, 2016.[9]

In April and May 2018, Mientus starred in the production of The Who's Tommy at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts as the title role. In an interview, Mientus stated that the classic rock score was among the music he grew up with rather than musical theater music, so he was very comfortable with the material vocally.[10]

Television

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In 2013, Mientus was cast in season two of the musical drama television series Smash as series regular Kyle Bishop. Following the cancellation of Smash, Mientus and co-stars Jeremy Jordan and Krysta Rodriguez joined the cast of Hit List, the real-world staging of the fictional rock musical created for season two of Smash. The show ran for three performances on December 8–9 at 54 Below.[11]

In 2014, Mientus appeared in several episodes of the ABC Family series Chasing Life as Jackson.[12] That same year, he was cast in a recurring role on the CW series The Flash as the Pied Piper (Hartley Rathaway), having previously auditioned for the lead role of Barry Allen.[13][14] Mientus made history with this role by playing the first openly gay supervillain ever.[15]

In 2017 he was cast as a series regular opposite Leven Rambin, Danny Pino and Chris Noth in Gone, a 12-episode procedural drama series for NBCUniversal International Studios, Germany's RTL and France's TF1, based on Chelsea Cain's novel One Kick. Mientus' character James Finley is a skilled hacker, who was kicked out of his home as a teenager when his family discovered he was gay. While living on the street he was abducted and later rescued by FBI Agent Frank Novak played by Chris Noth.[16]

In 2021 Mientus was cast in Grendel, an eight-episode Netflix series based on Matt Wagner's Dark Horse comic books. Mientus will play the role of Larry Stohler with Abubakr Ali as the lead, Grendel/Hunter Rose.[17] The series air date is scheduled late 2022 to early 2023.[18]

Writing

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Mientus worked on a musical of his own with the Brooklyn-based band Teen Commandments (members Van Hughes, Nick LaGrasta, and Brett Moses). Songs from Burn All Night were performed for the first time at Feinstein's/54 Below in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan in August 2016.[19] The official premiere of the musical directed by Jenny Koons and choreographed by Sam Pinkleton was on August 18, 2017, at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[20]

On March 9, 2018 Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams, announced that Mientus has written a middle-grade fiction series called The Backstagers, based on the comics series of the same name. The first installment, The Backstagers and the Ghost Light, was published on September 25, 2018.[21] On September 20, 2022, he released the queer young-adult paranormal novel Fraternity.[22]

Personal life

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Mientus has a rare neurological disorder called HNPP (Hereditary Neuropathy with Pressure Palsies).[23] During his freshman ballet class at the University of Michigan, his foot went numb and he had to pull out of the class for the remainder of the year. He was then put in a stage tech class, where he met fellow actor Darren Criss.

Mientus is openly bisexual.[24] He married actor and director Michael Arden on August 18, 2016, at Babington House, Somerset, England.[25] He and Arden planned proposals to each other the same day (June 23, 2014), without the other knowing.[26] They have been together since November 14, 2010.[27] The two first met on October 26, 2006, during the opening night party of the Broadway show The Times They Are-a-Changin', in which Arden was a performer.

Theatre

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Year Production Role Location Category
2008–10 Spring Awakening Hänschen Rilow — National Tour
2010 Shine! Richard Hunter (Ragged Dick) New York Musical Theatre Festival New York Musical Theatre Festival
2010–11 Academy Conrad Lansky York Theatre Company International Tour
2011 Rent Mark Cohen Pioneer Theatre Company Salt Lake City Production
Crazy, Just Like Me Simon Sharp New York Musical Theatre Festival New York Musical Theatre Festival
February House[28] Chester Kallman New York Stage and Film Off-Broadway
2012 Carrie Stokes/cover Billy Nolan Lucille Lortel Theatre Off-Broadway
2014–15 Les Misérables Marius Pontmercy Imperial Theatre Broadway
2015 Parade Britt Craig Lincoln Center Concert
Spring Awakening Hänschen Rilow Wallis Annenberg Center Los Angeles – Deaf West Theatre
Bent Rudy Mark Taper Forum Los Angeles
Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde Sidney Mavor, William Parker Gerald W. Lynch Theater Benefit Reading
2015–16 Spring Awakening Hänschen Rilow Brooks Atkinson Theatre Broadway – Deaf West Theatre Transfer
2016 Ragtime Younger Brother Ellis Island Concert
2016–17 Wicked Boq — National Tour
2018 The Who's Tommy Tommy Walker Denver Center for the Performing Arts Regional Production
Tarrytown[29] Ichabod Crane MCC Theater Reading
2019 The View UpStairs Patrick Soho Theatre London
2023 tick, tick... BOOM! Jon Bucks County Playhouse Regional Production
Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas Emmet Otter Studebaker Theater Regional Production

Filmography

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Television
Year Title Role Notes
2013 It Could Be Worse Andy 1 episode
2013 Smash Kyle Bishop Main role; 14 episodes
2013 Anger Management Andy 2 episodes
2014 Chasing Life Jackson 4 episodes
2015–2023 The Flash Hartley Rathaway / Pied Piper 9 episodes
2017–2018 Gone James Finley Main role; 12 episodes
2019 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Caleb Williams 1 episode
2019 Heartstrings Tyler 1 episode
2022 Grendel Larry Stohler Main cast

Bibliography

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  • The Backstagers series (published by Amulet Books)
  • The Backstagers and the Ghost Light (September 2018)
  • The Backstagers the Theater of the Ancients (March 2019)
  • The Backstagers and the Final Blackout (September 2019)
  • Fraternity book (published by Amulet Books) (September 2022)

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result
2010 NYMF Awards[30] Outstanding Individual Performance Shine! Won
2011 NYMF Awards Outstanding Individual Performance Crazy, Just Like Me Won
2014 Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Male) Les Misérables Won
2015 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards Best Featured Actor in a Play (Local Production) Bent Nominated
Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Local Production) Spring Awakening Nominated
2015 Ovation Awards Featured Actor in a Musical Spring Awakening Nominated
Best Acting Ensemble for a Musical Won
2016 Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical Nominated
Fred and Adele Astaire Awards Outstanding Ensemble in a Broadway Show Nominated

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Mientus, Andy (September 23, 2014). "@AgnieszkaChaber yup! .5 Polish .25 Irish .25 Italian".
  2. ^ Show People with Paul Wontorek Interview: Andy Mientus of Les Miserables, Smash & More on YouTube
  3. ^ "TV preview: Ross native joins Smash, Odom returns". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  4. ^ "Andy Mientus, Corey Boardman, Alex Wyse and More Signed for Academy Reading at York". Playbill. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  5. ^ "Andy Mientus Theatre Credits, News, Bio and Photos". www.broadwayworld.com.
  6. ^ "Les Misérables – Broadway Musical – 2014 Revival - IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
  7. ^ "Laura Benanti, Joshua Henry, Ramin Karimloo, Andy Mientus Will Lead Parade Concert". Playbill. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  8. ^ "Matthew Carlson, Patrick Heusinger, Andy Mientus, Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears Will Get Bent in L.A. Production". Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  9. ^ "Andy Mientus & Krysta Rodriguez Will Transfer to Broadway in Deaf West's Spring Awakening Revival". Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  10. ^ Moore, John (March 13, 2018). "Denver's 'Tommy' to star Andy Mientus and other Broadway stars". Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  11. ^ "BREAKING NEWS: SMASH's Jeremy Jordan, Krysta Rodriguez, Andy Mientus & More to Reunite at 54 Below for HIT LIST Concert on 12/9". BroadwayWorld.com.
  12. ^ Masters, Megan (September 26, 2013). "Exclusive: Smash Vet Andy Mientus Joins New ABC Family Drama Chasing Life".
  13. ^ Ausiello, Michael (October 9, 2014). "The Flash Casts Smash Alum to Play Gay DC Comics Villain Pied Piper".
  14. ^ "16 Mind-Blowing BTS Arrowverse Secrets You Never Knew About". CBR. December 3, 2017.
  15. ^ Chi, Paul (December 10, 2014). "'The Flash': Andy Mientus Says Gay Villain Pied Piper is a 'Huge Step Forward'". Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  16. ^ "'Gone': Andy Mientus Cast As Series Regular In Drama Series For NBCU, RTL & TF1". June 13, 2017.
  17. ^ Major, Michael. "Andy Mientus Joins Cast of Netflix's GRENDEL Series". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  18. ^ "Netflix Adaptation of Dark-Horse Comic 'Grendel': Everything We Know So Far". What's on Netflix. October 12, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  19. ^ "Andy Mientus with Teen Commandments". Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  20. ^ "Pop-Synth Musical Burn All Night, by Andy Mientus and Teen Commandments, Arrives at A.R.T."
  21. ^ "Broadway's Andy Mientus Pens New Book Series The Backstagers".
  22. ^ "12 New Books* by Broadway Stars". October 21, 2022.
  23. ^ "Humans of Broadway on Instagram: "I have a rare neurological disorder called HNPP. It's a demyelinating condition, so it's similar to MS but it's not degenerative so it's..."". Instagram. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  24. ^ Gioia, Michael (September 20, 2016). "Andy Mientus Speaks of His Bisexuality, Encouraging "Bi Kids to Be Visible"". Playbill.
  25. ^ Avery, Dan (August 18, 2016). "Broadway Boys Andy Mientus And Michael Arden Got Married - NewNowNext". www.newnownext.com.[permanent dead link]
  26. ^ "Michael Arden on Instagram". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  27. ^ Mientus, Andy (November 14, 2015). "Instagram". Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  28. ^ "Powerhouse Theater - "February House" - Gabriel Kahane". WAMC. July 12, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  29. ^ Wood, Alex (May 11, 2020). "Jeremy Jordan leads cast of musical loosely based on Sleepy Hollow story – listen to it now". What's On Stage.
  30. ^ Peter, Thomas (October 21, 2010). "NYMF Gala to Honor the Weisslers; 2010 Awards for Excellence Winners Announced". Playbill.
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