Leading Roles
Men - M thru Z

Born Jan. 28, 1925, in Buttermilk Hill, W.Va., McKay received a scholarship for private voice lessons and briefly attended Roosevelt College in Illinois. He started his career as a nightclub singer and a member of composer-lyricist Hugh Martin's vocal group, The Martins. In 1951, he appeared on Broadway in the chorus of "Make a Wish," with lyrics and music by Martin, and was a singer in Johnny Mercer's "Top Banana."

In 1957, McKay played Tony in the backers' auditions for "West Side Story." When the musical opened Sept. 26, 1957, Larry Kert had the part, but director-choreographer Jerome Robbins hired McKay to star opposite Marlys Watters as Maria and George Chakiris as Riff for the London production at Her Majesty's Theatre. It opened in December 1958, and McKay missed just three performances in three years.

McKay also played Gabey in a 1963 London production of Leonard Bernstein's "On the Town," performed with Judy Garland in "A Star Is Born" (1954) during her "Gotta Have Me Go With You" number; and sang in 1956 on Washington Square, an NBC variety series starring Ray Bolger. He died in Manhattan in December 2018. He was 93.

Source: Music Circus Website Archives
Source: hollywoodreporter.com/

Mr. Redford's Broadway credits include: "Soldiers" (May 01, 1968 - May 18, 1968), "Black Comedy / White Lies" (Feb 12, 1967 - Dec 02, 1967), "The Zulu and the Zayda" (Nov 10, 1965 - Apr 16, 1966), "Bicycle Ride to Nevada" (Sep 24, 1963 - Sep 24, 1963), "Rattle of a Simple Man" (Apr 17, 1963 - Jul 06, 1963).

A native of South Bend, Indiana, Mr. Resin took his music education at Indiana University and Columbia, and also attended the American Theatre Wing on a Rodgers and Hammerstein scholarship. His first professional roles were under his Columbia U. director who was directing at the Brandywine Music Box, and Mr. Resin was a member of the resident company.

For a time he worked as a singer and narrator at the Roxy Theatre, also singing in churches and as a cruise entertainer. He appeared in three one- act operas by Mark Bucci, and was cast as Sir Harry in "Once Upon a Mattress," with Carol Burnett which was about the moveingest show on Broadway, opening at the Phoenix, then to the Alvin, then to the Cort, then to the Wintergarden and finally to the St. James.

Although first rejected for a chorus replacement in the Broadway company of "My Fair Lady," he later played Freddy in the same production for the last year and a half of its record breaking run. Earlier this summer he appeared in the 1918 musical of Jerome Kern's "Oh Lady Lady" at the Goodspeed Opera House, newly refinished theatre closed for fifty years in East Haddam. Conn.

He has played his with Julie Newmar, and was also in "Finian's Rainbow," "The Male Animal," "The Vagabond King," and "Oklahoma!" in music stock. The high point in a number of television shows was an appearance on the Bell Telephone Hour.

Mr. Resin Broadway credits include:
"Don't Drink the Water" (Kilroy) Nov 17, 1966 - Apr 20, 1968
"On a Clear Day You Can See Forever"
"Fade Out - Fade In" (Custer Corkley) May 26, 1964 - Apr 17, 1965

Bob Roman is a former professional baseball player for the Cleveland Indians who made his Broadway debut portraying a baseball player in "Damn Yankees." He then appeared in such Broadway successes as "Greenwillow," "Bells Are Ringing," (1956) "The Most Happy Fella," and "Girls Against the Boys."

After four years at the Music Circus as a Resident Company Singer, Mr. Roman played a supporting role in the Music Circus' 1960 production of "Carousel." He became a favorite performer at the Music Circus, starring in many productions through out the 1960s. In 1968, he appeared on the New York stage in "Maggie Flynn" and also appeared in "Company," in 1970.

Film-goers have seen him in "Face In The Crowd," "Sweet Smell of Success," and "Pal Joey." His television credits include "Line Up," "Gunsmoke," and "I Love Lucy."

Mr. Scott, who has played the leading roles in both "Kiss Me Kate" and "Kismet" at the Music Circus, made his professional debut in the National company of "Oklahoma!" in which he replaced Curly.

Reared in Hollywood, Mr. Scott spent 21 months on a destroyer in the South Pacific during World War II, after which he returned to the West Coast to study voice and drama, winning the national Atwater-Kent singing award. After "standing-by" for a year for Alfred Drake in the Broadway company of "Kiss Me Kate," he took over the role for a year, and also toured with the first road company. "Irma" is the 25th musical comedy or operetta leading role he has essayed, and he has sung opera in both English and Italian.

Ten months in Australia and New Zealand as "The Music Man" preceded a stretch in the "Man Hunt" television series in Hollywood, and he was soloist with several concert tours including "An Evening With Johan Strauss." Roles in his repertoire include "The King and I," "Guys and Dolls," "Most Happy Fella," most of the operettas, and, of course, he has repeated "Oklahoma!" and "Kiss Me Kate" many times. Before his performance here, he just concluded a five week tour in "Kiss Me Kate" with Marguerite Piazza.

Jean Parker Shepherd Jr. (July 26, 1921 - October 16, 1999) was an American storyteller, humorist, radio and TV personality, writer, and actor. He was often referred to by the nickname 'Shep.' With a career that spanned decades, Shepherd is best known for the film A Christmas Story (1983), which he narrated and co-scripted, based on his own semiautobiographical stories.

Source: wikipedia.org/

Mr. Shriner made his New York operatic debut with the City Center Opera Company in 1953 in "Die Fledermaus." A leading concert singer, he toured throughout the United States giving concerts in forty of the then forty-eight states. On television he appeared on the NBC Network in "The Marriage of Figaro," Tales of Hoffman," and "Die Fledermaus."

Source: Music Circus Website Archives

A nightclub entertainer, he performed at such top spots as the Monte Carlo and the Versailles in New York, the Macambo, and Trocadero on the West Coast, and at leading cabarets in London, Paris, Casablanca, and Tunis. On Broadway he was in "Two for the Show," "Bloomer Girl," and "All for Love."

Mr. Smith was born in Leeds, England in 1920, grew up in Connecticut, and received his training at the Manhattan School of Music and New York College of Music. He was standby to the lead in the Broadway production of "Bravo Giovanni," and appeared on NBC-TV as General Kutuzov in Prokofieff's "War and Peace," and created the role of Brigham Young in Leonard Kastles' opera "Desered" (1961). He is a member of the Metropolitan Opera, the Chicago Lyric Opera, the New York City Opera, Boston's New England Opera, the Philadelphia Lyric and the NBC Opera companies. And, if that's not enough, he's also listed in "Who's Who in America.

Dean Stolber has appeared on Broadway in "Bye, Bye Birdie" as Harvey (1960) and as Charlie Brown in "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown" (1971). Dean Stolber and Darcie Denkert, ran MGM On Stage, a leader in developing and licensing films for stage production. They initiated "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," bringing together Jeffrey Lane, David Yazbek and Marty Bell and David Brown. MGM On Stage was represented in London with the runaway hit "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," opening on Broadway in Spring 2005. With 25 projects in various stages, upcoming productions include "Legally Blonde," "Get Shorty" and "The Thomas Crown Affair."

Dean Stobler's Broadway credits include: Bye Bye Birdie (Apr 14, 1960 - Oct 07, 1961), You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Jun 01, 1971 - Jun 27, 1971), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Mar 03, 2005 - Sep 03, 2006), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Apr 28, 2005 - Dec 31, 2005), Legally Blonde (Apr 29, 2007 - Oct 19, 2008), Promises, Promises (Apr 25, 2010 - Jan 02, 2011), Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Mar 20, 2011 - Jun 24, 2012), Network (Dec 06, 2018 - Jun 08, 2019).

Craig Timberlake, who acted in dozens of plays and musicals throughout North America attended Southern Methodist University and Columbia University. One of his earliest roles was as Henry Higgins in a 1964 touring production of "My Fair Lady." He also toured and starred on Broadway as Rowland in the 1950 Katharine Hepburn production of "As You Like It." Other Broadway credits included the 1949 revivals of Gilbert and Sullivan's "HMS Pinafore" and "The Mikado," in which Mr. Timberlake made use of his bass voice.

Mr. Timberlake was born in Oil City, PA, on Oct. 30, 1920. He died Dec. 31, 2006 at age 86 in Ogunquit, ME.

Source: playbill.com/

Actor Frederic Tozere, who was born in Brookline, MA in 1901, appeared in a variety of films over the course of his Hollywood career. Tozere's career beginnings included film roles in the spy picture "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" (1939) with Edward G Robinson and "The Cowboy Quarterback" (1939). He went on to act in the documentary "The Iron Curtain" (1948) with Dana Andrews, the Jennifer Jones drama "Madame Bovary" (1949) and the William Holden comedy "Father Is a Bachelor" (1950). He also appeared in "Stanley" (NBC, 1956-57). Later in his career, Tozere acted on "Our Five Daughters" (NBC, 1961-62). Tozere passed away in August 1972 at the age of 71.

Source: rottentomatoes.com/

The American baritone, Paul Ukena, was born August 19, 1921 - Lakota, Iowa. In 1946, he was accepted into Julliard School of Music in New York City, graduating with Master of Music degree in 1950. While in school he began a career in singing and acting with the Robert Shaw Chorale and with NBS-TV Opera.

In the early part of his career, in November 1950 Paul Ukena was the baritone soloist in the American premiere of Frederick Delius's Requiem. He was one of the original members of the NBC Opera Theater under Peter Herman Adler in the early 1950's, appearing in many of its television productions, including Benjamin Britten's "Billy Budd" and the premiere of Dello Joio's "Trial at Rouen." He also enjoyed a lengthy association as a leading character baritone with the New York City Opera from 1958 to 1979. He also appeared in music theater productions both on and Off Broadway and in regional theaters: in the 1953 Broadway musical "Maggie," the 1954 Broadway musical "Sandhog," and the 1970 Broadway musical "Cry for Us All." He was a soloist with several major ensembles, among them the Robert Shaw Chorale, The Collegiate Chorale, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra.

Paul Ukena taught at Juilliard School of Music in New York. He was a professor of music at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, from 1961 through 1989. Paul Ukena March 10, 1991 - Mount Vernon, New York.

Source: bach-cantatas.com/

Mr. Warfield hails from Towson, Maryland and graduated from that state's university, also training with Uta Hagen, Irene Dailey, and the Berghof Studio.

Accidentally entering an audition for the Greenwood Theatre in Baltimore, he was given the leading role as his first taste of theatre, and his first New York play was "Little Mary Sunshine," in which during a year, he played five different roles. He was also in "Talent '60" and in 1963 in the off-Broadway "0 Say Can You See".

He has played many parts in both musical and legitimate stock theatre at such places as the Hilltop in Baltimore, the Candlelight in Washington, the Valley Players in Holyoke, Mass., the College Park in Washington, the Charles Playhouse, Boston, and he was a member of the Ann Arbor Drama Season and the Toronto Composers Festival in Canada.

On the small screen he was in Molière's "Scapin the Schemer," and other network shows, and he has made documentaries and government films.

Mr. Washburn first appeared at the Music Circus in 1954 in "The Chocolate Soldier". At the time, he and his bride fell in love with the local scenery and decided, several years later, to become permanent residents of Bucks County, PA. He has had featured roles on Broadway in "Fanny" (1956) and Irving Berlin's "Mr. President" (1962), and played the romantic lead in the Jones Beach production of "Paradise Island" in 1962.

Jack's Broadway credits include: "Mr. President" (1962), and "Fanny" (1956). He appeared in the film, "The Black Orchid" with Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn in 1958. On March 15, 1992, Mr. Washburn died at 64 in New Hope, PA after a long illness.

Richard Wentworth was a leading bass-baritone and basso-buffo with the New York City Opera Company from 1946 to 1959. In 1939 he joined the San Carlo Opera Company in New York and developed an extensive repertoire which included some 89 roles. Mr. Wentworth's talents have been showcased in two Broadway musicals and he has made numerous guest appearances with American and Canadian opera compaines.

Sandi Gallant has written to us:
I have to thank you for your website on the Lambertville Music Circus. One of the performers was a dear friend of our family, Richard Wentworth, Uncle Dick to me. When he was not touring with a company and after he retired, he lived in Lake Mary, FL with his wife Caroline. My father was his accompanist throughout those years, and I was his most ardent critic, he loved me so and sang all the songs to me as if I was on stage too! Of course I grew up with him in our home, by our piano, turning the pages of music as my father played and listened to him sing. Recently I was listening to some old tapes of my dad's with him and Uncle Dick rehearsing for a local performance and it brought back so many memories. So today I went to the net and looked up Uncle Dick, not expecting to find a thing, and there was your site! Thank you so much, I miss him and dad so much, but most of all I miss the music.