P. J. Benjamin

P. J. Benjamin (born September 2, 1951)^[3] is an American actor known for his work in theatre.

P. J. Benjamin
Born	(1951-09-02) September 2, 1951 (age 73) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.[1]
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1973–present
Known for	Playing the Wizard in Wicked and Amos in Chicago
Spouse	Louisa Flaningam[2]

Career

A native of Chicago, Illinois,^[1] Benjamin made his Broadway debut in the 1973 revival of The Pajama Game.^[4] He has since performed in at least seven other Broadway shows as well as various touring, off-Broadway, and regional productions.^[3][5]

Benjamin is best known for his performances as Amos Hart in Chicago and the Wizard of Oz in Wicked. Between 1997 and 2006, he played Amos in the Broadway production and two national tours of Chicago.^[6][7][8] The musical shared on its official Facebook page that Benjamin had performed as Amos on Broadway for 1,989 days, which was "more than any other actor for any other character" in the production as of November 2011.^[9] He joined Wicked's first North American tour as the Wizard in 2006.^[10] He played the Wizard on Broadway from 2008 to 2011,^[2] performed in the tour in 2012,^[11] and returned to the Broadway production in 2015 and again in 2017.^[12][13]

Outside his work in theatre, Benjamin has appeared in films and television series, including Ice Age, Law & Order, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.^[2]

Personal life

He is married to actress Louisa Flaningam.^[2]

Theatre credits

Year	Show	Role	Venue	Ref.
1973	The Pajama Game	Dancer	Broadway	[4]
1979	Saravá	Vadinho	Broadway	[14]
1980	Charlie and Algernon	Charlie	Broadway	[15]
1981	Sophisticated Ladies	Performer	Broadway	[16]
1985	Wind in the Willows	Chief Weasel	Broadway	[17]
1992	Chess	Walter	Paper Mill Playhouse	[18]
1993	Ain't Broadway Grand	Mike Todd (standby)	Broadway	[5]
	Promises, Promises	J. D. Sheldrake	Goodspeed Opera House	[19]
1995	Brigadoon	Jeff	Paper Mill Playhouse	[20]
1997	Houdini	Martin Beck	Goodspeed Opera House	[21]
1997–2000	Chicago	Amos Hart	National tour	[6]
2002	A Saint She Ain't	W. C. Fields	Westport Country Playhouse	[22]
2003–2005	Chicago	Amos Hart	Broadway	[23]
2005			National tour	[24]
2006	Wicked	The Wizard of Oz	First North American tour	[10]
2008	Damn Yankees	Joe Boyd	Encores! Summer Stars	[25]
2008–2011	Wicked	The Wizard of Oz	Broadway	[2]
2012			First North American tour	[11]
2013	I Forgive You, Ronald Reagan	Ray	Off-Broadway	[26]
2015	Wicked	The Wizard of Oz	Broadway	[12]
	Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical	Grandpa	Dallas Theater Center	[27]
2016	The Wizard of Oz	Professor Marvel/The Wizard	The Muny	[28]
2017	Wicked	The Wizard of Oz	Broadway	[13]
2022	Choir Boy	Mr. Pendleton	Philadelphia Theatre Company	[29]

References

1. "P. J. Benjamin". Actors' Equity Association. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
2. Gans, Andrew (July 28, 2008). "Benjamin Will Be Wicked's New Wizard Beginning July 29". Playbill. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
3. "P.J. Benjamin (Performer)". Playbill. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
4. Millward, Tom (October 19, 2017). "Jacobs & Benjamin begin performances in Wicked tonight". New York Theatre Guide. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
5. "P. J. Benjamin". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
6. Jones, Kenneth (November 13, 1998). "Chicago Celebrates 2nd Anniv w/ Concert at Times Sq. Visitors Center Nov. 14". Playbill. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
7. Jones, Kenneth (May 2, 2000). "Chicago Road Company Ends Long Run, But May Return in Fall". Playbill. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
8. "John O'Hurley Joins National Tour of Chicago for 3 Cities". BroadwayWorld. April 10, 2006. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
9. Chicago The Musical (November 5, 2011). "15 Days of Trivia: PJ Benjamin has performed Amos Hart on Broadway for 1,989 days..." Facebook.
10. "Murney, Cuervo, Benjamin, Waldman, Freeman to Join Wicked Tour". TheaterMania. January 23, 2006. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
11. Gans, Andrew (April 30, 2012). "Wicked Tour to Welcome Nicole Parker and PJ Benjamin". Playbill. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
12. Gans, Andrew (March 9, 2015). "Broadway's Wicked Will Welcome Arielle Jacobs and P.J. Benjamin". Playbill. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
13. Gans, Andrew (February 7, 2017). "Chad Jennings Makes Broadway Debut in Wicked Feb. 7". Playbill. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
14. Eder, Richard (February 12, 1979). "Theater: 'Sarava,' a Musical Version of 'Dona Flor'". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
15. Rich, Frank (September 15, 1980). "Theater: Musical 'Charlie and Algernon'". The New York Times. p. 57. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
16. Rich, Frank (March 2, 1992). "Ellington's 'Sophisticated Ladies'". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
17. Kuchwara, Michael (December 21, 1985). "'Wind in the Willows,' A New Musical, Opens on Broadway". AP News. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
18. Chess Paper Mill Playhouse
19. "'Promises, Promises' Only Partially Delivers". Hartford Courant. November 1, 1993. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
20. Klein, Alvin (April 23, 1995). "THEATER REVIEW; That Enchanting Glen, With Music to Match". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
21. MacDonald, Laura (October 17, 1997). "Houdini Musical Materializes at Goodspeed Oct. 17". Playbill. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
22. Taylor, Markland (August 1, 2002). "A Saint She Ain't". Variety. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
23. Gans, Andrew (May 23, 2005). "Benjamin Has Hart Beginning May 23 in Broadway's Chicago". Playbill. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
24. Kendt, Rob (February 4, 2005). "Still Packing Heat". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
25. Gans, Andrew (June 6, 2008). "Cox, Mulheren, Selya and Benjamin Join Encores! Damn Yankees Company". Playbill. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
26. Rampell, Catherine (July 31, 2013). "Decades After a Strike, Still Living With the Fallout". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
27. Leydon, Joe (September 21, 2015). "Pre-Broadway Review: 'Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical'". Variety. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
28. Gans, Andrew (June 13, 2016). "Muny Season Kicks Off Tonight with Wizard of Oz, Featuring Broadway Artists". Playbill. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
29. Rabinowitz, Chloe (February 26, 2022). "Review: Philadelphia Premiere of CHOIR BOY at Philadelphia Theatre Company". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved June 6, 2023.

External links

• P. J. Benjamin at Playbill Vault
• P. J. Benjamin at the Internet Broadway Database
• P. J. Benjamin at IMDb