Joe Mantello

Joe Mantello, born Joseph Mantello on December 27, 1962 in Rockford, Illinois, is an American actor and director whose influence has shaped contemporary American theatre. Raised in a Catholic household by Judy and Richard Mantello, he carries Italian ancestry on both sides and grew up experiencing the cultural tensions of the Midwest before moving to New York in 1984 amid the AIDS crisis. After studying at the North Carolina School of the Arts, he co‑founded the Edge Theater with Mary‑Louise Parker and Peter Hedges and became a founding member of the Naked Angels theater company, establishing himself as an innovative presence off‑Broadway. Mantello’s Broadway breakthrough came with his celebrated performance as Louis in Tony Kushner’s Angels in America (1993‑1994), earning a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play, and he later returned to the stage in revivals such as The Normal Heart (2011) and The Glass Menagerie (2017). Transitioning to directing, Mantello quickly proved his versatility, winning the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for Take Me Out (2003) and the Tony for Best Direction of a Musical for Assassins (2004), achievements that cemented his reputation for navigating both intimate dramas and large‑scale productions. His directorial résumé includes landmark shows like Wicked (2003), Glengarry Glen Ross (2005), The Humans (2016), Three Tall Women (2018), and the culturally resonant The Boys in the Band (2018). Critics often compare his genre‑spanning skill to that of Jack O'Brien and Mike Nichols, noting his ability to shift from two‑hander comedies to expansive musical comedies with equal mastery. In addition to his theatrical work, Mantello has contributed to film and television, and his impact was recognized with induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2018. Though he shared a long‑term partnership with playwright Jon Robin Baitz (1990‑2002), as of 2018 he resides with Paul Marlow, focusing on his artistic pursuits while maintaining a private personal life.