The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance announces that André Garner will join the Department of Musical Theatre as an assistant professor in the fall of 2024. Garner, an accomplished actor, has performed on stages all over the world.
“I’m thrilled to become a part of the prestigious University of Michigan Musical Theatre program! As a person of color, I’m very energized by the department’s investment in creating inclusive spaces for its students and faculty,” shared Garner. “I intend to use my extensive Broadway musical theatre career and many years of teaching in academia to further the program’s goals of promoting training that is rooted in empathy, curiosity, and joy.”
Garner’s Broadway credits include How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Music Man, Marie Christine, and Grease. Off-Broadway, he starred as the title character in Langston Hughes’s Little Ham, as well as performing in From My Hometown. Garner appeared in the national touring productions of The Color Purple, Dreamgirls, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Miss Saigon. Internationally, he toured with the European and Asian companies of A Chorus Line.
Garner has performed in many of the country’s most reputable regional theaters, including in Pipeline at Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT), the Ford’s Theater production of Children of Eden (Cain), the Goodspeed Opera House and North Shore Music Theater co-production of Abyssinia (Minister), Pioneer Theater’s Five Guys Named Moe (Nomax), and Barrington Stage Company’s The Human Comedy (Trainman). Garner has also been part of New York City Center’s acclaimed Encores! concert productions of Cabin in the Sky, Lost in the Stars, and Broadway Bash 2003. He also appeared as Little Albert in the Actor’s Fund benefit performance of Dreamgirls starring Audra McDonald, Heather Headley, and Billy Porter.
“As an actor, Professor André Garner has performed on stages all over the world, including multiple Broadway shows, the most esteemed regional theatres around the country, and Broadway tours around the world,” said Cynthia Kortman Westphal, interim chair and professor of musical theatre. “He is a highly experienced teacher, and his pedagogical and professional expertise will significantly advance our mission to prepare our students to step directly into the industry upon graduation. We are honored to welcome him to our faculty.”
Garner has taught at Ball State University, Baruch College, New York Film Academy, and California State University, Long Beach. His professional memberships include SAG-AFTRA and the Actor’s Equity Association, and he currently serves on the executive board of the Musical Theatre Educators’ Alliance.
Garner received a BS from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and an MFA from California State University, Long Beach.