A showman in the tradition of P.T. Barnum himself, Chuck Wagner returns to The Greatest Show On Earth® for his second tour of duty as the Ringmaster. A veteran of Film, Television and Broadway with over a quarter of a century of entertainment experience, Chuck is thrilled to be entrusted once again with the ‘big hat’. “I have the greatest job on Earth. I get to be in the Circus and at the Circus at the same time!”
Chuck Wagner's career has spanned three decades. Highlights include starring as Disney's Beast in the Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast, playing the Wolf and both Princes in Stephen Sondheim's Tony winning Into The Woods, creating the dual title role in Frank Wildhorn's Jekyll & Hyde , starring as the computer generated superhero Automan on Television and much, much more. An avid Theatre Historian, Chuck also teaches master classes across the country, sharing his passion for show business.
Charles Hammock Wagner was born in Music City USA, Nashville, Tennessee. He was raised in a small town just north of there, called Hartsville. He was the second of six children.
Chuck's theatrical career began in the 4th grade, as Captain Hook. As a sophomore in High School, his drama teacher recognized his talent and cast him as possibly "the world's youngest Henry Higgins" in My Fair Lady. As a senior he played Billy Bigelow in Carousel. A local talent scout spotted him and he went straight from graduation in 1976 to the Jenny Wiley Summer Music Theater in Prestonsburg, KY. "I've been a professional actor ever since!" he affirms.
Later that year, Chuck entered the Bachelor of Fine Arts Program at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He spent the next two magical summers on North Carolina's Roanoke Island starring in America's longest running outdoor drama, The Lost Colony, and attending Broadway director and choreographer Joe Layton's Professional Theatre Workshop. There Chuck met the love of his life, Susan Stewart. Chuck then transferred to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles to continue his BFA training. At USC he was awarded the Jack Nicholson Scholarship for outstanding performance, and he developed a working relationship with fellow student Frank Wildhorn which would be of great benefit in his future.
After graduating from USC in 1980, Chuck performed in a several musicals in Los Angeles and landed a two-year stint on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital. In 1982, while performing in “Love in the Afternoon”, a concert featuring TV’s Soap Stars, Chuck and Susan were married aboard the “The Love Boat”. In 1983 he co-starred with Desi Arnaz, Jr. in the sci-fi television series, Automan, in which he played a computer-generated superhero! From there, it was on to New York City where, at the request of his mentor Layton, he auditioned for and won a role in the 1984 stage revival of The Three Musketeers. In a twist of future fate, one of the show's producers was Irvin Feld, and Chuck now credits Layton, Feld and their associates for “getting him into the New York theater scene."
From 1985 through 1998, Chuck originated several roles, appeared in touring companies and starred in regional productions of a litany of musical theater classics and contemporary smashes including Rapunzel's Prince in the original Broadway cast and the Wolf and Cinderella's Prince in the National Tour of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods and Lancelot in Camelot with Robert Goulet as King Arthur. Creating the title roles in the World premieres of Jekyll & Hyde and Svengali, and the Concept Album of The Scarlet Pimpernel reunited him with Frank Wildhorn at Houston's Alley Theater. He was Javert in Les Miserables in the National Tour and on Broadway, and was in the original Broadway and Toronto companies of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, ultimately playing over 1,200 performances in the Hair and Horns as the Beast.
From 2000 to 2005, Chuck reprised his dual title role in the Broadway Tour of Jekyll & Hyde, which coincided with the release of his first solo CD. He toured as the MacArthur-esque general in Kiss Me Kate and was standby to Dracula and Van Helsing in Wildhorn’s Dracula: the musical on Broadway. As Visiting Artist in Residence at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Chuck taught History of the American Musical, directed productions of Jekyll & Hyde and Man of La Mancha , and starred as Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun at the nearby Okaloosa Walton College. An avid theater historian, he is currently researching and writing Haunting the Belasco, a book about the life of late 19th/early 20th century theater impresario David Belasco. When time allows, Chuck teaches Master Classes at schools across the country.
He and his family call Pensacola Beach home. Susan holds down the fort while their son Stewart attends classes at a local university and their daughter Paige is a senior in High School. Paige appears to be following in her father's footsteps, having performed with Chuck on Disney Cruise Lines and with the Pensacola Symphony.
Chuck believes "passionately in the importance of keeping great show business history alive," and his appreciation for the rich history of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® keeps him passionate about his time in The Greatest Show On Earth. "This adventure has come full circle. The Felds helped me launch my Broadway career and now continue their faith in me as Ringmaster. I see this as one of life's magic signposts and am thankful for the blessing. I will do my best to deliver more than is expected of me and provide audiences with an Over The Top experience they’ll never forget.