Mascot of the Month: Joe Mantello - 3rd Acts

So the Mascot this month is stage actor / director Joe Mantello.  His trajectory as a person and craftsman is amazing, not just for his body of work, but for his versatility.
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He is probably most visibly known for his current role as "Ned", the fictional Larry Kramer, in The Normal Heart.  Is the the meat of the show and is nominated for a Tony (most years I would say a shoe in, but Bobby Cannival is amazing, and Mark Rylance is once again great). So here he is in Normal Heart.
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But that isn't the reason he is Mascot of the Month.
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You see this is Joe's 3rd phase of his career - with no sign of slowing down.  I originally saw him in Angels in America in Los Angeles.  He played Louis (the same role Zachary Quinto nailed in the revival).  He was fine.  it is a hard role, and he was opposite Stephen Spinella who blew everyone off the stage as Prior Walter.  In fact, until The Normal Heart, I would have said he wasn't a very good actor, even though he was nominated for a Tony for the role. I would have been wrong.

A very young Joe Mantello and a very talented Stephen Spinella.

After Angels he stepped away from acting a started directing.  Not just dramas, but everything.  He did Glen Gary Glen Ross, he won a Tony for direction of Assisans the same year he won a Drama Desk for direction of Wicked!  He won a tony the year before for the drama, Take Me Out.  I mean the guy is a great and versitile Director.
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But his dream role was Ned Weeks in the Normal Heart, and he came back to play it.  Now I know that Mascot of the Month is bad luck for the winner - so Joe probably won't win the Tony.  But he doesn't need it to be happy with the role or his work.
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I can't wait to see what he does next.

Lee Pace, Jim Parsons, Joe Mantello and Patrick Breen