Chris Peluso, Who Played Roles In Mamma Mia As Well As Wicked On Broadway, Died At Age 40:
Chris Peluso, a Broadway star who was known for his roles in shows like “Mamma Mia!” and “Wicked,” died on August 15. He was 40 years old.
Playbill heard from Peluso’s family that he had died. The actor’s “sudden death” was reported by the news source to have happened a year after he “took a break from theater work to get help for schizoaffective disorder.” No other information was given.
Peluso first became known in the theater world when he filled in for the Balladeer in the 2004 production of Assassins, Louis as well as Nicolas within Elton John’s Lestat, and three major male parts within Beautiful The Carole King Musical.
Chris Peluso Was Also One Of The Main Actors In The Off Broadway Version Of The Glorious Ones:
His most famous parts were Sky within Mamma Mia upon Broadway as well as Fiyero in the Wicked tours, both as the main actor and as a stand-in. He was also the star of The Glorious Ones, a play that was not on Broadway. In London, where he had moved, Mr. Peluso was just as busy.
He was in The Woman within White, Death Takes a Holiday, as well as Show Boat, and he played Chris opposite Eva Noblezada in a repeat of Miss Saigon before the show moved to Broadway. He also played Nick Arnstein in a tour of Funny Girl in the UK with Sheridan Smith.
Wednesday, Peluso’s old school, the University of Michigan, paid respect to him on social media. “It breaks my heart to tell you that a dear part of the Michigan Musical Theatre family has died.
Desi Oakley Writes In I Learned So Much From His Kindness As Well As Professionalism:
The loving, charming, and god-given Chris Peluso,” wrote Linda Goodrich, the temporary chair of the musical theater department. “Our hearts go out to him and his family.”
In the post, other stars wrote about how sad they were. Desi Oakley, a Broadway star, wrote, “I learned so much from his kindness as well as professionalism,” and she stated that “I am sending so much love to all who walked tightly alongside him.”
After the news of Peluso’s death spread, many people paid respect to him. Justin Paul, a singer and fellow UM grad, left a string of prayer-hand emojis within the comments part of the school’s social media tribute post.
Chris Peluso Also Played Tony And Marius In Shows Of West Side Story As Well As Les Misérables:
Desi Oakley, another Broadway star, wrote, “I learned so much from his kindness as well as professionalism that I want to send so much love to everyone who worked with him.”
In addition to the U.S. shows listed above, Peluso also performed in London versions of Show Boat, Miss Saigon, The Woman within White, as well as Death Takes a Holiday. He also did a U.K. tour of Funny Girl. He also played Tony and Marius in versions of West Side Story as well as Les Misérables.
Last September, a GoFundMe page was set up for Peluso to raise money for mental health care. This was because he had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder in the past, which “caused Chris to have crippling paranoia that has prevented him from performing in recent years.”
https://youtu.be/0H6QuuFeIU4
Before The Donations Stopped, GoFundMe Had Raised $25,000 By The End Of November:
In a November report on the GoFundMe, which had collected more than $25,000 before donations were stopped, Peluso wrote that he had finished treatment as well as was “stable and recovering well.”
“I can keep a job again, and I’ve even started recording auditions,” he said. “I’ll have to go to therapy and work with doctors for the rest of my life, but I’m so much better than I was before treatment.
I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have such great support from all of you. Without you, none of this growth would have been possible.”