Tony Yazbeck
Soloist
Born in Riverside, CA, Tony Yazbeck moved to Bethlehem, PA at age 4, when he first saw Fred Astaire dance on a black and white TV screen. Tony danced around the living room, pretending he was Mr. Astaire, so his mom and dad put him in dance class right away.
At age 11, he auditioned to be a replacement “Newsboy” in the Tyne Daly Gypsy, directed by Arthur Laurents. For the next two years, his mother drove him two hours in each direction, six days a week, from Bethlehem, PA to the stage door of The St. James Theater.
A year after closing Gypsy, at age 14, his family moved to The Poconos, where Tony worked on a farm to make extra money. He moved to Orlando at age 16, where he studied at Dr. Phillips Performing Arts High School. He attended Point Park University in Pittsburgh for two years, working at Disney his first summer and in the ensemble at the PCLO his second. He then transferred to Cincinnati Conservatory of Music for his third year of college. In April of 2000, he was cast in the national tour of Annie Get Your Gun.
In 2001, Tony made the dream of being a true New Yorker a reality, when the tour closed and he officially moved to the city. Various Broadway/Off-Broadway/Encores!/Regional Theatre/Television/National Tours/London Concerts have subsequently ensued, culminating most recently in a Tony Award Nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his turn as “Gabey” in the Broadway revival of On The Town.
Tony is exceedingly passionate about directing, choreographing and writing in new and creative ways for stage and TV. The first incarnation of these efforts is his solo show The Floor Above Me. Tony is also a devoted teacher, most frequently at the National Young Arts Foundation, where he is a master teacher, panelist and assistant director to the legendary Bill T. Jones.
The most important achievement of his life-to-date, however, happened in October 2014, when, right after opening in the aforementioned revival of On The Town, Tony married the love of his life, actress, dancer, singer, choreographer and budding director Katie Huff.