Timothy Britten Parker
Encyclopedia
Timothy Britten Parker also known as Toby, is an American
stage
, film
, and television
actor
.
and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio
. He moved to New York City
with his family in 1977 as he began pursuing his professional career. Toby is one of eight children. He has three brothers and four sisters, most of whom also have careers in the entertainment industry, including siblings Sarah Jessica Parker
and Pippin Parker
.
debut as an understudy at the Morosco Theatre
in a revival of the play The Innocents
, adapted and directed by Harold Pinter
. In 1978, Toby was cast in Runaways
, which made its Off-Broadway
premiere at The Public Theatre and later moved to Broadway
at the Plymouth Theatre. He was in the original cast of The Visit
at Criterion Center Stage Right in 1992, where he played the roles of Ottilie Schill, Pedro Cabral, and Wechsler. In 1996, Toby joined Anthony Rapp
, Adam Pascal
, Daphne Rubin-Vega
, Taye Diggs
, Wilson Jermaine Heredia
, and Idina Menzel
in the Broadway cast of Rent
. His roles included Gordon in "Life Support", the man in "Christmas Bells", Mr. Grey in "La Vie Boheme", and others. His voice can be heard on Rent's original Broadway cast recording. Toby appeared with the rest of the cast to perform "Seasons of Love" and "La Vie Boheme" at the 1996 Tony Awards. Among the four awards the show won that evening was a Tony Award for Best Musical. The original cast has reunited to celebrate the show's 5th and 10th anniversaries in special one-night concerts.
Since 1991, Parker has had a recurring role as a Forensics Technician on Law & Order
with Rent
co-star Jesse L. Martin
. His film credits include Marshall Fine in Gold Coast written by Elmore Leonard
, Anita Liberty, a researcher in Quiz Show
, Bill in The Last Supper directed by Daryl Hannah
, and the M.C./King of Comedy in Joey Breaker.
, which began previews in Toronto
on March 9, 2005 and opened March 31. He left the cast on March 5, 2006 to join the show's sit-down production in Chicago
, replacing Steven Skybell on March 28, 2006. He left the Chicago cast on December 10, 2006. Parker originated the role of Doctor Dillamond in the Los Angeles
sit-down production, which opened on February 21, 2007, following previews from February 10. He played his final performance on May 25, 2008 and was replaced by David de Vries.
He most recently reprised the role in the Broadway
production, beginning performances on September 2, 2008, again replacing Steven Skybell. On October 27, 2008, he appeared in "The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken", a one night only benefit performance celebrating the fifth anniversary of Wicked. He played Doctor Dillamond in early drafted scenes that were cut from the final version of the musical. After over two years in the Broadway company, making him the longest-running Broadway Dillamond to date, he played his final performance October 31, 2010 and was replaced by Tom Flynn.
, Toby co-founded Naked Angels Theater Company in New York City
in 1986. Taking its name from John Tytell's book, the company focuses on giving new and upcoming artists an opportunity to showcase their works. Hundreds of readings, workshops, and productions have emerged at the theatre over the years. Through the company's Issues Project, Naked Angels has raised awareness for social and political issues by bringing them to life in theatrical works.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Background
Parker was born in Iowa City, IowaIowa City, Iowa
Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...
and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. He moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with his family in 1977 as he began pursuing his professional career. Toby is one of eight children. He has three brothers and four sisters, most of whom also have careers in the entertainment industry, including siblings Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
and Pippin Parker
Pippin Parker
Pippin Parker is an American playwright and theatre director. He is Director of The New School for Drama.He is one of the co-founding members of Naked Angels Theater Company in New York City where he was Artistic Director...
.
Professional career
In October 1976, Parker made his BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut as an understudy at the Morosco Theatre
Morosco Theatre
The Morosco Theatre was a legitimate theatre located at 217 West 45th Street in the heart of the theater district in midtown-Manhattan, New York, United States....
in a revival of the play The Innocents
The Innocents (play)
The Innocents is a 1976 play written by William Archiblad. The show opened at the Morosco Theatre on October 21, 1976 and closed on October 30, 1976 after 12 performances.-Setting:...
, adapted and directed by Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
. In 1978, Toby was cast in Runaways
Runaways (musical)
Runaways is a musical which was written, composed and directed by Elizabeth Swados, about the lives of children who run away from home and live on the city streets...
, which made its Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
premiere at The Public Theatre and later moved to Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
at the Plymouth Theatre. He was in the original cast of The Visit
The Visit
The Visit is a 1956 tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt.-Plot summary:...
at Criterion Center Stage Right in 1992, where he played the roles of Ottilie Schill, Pedro Cabral, and Wechsler. In 1996, Toby joined Anthony Rapp
Anthony Rapp
Anthony Deane Rapp is an American stage and film actor and singer best known for originating the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of Rent in 1996 and later for reprising the role in the film version and the Broadway Tour of Rent in 2009...
, Adam Pascal
Adam Pascal
Adam Pascal is an American actor and singer known for his performance as Roger Davis in the original cast of Jonathan Larson's musical Rent on Broadway 1996, the 2005 movie version of the musical, and the Broadway Tour of Rent in 2009...
, Daphne Rubin-Vega
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Daphne Rubin-Vega is a dancer, singer, and actress. She is best known for originating the role of Mimi Marquez in the Broadway musical Rent, and the role of Lucy, in the Off-Broadway play Jack Goes Boating.-Biography:Rubin-Vega was born in Panama City, Panama, the daughter of Daphine Vega, a...
, Taye Diggs
Taye Diggs
Scott Leo "Taye" Diggs is an American theatre, film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the Broadway musical Rent, the motion picture How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and the television series Private Practice...
, Wilson Jermaine Heredia
Wilson Jermaine Heredia
Wilson Jermaine Heredia is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Angel Dumott Schunard in the Broadway musical Rent, for which he won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actor in a musical...
, and Idina Menzel
Idina Menzel
Idina Kim Menzel is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She is widely known for originating the roles of Maureen in Rent and Elphaba in Wicked.-Early life:...
in the Broadway cast of Rent
Rent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
. His roles included Gordon in "Life Support", the man in "Christmas Bells", Mr. Grey in "La Vie Boheme", and others. His voice can be heard on Rent's original Broadway cast recording. Toby appeared with the rest of the cast to perform "Seasons of Love" and "La Vie Boheme" at the 1996 Tony Awards. Among the four awards the show won that evening was a Tony Award for Best Musical. The original cast has reunited to celebrate the show's 5th and 10th anniversaries in special one-night concerts.
Since 1991, Parker has had a recurring role as a Forensics Technician on Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
with Rent
Rent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
co-star Jesse L. Martin
Jesse L. Martin
Jesse L. Martin is an American theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for originating the role of Tom Collins in the Broadway theatrical production of Rent, and for his portrayal of NYPD Detective Ed Green on the NBC drama television series Law & Order.-Early life:Martin, the third of...
. His film credits include Marshall Fine in Gold Coast written by Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard
Elmore John Leonard Jr. , better known as Elmore Leonard, is an American novelist and screenwriter. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.Among his...
, Anita Liberty, a researcher in Quiz Show
Quiz Show
Quiz Show is a 1994 American historical drama film produced and directed by Robert Redford. Adapted by Paul Attanasio from Richard Goodwin's memoir Remembering America, the film is based upon the Twenty One quiz show scandal of the 1950s...
, Bill in The Last Supper directed by Daryl Hannah
Daryl Hannah
Daryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street and Roxanne and Kill Bill.-Early life:Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan...
, and the M.C./King of Comedy in Joey Breaker.
Doctor Dillamond and Wicked
Parker originated the role of Doctor Dillamond on the First National US Tour of the musical WickedWicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
, which began previews in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
on March 9, 2005 and opened March 31. He left the cast on March 5, 2006 to join the show's sit-down production in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, replacing Steven Skybell on March 28, 2006. He left the Chicago cast on December 10, 2006. Parker originated the role of Doctor Dillamond in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
sit-down production, which opened on February 21, 2007, following previews from February 10. He played his final performance on May 25, 2008 and was replaced by David de Vries.
He most recently reprised the role in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production, beginning performances on September 2, 2008, again replacing Steven Skybell. On October 27, 2008, he appeared in "The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken", a one night only benefit performance celebrating the fifth anniversary of Wicked. He played Doctor Dillamond in early drafted scenes that were cut from the final version of the musical. After over two years in the Broadway company, making him the longest-running Broadway Dillamond to date, he played his final performance October 31, 2010 and was replaced by Tom Flynn.
Naked Angels
Along with eleven other theatre artists, including his brother Pippin ParkerPippin Parker
Pippin Parker is an American playwright and theatre director. He is Director of The New School for Drama.He is one of the co-founding members of Naked Angels Theater Company in New York City where he was Artistic Director...
, Toby co-founded Naked Angels Theater Company in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1986. Taking its name from John Tytell's book, the company focuses on giving new and upcoming artists an opportunity to showcase their works. Hundreds of readings, workshops, and productions have emerged at the theatre over the years. Through the company's Issues Project, Naked Angels has raised awareness for social and political issues by bringing them to life in theatrical works.
External links
- Official Website
- Toby Parker Fansite
- Timothy Britten Parker at the Internet Broadway DatabaseInternet Broadway DatabaseThe Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community....
- Naked Angels Company Website