Cariou made his first appearance in Damn Yankees at Rainbow Stage in Winnipeg in 1959, and was a founding member of the Manitoba Theatre Centre.
Cariou also became a lead actor at the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis in the 1960s, where he played Orlando in As You Like It; Agamemnon in Tyrone Guthrie's compilation of The House of Atreus; Iago; Oberon; and the title roles in Henry V, Oedipus the King, and King Lear. He also was an associate director.
In 1968, Cariou made his Broadway debut in The House of Atreus. Two years later, Cariou landed his first starring role opposite Lauren Bacall in Applause, a musical adaptation of the film All About Eve. It earned him a Tony Award nomination as Best Actor in a Musical and won him the Theatre World Award. In 1973, he received his second Tony nomination for A Little Night Music; he reprised the role of Fredrik for the 1977 film version opposite Elizabeth Taylor. Six years later he won both the Tony and Drama Desk Award for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in the Stephen Sondheim musical opposite Angela Lansbury. During these years, Cariou also appeared in a number of benefits, including A Christmas Carol for the Riverside Shakespeare Company in New York, playing Scrooge, with Helen Hayes, Raul Julia, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, directed by W. Stuart McDowell at the Symphony Space in 1985. His next projects included the Alan Jay Lerner–Charles Strouse musical Dance a Little Closer (1983), Arthur Miller's sole musical, Up from Paradise (1983), Teddy & Alice (1987), and Ziegfeld (1988). Cariou also appeared on Broadway in Night Watch, Cold Storage, The Speed of Darkness, Neil Simon's The Dinner Party (with Henry Winkler and John Ritter) and Proof (with Anne Heche and Neil Patrick Harris). He directed Don't Call Back on Broadway as well. His off-Broadway appearances include Master Class, Papa (an Ernest Hemingway one-man show) and Mountain (Justice William O. Douglas). He appeared as Cap'n Andy in the Broadway national tour of Show Boat opposite Cloris Leachman.
Len Cariou, Harry Townsend's Last Stand
Len CariouCopenhagen
Len CariouDinner Party
Len Cariou , Speed of Darkness
Len Cariou, Sweeney Todd
Len Cariou, Sweeney Todd
Len Cariou , A Little Night Music
Len CariouHenry V
Len Cariou, Applause
Len Cariou, Applause
Len Cariou has appeared on Broadway in 14 shows.
Len Cariou has not appeared in the West End.
Len Cariou has been nominated for several awards throughout his career, including the Distinguished Performance Award at the Drama League Awards for "Harry Townsend's Last Stand," Outstanding Lead Actor at the Helen Hayes Awards for "Copenhagen," Outstanding Supporting Performer at the Helen Hayes Awards for "Dinner Party," Best Actor - Play at the Outer Critics Circle Awards for "Speed of Darkness," Outstanding Actor - Musical at the Drama Desk Awards for "Sweeney Todd," Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical at the Tony Awards for both "Sweeney Todd" and "A Little Night Music," Performance awards at the Theatre World Awards for "Henry V" and "Applause," and another Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical nomination at the Tony Awards for "Applause."
Len Cariou has won the Outstanding Actor - Musical award at the Drama Desk Awards for his role in Sweeney Todd. He also received Theatre World Awards for his performances in Henry V and Applause.
Len Cariou has written 1 shows including Broadway and the Bard (Conceived by).
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