Raymond Allen (c.1921 â€" January 29, 1994) was an American stage
actor who was best known for his performances in Gilbert and Sullivan
and other light operas from the 1950s through the 1980s. He spent most
of his career with the American Savoyards and later the Light Opera of
Manhattan.Allen was born and raised in New York City. He attended
Richmond Hill High School in Queens, NY. Early in his career, Allen
appeared at various Off-Broadway theatres, including Theatre de Lys in
New York's Greenwich Village (later renamed the Lucille Lortel
Theatre) and the Long Wharf theatre in New Haven, Connecticut. In the
1950s and 1960s, Allen performed with Dorothy Raedler's American
Savoyards, at first playing chorus and tenor roles and, in 1957,
taking over the comic roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas.Allen
was the leading principal comic actor of the Light Opera of Manhattan,
from 1968 to 1989, starring in shows such as The Mikado, The Pirates
of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore, The Merry Widow and The Desert Song.
After the company's artistic director, William Mount-Burke, died in
1984, Allen became co-artistic director of the company, together with
choreographer Jerry Gotham. Allen, Gotham and music director Todd
Ellison continued to stage new operettas and musicals after
Mount-Burke's death, including the company's successful original
musical Little Johnny Jones, based on the songs of George M.
Cohan.Allen also performed with New York City Opera, among other
companies from time to time. In 1990, Allen starred in a brief run of
The Merry Widow at Westchester's Emelin Theatre. He also appeared in
commercials and films.
actor who was best known for his performances in Gilbert and Sullivan
and other light operas from the 1950s through the 1980s. He spent most
of his career with the American Savoyards and later the Light Opera of
Manhattan.Allen was born and raised in New York City. He attended
Richmond Hill High School in Queens, NY. Early in his career, Allen
appeared at various Off-Broadway theatres, including Theatre de Lys in
New York's Greenwich Village (later renamed the Lucille Lortel
Theatre) and the Long Wharf theatre in New Haven, Connecticut. In the
1950s and 1960s, Allen performed with Dorothy Raedler's American
Savoyards, at first playing chorus and tenor roles and, in 1957,
taking over the comic roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas.Allen
was the leading principal comic actor of the Light Opera of Manhattan,
from 1968 to 1989, starring in shows such as The Mikado, The Pirates
of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore, The Merry Widow and The Desert Song.
After the company's artistic director, William Mount-Burke, died in
1984, Allen became co-artistic director of the company, together with
choreographer Jerry Gotham. Allen, Gotham and music director Todd
Ellison continued to stage new operettas and musicals after
Mount-Burke's death, including the company's successful original
musical Little Johnny Jones, based on the songs of George M.
Cohan.Allen also performed with New York City Opera, among other
companies from time to time. In 1990, Allen starred in a brief run of
The Merry Widow at Westchester's Emelin Theatre. He also appeared in
commercials and films.
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