John Dossett

John Dossett (born April 15, 1958) is an American actor and singer.

Early life and education Dossett attended Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Delaware, from 1972 through 1976, where he was an announcer for the school's radio station, WMPH, and appeared in student theater productions.

Career Dossett made his Broadway debut in 1979 in a short-lived musical entitled the King of Schnorrers. In 1982 he joined the cast of Fifth of July, after which the bulk of his work was in off-Broadway productions and on television. He was a member of the off-Broadway Circle Repertory Company, performing in many plays between 1980 and 1994 and originating the role of Dewey Maples in The Diviners. A significant screen credit is the 1990 AIDS drama, Longtime Companion.

He later achieved success in two popular musicals, Ragtime (1998) and the 2003 revival of Gypsy as "Herbie" opposite Bernadette Peters. His performance in the latter garnered him both Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominations as Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. He was reunited with his Gypsy co-star Peters in a one-night-only benefit reading of Love Letters in September 2007, for Opening Act.

In 2005, he took over the role of Sam Carmichael in Mamma Mia! Dossett appeared in the world premiere of the Michael John LaChiusa and Sybille Pearson musical Giant, as Bawley, at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia through May 31, 2009. He reprised his role at the Dallas Theater Center production of Giant, from January 18, 2012, through February 19.

He played the role of "Aaron" in the new musical First Wives Club, starting in July 2009 at the Old Globe, San Diego, California. In September 2009, Dossett returned to the Broadway musical Mamma Mia! in the role of Sam Carmichael opposite Tony Award winner Beth Leavel and later Lisa Brescia.

In September 2011, he played the role of Joseph Pulitzer in the premiere of the Disney stage musical Newsies at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey. He had been cast as Frank Crawley in the Broadway production of Rebecca, but left that musical because he appeared in Newsies on Broadway as Joseph Pulitzer. Newsies opened on Broadway on March 15, 2012, in previews. He later joined the Broadway production of Chicago as Billy Flynn for an engagement lasting from March to May 2015.

He played the role of "Larry Murphy" in the Off-Broadway production of Dear Evan Hansen, which opened in previews on March 26, 2016, at the Second Stage Theatre, and closed on May 29, 2016. He appears as "Tommy Lewis" in the musical by Doug Wright (book), Scott Frankel (music) and Michael Korie (lyrics) titled War Paint. The musical, which stars Patti Lupone and Christine Ebersole, premiered at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago, on June 28, 2016. On March 7, 2023, he took over the role of the Wizard in the Broadway production of Wicked. Dossett played his final performance with the show on March 3, 2024.

Personal life Dossett married actress Michele Pawk on February 13, 2004. The couple met in 1994 while working together in an off-Broadway musical, Hello Again. They worked together in the musical Mamma Mia! in 2005 and also star alongside each other in Wicked beginning in March 2023. They have a son, Jack, born in February 2000.

Acting credits

Stage Year Title Role Director Venue 1979–1980 King of Schnorrers David Ben Yonkel Grover Dale Playhouse Theatre (NY) 1980 Innocent Thoughts, Harmless Intentions Walter "Fishfoot" Fitzbout B. Rodney Marriott Circle Theatre 1980 The Diviners Dewey Maples Tom Evans Circle Theatre 1995 Kiss of the Spider Woman Valentin Harold Prince National Theatre 2001 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Judge Thatcher Scott Ellis Minskoff Theatre 2003–2004 Gypsy Herbie Sam Mendes Shubert Theatre 2009 White People Gus Reyes Atlantic Stage 2 2009–2011 Mamma Mia! Sam Carmichael (replacement) Phyllida Lloyd Winter Garden Theatre 2021–2022 Paradise Square Frederic Tiggens Frank Galati Nederlander Theatre, Barrymore Theatre 2023–2024 Wicked The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (replacement) Joe Mantello Gershwin Theatre 2024 The Heart of Rock and Roll Stone Gordon Greenberg James Earl Jones Theatre

Television Year Title Role Notes 1994 Homicide: Life on the Street Chick Episode "The Last of the Watermen" 1996 JAG Commander Dennis Brockman Episode "Ares" 1997 Prince Street 2 episodes 1999 Sex and the City Don Episode "Games People Play" 2002 Hack Jack Shannon 2 episodes 1999, 2005 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Tom Dayton (1999), Dr. Trainer (2005) 2 episodes 1993, 1999, 2002, 2005 Law & Order Don Stuart (1993), Frank Wellington (1999), Father Evans (2002), Judge Martin Schnell (2005) 4 episodes 2007 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Judge Nicholas Fenner Sr. Episode "Players" 2007 Gossip Girl Jack Roth Episode "Roman Holiday" 2008 John Adams Benjamin Rush 6 episodes 2010 As the World Turns Joe Chessley 2 episodes 2011 The Good Wife Kyle Murphy Episode "Breaking Up" 2011 Lights Out Dr. Wilson Episode "Cut Men" 2011 Blue Bloods Father McMurray Episode "Model Behavior" 2011 Suits Mr. Dockery Episode "Pilots" 2013 The Americans Kurt Schultz Episode "COMINT" 2018 Instinct Reilly Episode "Flat Line" 2018 Madam Secretary General David Nelson Episode "Night Watch" 2018 Elementary Treadwell Episode "How to Get a Head"

Film Year Title Role Director 1989 Longtime Companion Paul Norman René 1992 That Night Larry Bloom Craig Bolotin 1997 Nick and Jane John Richard Mauro 1997 Clover Chase Porter Jud Taylor 1999 Blue Moon John Barnard Ron Lagomarsino 1999 The Cracker Man Hank Rudy Gaines 2000 Big Eden John Bishop Thomas Bezucha 2005 Little Manhattan Mickey Telesco Mark Levin 2011 The Oranges Shelly Julian Farino 2012 Man on a Ledge Ted Henry Asger Leth 2020 No Loss Here Ted Nathan Brewer