Gregory Jbara

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Gregory Jbara
Head shot
Born	September 28, 1961 (1961-09-28) (age 46) Westland, Michigan U.S.
Spouse(s)	Julie Jbara
Official website

Gregory Jbara (born September 28, 1961, Westland, Michigan) is an American film, television, and stage actor of Lebanese^[1] and Irish^[2] descent.

After graduating from Wayne Memorial High School in Wayne, Michigan,^[3] Jbara attended the University of Michigan School of Music musical theatre program (BA '81)^[4] before transferring to Juilliard (1982-1986) to complete his BFA in acting.^[5]

Jbara originated the role of "André Thibault" in the Broadway musical comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,^[6] which opened on Broadway on March 3, 2005, with John Lithgow, Norbert Leo Butz, Sherie Rene Scott, Joanna Gleason, and Sara Gettelfinger.^[7] Jbara portrayed Andre from January 31, 2005 (counting from previews) through July 23, 2006^[8] after having also played the role during the show's pre-Broadway run at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego (September 15 – November 7, 2004).^[9]

On May 5, 2005, Sardi's caricatures of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels stars Butz, Gleason, Jbara, and Scott were unveiled in a ceremony hosted by fellow co-star Sara Gettelfinger.^[10] (Scoundrels star John Lithgow had already been caricatured at Sardi's.)^[11] In a 2008 Grand Rapids Press interview, Jbara (noting the importance of being caricatured at the landmark Broadway restaurant) said, "You don't remember a year later who won the Tonys, but that picture will be in Sardi's for the rest of my life."^[12]

Jbara received the BackStageWest Garland 2000 Award for his performance in the West Coast Premiere of George Furth's play, Precious Sons, co-starring Nora Dunn, Michael Malota, Ginger Williams, and Adam Wylie.^[13]

In 2006, Jbara received a Special Award from the New England Theatre Conference for his achievement in theatre.^[14]

Jbara appeared as TV Land's on-camera spokesperson in eight different spots featuring three generations sitting on a couch -- grandpa (William Severs), father/boomer (Jbara) and teenage son (Dylan Kepp). The spots focused, humorously, on the contrasts among those generations and first premiered on TV Land during the TV Land Awards broadcast on April 22, 2007. A screen capture from one of the promos can be seen here.

Contents 1 Broadway Credits 2 Other Selected Stage Credits 3 Selected TV Credits 4 Selected Film credits 5 Miscellaneous Credits 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Broadway Credits

• "André Thibault" in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (originated role)^[15]
• "Billy Flynn" in Chicago (revival)
• "Squash (Mr. Bernstein)" in Victor/Victoria (originated role)
• "Sohovik" in Damn Yankees (revival; originated role)
• "Bellhop #1/Bootblack" in Born Yesterday with Ed Asner and Madeline Kahn (Broadway revival)
• "LIFFE Trader, John" in Serious Money with Alec Baldwin and Kate Nelligan (Jbara's Broadway debut)

[edit] Other Selected Stage Credits

• "Mr. Bunder" in the West Coast Premiere of Michael John LaChiusa's play, Little Fish starring Alice Ripley
• "Vinnie" in the Geffen Playhouse Premier of Neil Simon's Felix and Oscar (update to The Odd Couple)
• "Ike/Bess Truman" in the West Coast Premiere of Michael John LaChiusa's play, First Lady Suite
• "Clark Gable" in The Blank Theatre Company's The Living Room Series presentation of Mark Saltzman's new play, Mr. Shaw Goes To Hollywood
• "Chick Clark" in Wonderful Town for City Center Encores!
• "Kevin Cartwright" in Privates On Parade with Jim Dale and Simon Jones
• "Smudge" in Forever Plaid
• "Gunther, Wotan, Hagen, Dwarf, Giant" in Das Barbecü (Goodspeed Opera House, East Haddam, Connecticut)
• "The Frankenstein Monster" in Have I Got A Girl For You! (Jbara's Off-Broadway debut)

[edit] Selected TV Credits

• "Col. Roger Bright" in The Unit episode, "Paradise Lost"
• "Judge Herman Zemit" in Conviction episode, "True Love"
• "The Tree Trimmer Hero" (voice) in Higglytown Heroes episode, "Kip Gets Swing Fever"
• "Dan O'Keefe" (recurring role) in Grounded for Life (Seasons 2-5)
• "George Haan" in Century City episode, "Sweet Child of Mine"
• "Gene Lester" ("Pyramid" contestant) in Friends episode, "The One Where the Stripper Cries"
• "Congressman Segal" in The West Wing episode, "Angel Maintenance"
• "Rev. Compton" in Ally McBeal episode, "Reach Out and Touch"
• "Mike" in Malcolm in the Middle episode, "New Neighbors"
• "Jo Jo Regosi" (recurring role) in That's Life

More credits and information about Jbara's television roles may be found by visiting the external links below.

[edit] Selected Film credits

• "Jack" in Out of Step (written and directed by Eileen Connors)
• "Jerry Yarbro" in Exit Speed (with David Rees Snell, Lea Thompson, and Fred Ward)
• "Hank Messinger" in The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest (2002) (with Adam Garcia, Enrico Colantoni and Ethan Suplee)
• "Snug the Joiner" in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) (with Kevin Kline)
• "Edward" in The Out-of-Towners (1999) (with Steve Martin)
• "Walter Brackett" in In & Out (1997) (with Kevin Kline)
• "Angelique" in Jeffrey (1995) (with Steven Weber and Patrick Stewart)

More credits and information about Jbara's film roles may be found by visiting the external links below.

[edit] Miscellaneous Credits

• "Audio-animatronic Radio Newscaster" for Spaceship Earth (The Age of Information scene; character announces Amelia Earhart's flight across the Atlantic)^[16]

• "Husband out dancing with wife" in multi-media ad campaign for Caduet which launched April 2008 (internet, television, print)^{[17] [18]}

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Site: GregoryJbara.com
• Gregory Jbara at the Internet Movie Database
• Gregory Jbara at the Internet Broadway Database
• Voice Actor Profile: VoiceChasers.com
• Gregory Jbara at the Internet Off-Broadway Database