Tony Award nominee Josh Young has been hailed as “a force of nature” by Matthew J. Palm of the Orlando Sentinel, “mesmerizing” by Charles Isherwood of The New York Times, and “a golden voice” by Hedy Weiss of the Chicago Sun-Times. Lawrence B. Johnson of The Detroit News wrote, “When Young is onstage, the musical standard rises.” Most recently, Josh returned to Les Misérables, starring as Jean Valjean in Hudson Valley Shakespeare’s landmark reimagining of the musical.
Josh first gained national recognition playing Marius in Cameron Mackintosh’s Les Misérables. He subsequently toured Europe and Asia as Tony in the 50th Anniversary production of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story before becoming a two-season company member of the Stratford Festival—a rare distinction for an American actor. There, he earned BroadwayWorld Toronto Awards for his performances as Connie Rivers in The Grapes of Wrath and Che in Gary Griffin’s Evita before receiving his third BroadwayWorld Toronto Award for originating the role of Judas Iscariot in Des McAnuff’s reimagined Jesus Christ Superstar. When the production transferred to Broadway, Josh made his Broadway debut, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and the Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut.
Following his Broadway breakthrough, Josh reprised the role of Che in the North American tour of Michael Grandage’s Olivier and Tony Award-winning revival of Evita, earning the BroadwayWorld Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He then originated the role of John Newton in the Broadway world premiere of Amazing Grace.
Regionally, Josh’s performance as Tateh in Ragtime earned him the IRNE Award for Best Actor in a Musical. His extensive regional career includes appearances at many of North America’s leading theatres, including La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre, The Muny, Baltimore Center Stage, Ogunquit Playhouse, Houston’s Theatre Under the Stars, Shakespeare Theatre Company, and North Carolina Theatre. He has also participated in the development of new work with Roundabout Theatre Company, The Transport Group, and the New York Musical Theatre Festival.
As a concert artist, Josh has headlined with major symphony orchestras around the world, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Carolina Philharmonic, Midland Symphony Orchestra, Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, and Sarasota Orchestra, among many others. Equally at home in intimate venues, he has written and performed five original solo cabaret shows, selling out engagements from New York City to Ho Chi Minh City. He has also been a frequent headliner aboard Crystal Cruises’ “Crystal on Broadway,” where his self-written concerts have been featured highlights.
Josh can be heard on numerous recordings, including the original Broadway cast album of Amazing Grace and his two solo albums, Still Dreaming of Paradise and Josh Young. Music from these albums has been used by World Champion figure skaters Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford. Both solo albums are available on all major streaming platforms.
He is the co-founder of Cutting-Edge Composers, a concert series and weekly web platform created in partnership with BroadwayWorld.com to shine a spotlight on emerging musical theatre writers.
Josh currently serves as Coordinator of Musical Theatre and the Cliff & Gail Smart Endowed Professor of Musical Theatre at Missouri State University. Previously, he led the musical theatre program at Oakland University, where he received the 2022 Faculty Recognition Award for Excellence in Teaching. Deeply committed to mentorship and artistic development, he continues to bridge professional practice and higher education, maintaining an active career as a performer, director, producer, and creator while preparing the next generation of musical theatre artists.