TALL, DARK and QUIRKy

(or, the ballad of Michael Dewar)

Michael Thomas Dewar (DU-er) was born in the cookie-cutter suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, and raised in the picturesque mountains of Colorado Springs, Colorado (where he was saw the exact view mentioned in the song “America the Beautiful” from his window every day). It was after this significant move westward that Michael began rigorous study in acting, singing, dance and music at the Colorado Springs Conservatory under an incredible team of distinguished professionals, including Juilliard graduate Linda Weise and Colorado Symphony conductor Thomas Wilson. His talent for comedy and musical theatre blossomed while training at CSC and Michael remained a student of the program until graduating from high school nine short years later.

Soon after, these creative passions led Michael to move back to the midwest (which he swore he’d never do) and attend the prestigious Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he graduated with a BFA in Musical Theatre and studied abroad at Regent's University in London, England. Michael quickly found his niche as an ‘old-fashioned song and dance man’, began his love affair with tap dance and began specializing in English period drama, focusing on works of Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw and Noël Coward. He also developed an interest dialects while at Webster and has since served as a dialect coach on a number of productions around the country.

Michael, age 10, lip-syncing to an operatic aria at the Colorado Springs conservatory.

Michael now happily resides in New York City and is thrilled to be fulfilling his childhood dream of working as a professional actor. He is a proud member of Actors Equity Association, trains regularly with celebrated Broadway artists (including The Band’s Visit music director, Andrea Grody, and On Your Toes Tony-nominee Lara Teeter) and frequently participates in developmental workshops of exciting new musicals. While he considers himself beyond lucky to have found such consistent regional work in his post-grad years, Michael’s proudest accomplishment to date is the sold-out Broadway national tour of Elf The Musical (where he regularly performed the titular role for upwards of three thousand people at a time—many of whom were experiencing their first theatrical production).

Outside of his career as a performer, Michael enjoys expanding his skills as a portrait photographer and continuing his endless pursuit of finding the best chicken quesadilla in Manhattan. For further updates on Michael’s journey, be sure to follow him on Instagram!