Chip Zien is an American actor.
Biography[]
Born Jerome Zien in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he studied at the University of Pennsylvania, and appeared in the shows which as a whole would become known as the musical Falsettos.
Whilst best known for his stage work, Zien was also a screen actor, providing the voice of Howard the Duck in the eponymous film, and appearing in recurring television roles in Reggie (the American remake of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin) and the crime drama Law and Order.
Singing[]
A well known musical theatre performer, Zien made his stage musical debut in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He then appeared in in the one act musicals In Trousers and Falsettoland, which together became Falsettos in 1992.
Zien's first major hit came with the role of the Baker in Into the Woods, a part he would later reprise, as well as appearing as the Mysterious Man/Cinderella's Father in a later production. His range of roles included comic (The Boys from Syracuse) to villainous (Thénardier in Les Misérables) as well as a voiceover role in the animated Aaron's Magic Village.
Film[]
Aaron's Magic Village (1995)[]
- A Credit to Chelm
- The Wisest of the Wise
- The Dumbest of the Dumb (duet)
Stage[]
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1972)[]
- How To Succeed (solo)
- The Company Way (duet)
- Been a Long Day (contains solo lines)
- Grand Old Ivy (duet)
- Rosemary (duet)
- Finaletto (contains solo lines)
- I Believe in You (contains solo lines)
- Brotherhood of Man (contains solo lines)
- Finale
Smile, Smile, Smile (1973)(originated the role)[]
Ride the Winds (1974)(originated the role)[]
- The Gentle Buffoon (duet)
- Those Who Speak (contains solo lines)
Tuscaloosa's Calling Me ... But I'm Not Going! (1975)[]
Diamonds (1984)[]
- Winter in New York
- Favourite Sons (contains solo lines)
- Take Me Out to the Ball Game (solo)
- Escorte-Moi (solo)
- He Threw Out the Ball
- 1919
- Ka-Razy
- Diamonds Are Forever
Merrily We Roll Along (1985)[]
- Franklin Shepard, Inc. (solo)
- Old Friends (contains solo lines)
- It's a Hit! (contains solo lines)
- Good Thing Going (duet)
- Bobby and Jackie and Jack (contains solo lines)
- Opening Doors (contains solo lines)
- Our Time (contains solo lines)
Into the Woods (1986)(originated the role)[]
- Act One Prologue (contains solo lines)
- The Cow as White as Milk/The Spell is On My House (duet)
- Maybe They're Magic (duet)
- Maybe They're Magic (reprise)(solo)
- It Takes Two (duet)
- Act Two Prologue (contains solo lines)
- Your Fault (contains solo lines)
- No More (duet)
- No One Is Alone (Part 2)(contains solo lines)
- Act Two Finale (contains solo lines)
Grand Hotel (1989)[]
- Table With A View (solo)
- At the Grand Hotel (solo)
- Who Couldn't Dance With You? (duet)
- We'll Take A Glass Together (contains solo lines)
Falsettos (1992)(originated the role)[]
- Four Jews in a Room Bitching (contains solo lines)
- A Tight Knit Family (duet)
- Love is Blind (contains solo lines)
- Marvin at the Psychiatrist (A Three-Part Mini-Opera)(contains solo lines)
- This Had Better Come to a Stop (contains solo lines)
- Jason's Therapy (contains solo lines)
- A Marriage Proposal (contains solo lines)
- March of the Falsettos (contains solo lines)
- Making a Home (contains solo lines)
- Marvin Goes Crazy (contains solo lines)
- I Never Wanted to Love You (contains solo lines)
- Welcome to Falsettoland
- The Year of the Child
- Miracle of Judaism
- The Baseball Game
- A Day in Falsettoland
- The Fight/Everyone Hates His Parents (contains solo lines)
- Days Like This
- Cancelling the Bar Mitzvah (contains solo lines)
Anyone Can Whistle (1995)[]
- Miracle Song (contains solo lines)
- I've Got You to Lean On (contains solo lines)
A New Brain (1998)(originated the role)[]
- Calamari (contains solo lines)
- Be Polite (solo)
- Poor, Unsuccessful and Fat (contains solo lines)
- Yes (contains solo lines)
- Don't Give In (contains solo lines)
- Time and Music
- I Feel So Much Spring
The Boys from Syracuse (2002)[]
- What Can You Do With a Man (duet)
- Big Brother (duet)
- This Can't Be Love (reprise)
Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang (2005)[]
- Act English (duet)
Les Misérables (2006)[]
- Master of the House (contains solo lines)
- Waltz of Treachery (contains solo lines)
- The Robbery (contains solo lines)
- Attack on the Rue Plumet (contains solo lines)
- One Day More
- Dog Eat Dog (solo)
- The Wedding (contains solo lines)
- Beggars at the Feast (duet)
Applause (2008)[]
- Good Friends (duet)
- Finale
The People in the Picture (2011)(originated the role)[]
- Remember Who You Are (duet)
- Remember Who You Are (reprise)
Into the Woods (2012)[]
Mysterious Man[]
- No More (duet)
Cinderella's Father[]
- Act Two Finale
It Shoulda Been You (2015)(originated the role)[]
- It Shoulda Been You
- A Perfect Ending
- That's Family