John Herrera will be honored across The Great White Way next week.
The late Cuban Broadway star is among the late members of the Broadway community who will be honored with a group marquee dimming on Tuesday, June 9.
During the dimming, considered among the most prestigious honors the industry bestows, the marquees for all 41 Broadway theatres will be dimmed simultaneously at 6:45 PM ET for one minute in honor of Herrera, Robert Fox, David Gersten, Allan Gruet, Jennifer Harmon, Mary Beth Hurt, Jeffrey Lane and Sondra Lee.
Last year, the Broadway in Memoriam Committee announced the establishment of the quarterly tradition dedicated to honoring “the remarkable individuals who have left an indelible mark on Broadway.”
Herrera, who passed away earlier this year at the age of 70, came to New York in the late 1970s, making his Broadway debut in the original production of Grease as a cover for all of the male principals including Danny Zuko.
His warm singing voice quickly charmed the industry at large, leading him to become a beloved replacement leading man for several decades, including stints covering Che in the original Broadway run of Evita, Dap in Camelot with Richard Burton, John Blackthorne in Shogun, The Musical, and John Adams and John Hancock in 1776.
His best-known Broadway performance, however, had him firmly positioned at center stage.
Herrera originated the role of Victor Grinstead/Neville Landless in Rupert Holmes’ The Mystery of Edwin Drood in 1985, immortalizing his recognizable baritenor as the layered music hall company member. As a Latine man playing a British man playing a Sri Lankan man of mystery, Mr. Herrera navigated the complexity with panache, netting a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
Following Drood, Herrera continued to take on psychologically layered performances as a member of the original Broadway company of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Broadway revival of The Threepenny Opera.
In 2002, he reached perhaps the zenith of such musical theatre complexity as the understudy for Brian Stokes Mitchell as Don Quixote (Cervantes) in Man of La Mancha.
His final Broadway performance came in 2006, as a swing for The Times They Are A-Changin’.
Off-Broadway, Herrera originated the role of Kevin Rosario, Nina’s entrepreneurial immigrant father, in Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s In The Heights.
The group dimmings take place four times a year on the second Tuesday in September, December, March and June, offering a moment of reflection and gratitude for the legacies of those who have shaped the theatrical world.
