Brian Charles Rooney

He / She / They

In a critically acclaimed performance that Entertainment Weekly magazine said "ignited the stage," Brian Charles Rooney made their Broadway debut as Lucy Brown in "The Threepenny Opera" for The Roundabout Theatre Co., co-starring Alan Cumming, Cyndi Lauper, Jim Dale, Ana Gasteyer, and Nellie McKay.

They were lauded by The New York Times for their performance as Dionne Salon in the hit Off-Broadway musical, "Bedbugs!!!"  They won The New York Musical Festival's Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor Award for their portrayal of Lee/Miss Blanche in the new one-man musical, "Miss Blanche Tells It All," and were featured in the recent concert presentation of the cult-favorite "When Pigs Fly," directed by Mark Waldrop, with costume designs by the legendary Bob Mackie!  They appeared as The Witch, to critical acclaim, in the recent immersive Off-Broadway production of “Into the Woods,” with Out of the Box Theatrics!

Some of Brian's awards include:

  • The Kurt Weill Foundation's Lys Symonette Award for Dramatic Excellence

  • The Connecticut Critics Circle Award for "Best Actor in a Musical" as Candy Darling, in Anna Jacobs & Maggie Kate Coleman's musical "POP!" at Yale Repertory Theatre, directed by Mark Brokaw, and co-starring Randy Harrison (Queer As Folk)

  • The New York Musical Festival Outstanding Performance Award as Dionne Salon in "Bedbugs!!!"

  • The New York Musical Festival Outstanding Performance Award as Mary Todd Lincoln / General McClellan in "Bayonets of Angst" 

  • The FringeNYC Award for Outstanding Performance as Satan in "Winner Take All," directed by John Carrafa  


Brian joined Kristin Chenoweth and composer Andrew Lippa, at Lincoln Center, in "I Am Harvey Milk," an oratorio celebrating the life of the famous activist.  Brian has also appeared as a soloist in Martin Charnin's new theatrical revue, "Rodgers &...," a retrospective of Richard Rodgers' monumental body of work at The Emelin Theatre; and in the Carnegie Hall Concert Production of "Guys & Dolls," starring Nathan Lane & Megan Mullally.

Brian was a featured soloist with UK Pop legend Petula Clark on the North America Tour of "The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber."  They received a Carbonell Award Nomination for their performance as Homer Collins in "Floyd Collins" at The Actors' Playhouse, in Coral Gables, FL; as well as a Metro-Carolina Award Nomination as Jinx in "Forever Plaid" at The Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte, NC.  They played the title role in "Bat Boy! The Musical" at Charleston Stage Co., in Charleston, SC.

Their Television credits include "Camelot, Live from Lincoln Center" and "Sondheim! The Birthday Concert," both directed by Lonny Price for PBS at Lincoln Center.

They have appeared in sold-out concert engagements at Feinstein's / 54 Below and Joe's Pub, and as a soloist with the Oregon, Seattle, and Albany Symphony Orchestras.