Biography

Robert Cuccioli is known by many for his riveting, critically acclaimed TONY nominated performance as mad scientist, Dr. Jekyll, and his sinister alter ego, Mr. Hyde, in the Frank Wildhorn/Leslie Bricusse smash Broadway hit musical Jekyll & Hyde, for which he also received the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and FANY Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. Prior to his successful Broadway run, he dazzled audiences, as well as critics alike across America in the show’s national touring company. He was honored with Chicago’s prestigious Joseph Jefferson Award during Jekyll & Hyde’s successful 34-week tour. 

In 2012, Cuccioli returned to Broadway, lighting up the stage with his high-flying performance in the dual role of Dr. Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin in the rock musical Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. Until COVID-19 rocked the nation and the world he was set to open off-Broadway in the Irish Repertory Theatre's production of A Touch of the Poet starring as Con Melody. He was seen the previous 2019 off-Broadway season as Caesar in the acclaimed production of Caesar & Cleopatra (NY Times Critic's Pick), and the Red Bull Theatre's production of The White Devil (NY Times Critic's Pick).

While acting has always been in his blood, it wasn’t Robert’s first career. The Long Island native graduated from St. John’s University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and worked as a financial consultant on Wall Street at the prestigious investment firm E.F. Hutton for three years while pursuing a full-time performing career. 

At age 23, he auditioned and received an offer to join The Light Opera of Manhattan. Starting in the chorus, his work brought him starring roles in the most beloved Gilbert & Sullivan operettas and such classics as The Merry Widow, The New Moon, The Desert Song, and The Vagabond King. 

Robert received his first big break playing Lancelot to the legendary Richard Harris’ King Arthur in the national and Canadian tours of Camelot. In 1991, he shared the Outer Critics Circle Award for "Brilliant Ensemble Performance" in the highly-acclaimed Kander and Ebb review, And The World Goes ‘Round. He followed that with the critically acclaimed, highly successful off-Broadway production of The Rothschilds where he played Nathan at Circle in the Square (downtown). His connection to that show remained strong through the years, and in 2015 he was asked to star as Mayer Rothschild in the newly-minted critically acclaimed revisal Rothschild and Sons at the York Theatre. That production was brought to the off-West End London stage in 2018 where Robert garnered an Offie nomination for "Leading Actor in a Musical".

Following a record-setting, nine-month run in the New York premiere of the Maury Yeston/Arthur Kopit Phantom at the Westchester (NY) Broadway Theatre, Robert made his Broadway debut as Javert in Les Miserables in 1993. 

Soon on Javert’s heels, Jekyll & Hyde called. In 1994, Robert created the role in a joint production with Houston’s Theatre Under The Stars and the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle. After a national tour culminating in the 1997 Broadway production, Cuccioli set out to stretch his artistic muscles even further, performing a wide array of challenging roles, in venues that extended from off-Broadway to prestigious regional theatres around the country. These included The Shakespeare Theatre of NJ, The Shakespeare Theatre in DC, Paper Mill Playhouse, Drury Lane (Chicago), Virginia Stage, Ford's Theatre (DC), Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, The McCarter Theatre, The Guthrie, San Jose Repertory and George Street Playhouse. During that time, the versatile performer added to his credits numerous leading Shakespearean roles as Claudius (Hamlet), Brutus (Julius Caesar), Iago (Othello) the title roles in Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra; classic plays as The School for Scandal, Amadeus (Best Actor: NJ Star Ledger), Lorenzaccio (Best Actor: Helen Hayes nomination), The Seafarer and 1776 (Best Supporting Actor: Helen Hayes nomination). 

Cuccioli also performed in beloved musical comedies and dramas, including Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris, Guys and Dolls, South Pacific, City of Angels, Carousel, The Sound Of Music, Funny Girl, Carnival, A Little Night Music, Bells Are Ringing, The Secret Garden, Pajama Game, Oklahoma!, Lend Me A Tenor, The Man of La Mancha, Camelot, Jesus Christ Superstar and Nine. 

He created roles in new musicals and plays, including, White Guy on The Bus (NY Times Critic's Pick), Temporary Help, Fiction, Dorian, Enter The Guardsman, Sons Of Don Juan, A Moon To Dance By (with Jane Alexander), the Bruce Hornsby musical SCKBSTD, Lone Star Love, Angels, Cutman: A Boxing Musical, Bikeman: A 9/11 Play, Snow Orchid, and the revisal of Paint Your Wagon. 

A most sought-after concert performer, Robert has sung at a variety of venues all around the United States. He embarked on a cabaret career in 2000, when he brought his show Hero to Arci’s Cabaret Club (NY) and played a four-week sold out engagement. His newest evening, A Standard Love, reflects Robert’s love of music, from ballad to swing. It portrays a journey of loving and losing and loving again - part of a timeline that, as Cuccioli notes, “features an aspect of my own romantic life that resonates in my heart.” This latest show spawned the recording his debut solo album, Robert Cuccioli - The Look Of Love, released in fall 2012. 

Bringing his own adaptation of Jekyll & Hyde to the stage, Cuccioli added director to his impressive roster of achievements, dazzling critics and audiences alike at Houston’s Theatre Under The Stars, the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, the (NY) Westchester Broadway Theatre and North Shore Music Theatre (IRNE Award nomination - Best Director, Musical). In addition, he directed the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s production of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie to wide critical acclaim and The Merchant of Venice, which was voted as one of the "10 Best Productions of the 2017 Season" by the NJ Star-Ledger. 

Cuccioli is undeniably one of the brightest stars in the theatre today, but his eclectic career doesn’t stop at the footlights. He boasts an impressive list of television credits, most notably, The Sinner, Elementary, White Collar, Baywatch, Sliders, recurring roles on the popular daytime dramas, All My Children, One Life To Live, Loving and The Guiding Light. Cinema credits include the independent films The Stranger, The Rest of Us, Impossible Monsters, Columbus on Trial and Woody Allen's Celebrity. 

Cuccioli is featured on the original cast recording of Jekyll & Hyde (Atlantic), And The World Goes ‘Round (RCA Victor), Rothschild and Sons, The Maury Yeston Songbook (PS Classics), Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris (Ghostlight), Everybody’s Is Getting’ Into The Act (Fynsworth Alley), The New Picasso (Black Forest Productions) and Cuccioli’s aforementioned debut solo album, The Look Of Love (Canis Minor Records). 

Robert resides in New York City.