Guy Stroman started his career in the theatre over thirty years ago at the Dallas Summer Musicals, after graduating Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Texas Christian University in American Literature and German.
Guy moved to New York City in 1979 as Noodler , the Pirate in “Peter Pan”, starring Sandy Duncan, who would later become his producing and business partner in new works, classic plays and concert performances.
For the next twenty years, Guy performed constantly: on Broadway, as Rooster in “Annie”, and in Jerome Kerns’ “Sally”; off-Broadway, in Carol Hall’s “To Whom it May Concern”, Rodgers and Hart’s “America’s Sweetheart”, Ben Hubbard in “Regina”, Dr. Ritz in “The Grass Harp”, and Joshua Hickman in “Gardenia”, to name a few; and he made his debuts at both Carnegie and Avery Fisher Halls.
Around the country, Guy starred in a wide range of roles; Harold Hill in several productions of “The Music Man”; twice as Barnum in “Barnum!”; Elliot in “The Goodbye Girl”; Seymour in “Little Shop of Horrors”; Starbuck in “110 in the Shade”; Bobby in “Girl Crazy”; the Garbage Man with Sally Ann Howes in “Dear World”; Herman in “The Most Happy Fella; and half the casts of both “Greater Tuna” and “The Mystery of Irma Vep”.
Guy was also fortunate to record several cast and concept cds during that time period. He can be heard on “Unsung Sondheim”, “The Busby Berkley Album”, “Girl Crazy” (the complete recording), Disney’s dvd “Aladdin and the King of Thieves”, with Robin Williams, and the London recording of “The Most Happy Fella”.
In 1989, Guy began work developing a new, four character piece, “Forever Plaid’, which would go on to win acclaim and audiences’ hearts in New York and indeed around the world. Guy is the original Frankie in this perennial favorite. He performed the role off-Broadway (Backstage and Bistro Awards), London’s Apollo Theatre in the West End, and in Los Angeles, where he won best acting awards from both the L.A. Drama Critics and Dramalogue. He can also be heard on the original cast recording of “Forever Plaid” on BMG/RCA.
Guy’s work on “Forever Plaid”, indeed all of his career up to that point, as an actor, acting teacher and as a writer-collaborator, led him to begin the directing focus of his craft over the past several years. He began to direct several long running productions of “Forever Plaid” at major theatres across the country and was fortunate to open three new theatres, in Pittsburgh, Sacramento, and Charlotte, with his show.
His partnership with Sandy Duncan produced the premiere of a new play starring Ms. Duncan, “Free Fall”, at the Berkshire Theatre Festival, and they developed (with her husband, Don Correia) the concert “Sandy Duncan Celebrates Broadway with Don Correia and Guy Stroman”. He directed the acclaimed symphony and performing arts evening, as well as performed in it, for the next ten years with all of the major symphonies and performing art centers across the country.
His work as director has been seen in plays as wide-ranging as: “Loot”, “Shakespeare’s R&J”, “Over the Tavern”, “The Lion in Winter”, “Broadway Bound”, “Talley’s Folly”, “The Gin Game”, “Art”, “The Last Night at Ballyhoo”, “Marvin’s Room”, “Steel Magnolias”, and “Driving Miss Daisy” and “The Glass Menagerie”, the last two starring Ms. Duncan. Other notable actresses he has directed include Lynn Redgrave, Jean Stapleton, Sally Struthers, Rachel Kempson, and Joy Behar.
His work in musicals has included Lou Diamond Phillips in “The King and I” (awarded Best Production from the Ft. Worth Star Telegram), “Man of La Mancha” with Walter Charles (voted Audience Favorite for the California Musical Theatre), “1776” (awarded Best Director from the DFW Theatre Critics Forum), “Oliver”, “Mame”, “Lucky Stiff”, “Keep on the Sunny Side”, “Smoke on the Mountain”, and “Always, Patsy Cline”, starring Ms. Struthers.
Guy has also achieved acclaim in the corporate world with his direction of industrial shows that include: Avon World Series Leaders Conference in Athens; Bristol-Myers Squibb Conference in Cannes; the Radio Mercury Awards at the Marriott Marquis in NYC; and productions scattered across the country for the AXA-Equitable, Hyatt International, Colgate Palmolive, Toyota, and Coors companies.
With new work in development for the future, including musical productions about the life of Peggy Lee, with music by Leiber and Stoller, Baruch Spinoza, and a new play starring Ms. Duncan, Guy looks forward to delighting and challenging audiences and himself, his fellow actors, designers, writers, and musicians for the next thirty years!