Chuck Cooper was honored with the 1996 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his
portrayal of Memphis in The Life.
In his most recent appearance he played "The Bus" and "The
Dryer" in Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori's Caroline, or
Change (the roles he originated at The Public Theatre)
under the direction of George C. Wolfe. His other Broadway credits include
Chicago (as Billy Flynn), Passion, Someone to Watch Over Me, Rumors, Amen Corner, Getting Away With Murder,
and Badfoot in St. Louis Woman in City Center's
acclaimed Encore series.
The Public Theatre's premier of
Caroline, or Change marked Chuck's first show at that
prestigious theatre and the first of what he hopes will be many
collaborations with Tony Kushner, Jenine Tesori, and Mr. George
Wolfe. Chuck has also starred opposite Leslie UggamsinThunder Knocking On The Door
as starred in productions including Marco Polo Sings a Solo, Jawbone, Avenue X, Police Boys and Colored
People's Time.
Paul Robeson in Paul Robeson at the
Passage Theatre, Thunder Knocking On The Door at Trinity
Repertory, The Doctor is Out, Othello in Othello at the New
Jersey Shakespeare Festival, Brutus in Julius Caesar at the
Philadelphia Drama Guild, Tullus Aufidius in Coriolanus at the
Old Globe Theatre and Caliban in The Tempest at the Alliance
Theatre Company. Most recently, Chuck Cooper starred
in The World Beyond the Hill at the Berkshire
Theatre Festival.
What Reviewers Are Saying About Chuck Cooper's
Recent Performances:
“The other major newcomer is the
massively urbane and strong-voiced Chuck Cooper as the
razzle-dazzle lawyer Billy Flynn …”
– Clive Barnes, New York
Post
“Cooper’s every entrance is as
frightening as death. His power and resonance as a villain
can be cheered and booed”
– The
New York Times
“Cooper leads the way on the gospel
front, with ‘Hold On’ and exhibits the show's greatest vocal
acrobatics at the end of "Take On the Road". He also
deserves special commendation for his acting throughout …
Cooper shows himself to be a gifted actor who brings
concentrated depth to his roles.”
– Les Gutman, Curtain Up
“When an actor is as skillful and
strongly grounded as Cooper, with a rich singing voice to
boot, has an extra string like that to his bow … you’re in
the presence of something exceptional that only the American
theater – and most often the African American theater – can
give you. Leslie Uggams, Cooper … this is a cast of actors
who are fine comically or tragically, fresh and energetic
and alive in the moment.”
– Michael Feingold,
Village Voice
“Chuck Cooper is terrific”
– Washington Post
“The talented Chuck Cooper’s performance
is audience-rousing”
– Show Music
“Cooper brings the audience to uproarious
applause.”
– Town and Village
“What pizzazz! Chuck Cooper delivers a
socko performance”
– Times Herald Record
“Chuck Cooper is glorious”
– Boston Globe
“Chuck Cooper is powerful and ominous”
– WLIM
“But the actor on stage workin’ the
hardest is Cooper, who brilliantly creates a menace with his
booming voice and haunting, unforgettable presence”
– HX
“Chuck Cooper is so intimidating as the
pimp Memphis in THE LIFE that even tough guys in the
audience have been known to recoil in fear”
– In-Theatre Magazine
“This is what is so energizing about
Chuck Cooper’s exuberant portrayal of Robeson, the man … You
come away feel as if you’ve spent the evening as the great
man’s sole guest”
– US One Newspapers
“Cooper, who won a 1996 Tony … is every
inch a star … Cooper’s confidence and ambition fills the
playhouse to the rafters ... Chuck Cooper puts in a stellar
performance”
