Danny Burstein

Danny Burstein stars as Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge! The Musical at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway.

Danny Burstein was born on June 16, 1964 in Mount Kisco, New York. He is a seven-time Tony Award nominee for his celebrated performances in Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Golden Boy, Follies, South Pacific, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Moulin Rouge!

Burstein was raised in New York City, attending the High School of Performing Arts and Queens College before heading to the University of California, San Diego to pursue an MFA in acting. He graduated in 1990 and would embark on what would become a highly acclaimed career on stage.

He made his Broadway debut in 1992 in Little Hotel on the Side and quickly established himself as a regular on the New York stage. His early Broadway credits throughout the 1990s include The Seagul (1992), Saint Joan (1993), Three Men on a Horse (1993), The Flowering Peach (1994), Company (1995), Titanic (1997), and A Class Act (2001). His career would reach new heights after being cast as Aldolpho in the 2006 Broadway premiere of The Drowsy Chaperone, earning his first Tony Award nomination. He went on to receive a second Tony Award nomination and his first Drama Desk Award nomination for his next Broadway role as Luther Billis in South Pacific in 2008.

He returned to Broadway in 2010 to play the Taxi Driver in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and in 2011 he took on the role of Buddy Plummer in Follies, earning his third Tony Award nomination at the 2012 ceremony and winning his first Drama Desk Award. Next up, he played Tokio in the 2012 Broadway revival of Golden Boy (racking up his fourth Tony nomination in 2013) and Max Hohmann in the 2013 premiere of The Snow Geese.

In March 2014, he began performances as Herr Schultz in Roundabout Theatre Company's widely acclaimed Broadway revival of Cabaret, resulting in a fifth Tony Award nomination and third Drama Desk nomination. He solidified his status as a Broadway leading man by taking on the iconic role of Tevye in the 2015 Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof. His hugely celebrated performance landed him his second Drama Desk Award, as well as a sixth Tony Award nomination in 2016.

Burstein has been no stranger to the Off-Broadway stage over the years, either, with select credits including Weird Romance at the WPA Theatre in 1992, Merrily We Roll Along for York Theatre Company in 1994, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change at the Westside Theatre in 1996 and 2002, Psych for Playwrights Horizons in 2001, Talley's Folly for Roundabout Theatre Company in 2013, the Shakespeare in the Park production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2017, and Describe the Night for Atlantic Theater Company in 2017.

Although primarily known for his work on stage, Burstein has also appeared in numerous films and televison shows. His most notable screen credits include a recurring role as Lolly Steinman on HBO's Boardwalk Empire, film appearances in Blackhat, Transamerica, Deception, Nor'easter, The Family Fang, and Indignation, and TV appearances in Absolutely Fabulous, Louie, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Burstein returned to Broadway on January 8, 2019 and assumed the role of Alfred P. Doolittle in Lincoln Center Theater's revival of My Fair Lady and continued in the role through April 28, 2019. Later that year, he reprised his role as Harold Zidler (from the 2018 Boston world premiere production) in the Broadway premiere of Moulin Rouge! The Musical at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre from June 28, 2019. He departed the production on December 8 to undergo surgery and returned in mid-January 2020.