1995–2004: Early career, Broadway debut and Thoroughly Modern Millie Soon after moving to New York City, Borle was cast in ''
The Who's Tommy. Returning to the states, he joined the national tour of West Side Story
in 1996, as a replacement for the role of Riff. Borle was next cast as Willard Hewitt in the first national tour of Footloose'', which opened on December 15, 1998. After his tenure as Willard, Borle made his Broadway debut in the ensemble of the 2000 revival of
Jesus Christ Superstar. He left the production after two months to reprise his role of Willard Hewitt (succeeding Tom Plotkin) in the Broadway production of
Footloose in June 2000. Soon after joining the company, the show received its closing notice, and Borle remained with the show for a few weeks through its final performance on July 2, 2000. He was the dance captain and
understudy for several characters for the short-lived 2002 musical
Amour. Borle appeared in a 2003 advertisement for the California-based online auction company
eBay. In the 30-second TV spot, Borle plays a store clerk who breaks into song and dance when asked about a product. The song, "That's on eBay", was a parody of the
Dean Martin standard "
That's Amore". Also in 2003, he replaced
Gavin Creel in the role of Jimmy in
Thoroughly Modern Millie. He married his co-star, actress
Sutton Foster, who had played Millie, in September 2006. Borle and Foster divorced in 2009.
2005–2010: Spamalot, Legally Blonde and Mary Poppins Borle performed in
Monty Python's
Spamalot, in which he originated a number of roles, including Prince Herbert, the Historian, Not Dead Fred, A French Guard, and Sir Robin's Minstrel. His performance earned him a 2005
Drama Desk Award nomination as Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical and a Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical. He is known for originating the role of Emmett Forrest in
Legally Blonde on Broadway, for which he was nominated for the
Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. The musical is based on
MGM's 2001
film of the same name. He was featured in the
Encores! staged concert version of
On the Town as Ozzie in November 2008. He appeared in a workshop production of a new play titled
Peter and the Starcatcher in 2009. He played Bert in the Broadway production of
Mary Poppins, replacing Adam Fiorentino in the role on October 12, 2009, and then left the cast on July 15, 2010. In 2010, he played a golf caddy in the film
The Bounty Hunter. In Fall 2010/Winter 2011, Borle played the role of Prior Walter in
Signature Theatre Company's 20th anniversary production of
Tony Kushner's
Angels in America.
2011–2014: Smash and Peter and the Starcatcher On February 25, 2011, it was announced that Borle had joined
Steven Spielberg's new NBC pilot
Smash with
Debra Messing,
Anjelica Huston,
Katharine McPhee,
Brian d'Arcy James, and
Megan Hilty. The series follows a cross-section of characters who come together to mount a
Marilyn Monroe-themed musical (which is called
Bombshell) on Broadway. In May 2011, it was reported that NBC had picked up the show as a series for the 2011–2012 season. In March 2012, NBC announced it would renew the series for a second season with 15 episodes. The show was officially cancelled by NBC in May 2013. Borle was a member of the original cast in the Regional and Off-Broadway productions of
Peter and the Starcatcher that ran until April 24, 2011. He reprised the role of "Black Stache" on Broadway in April 2012, where his performance earned him his second
Tony Award nomination and first win as Best Featured Actor in a Play. He ended his run in the Broadway production of
Peter and the Starcatcher on June 30, 2012, ahead of taping for
Smash, which began in August 2012. Borle played Max Dettweiler in the live television production of
The Sound of Music Live!, which aired on NBC on December 5, 2013. He played Mr. Darling and Mr. Smee in the live TV production of
Peter Pan Live!, which aired on NBC on December 4, 2014.
2015–2018: Something Rotten!, Falsettos and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory He won the 2015
Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for the role of
William Shakespeare in
Something Rotten!, which opened on Broadway at the
St. James Theatre on March 23, 2015, in previews and officially on April 22, 2015. Borle provided the voice of Mr. Bungee on the cast recording of Encores!
A New Brain. Dan Fogler, who played the part onstage, was unable to record the album as he was busy filming
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Borle played Marvin in the limited Broadway revival of
Falsettos, directed by
James Lapine, alongside
Andrew Rannells and
Stephanie J. Block who played Whizzer and Trina, respectively. Borle left the cast of
Something Rotten! on July 16, 2016, to prepare for
Falsettos, which opened in previews on September 29, 2016, and officially on October 27, 2016. Borle was nominated for a
Tony Award for his performance. The show closed on January 8, 2017, after 30 previews and 84 performances. Borle also made an appearance with his former wife,
Sutton Foster, in
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. His musical talents were used in Episode 3 for the Star's Hollow musical, which walked through the history of the quirky small town. The two had "found
Gilmore Girls together and became fans of the show long before there were talks of a revival. For both actors, being a part of the Stars Hollow world was a special experience because they already loved the show before they became involved with it." On May 9, 2016, it was announced that Borle would play
Willy Wonka in the Broadway production of
Roald Dahl's
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, which opened on March 23, 2017. A cast album was announced March 21, 2017. The show played its final performance on January 14, 2018. Borle made his directorial debut with
Popcorn Falls, which premiered at the Riverbank Theatre in Marine City, Michigan. The show ran from August 18–27, 2017. It was such an unexpected success that the theatre had to add extra performances to keep up with demand. In March 2018, it was announced that Borle would again reunite with Sutton Foster, this time for two episodes of her TV show
Younger as a journalist named Don Ridley. He was also announced as the lead in the
Encores! production of
Me and My Girl, alongside former
Mary Poppins co-star
Laura Michelle Kelly.
2019–present: Little Shop of Horrors and Some Like It Hot In July 2019, it was announced that Borle would star as
Orin Scrivello in the
Off-Broadway revival of
Little Shop of Horrors,'''' which began previews at the
Westside Theatre on September 17, 2019, with an official opening of October 17. Borle won a
Lucille Lortel Award and was nominated for an
Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance. In August 2021, it was announced that Borle would star in the 2022
Encores! season. Borle was cast as the Baker in
Into the Woods, running from May 4–15, 2022. This would have been his third show in the 2022 Encores! season. Borle was ultimately replaced by
Neil Patrick Harris. In March 2022, it was announced that Borle was cast in a workshop for the new musical
Some Like It Hot, an adaptation of the
1959 film of the same name, as Joe/Josephine. He originated this role on Broadway through the show's end on December 30, 2023, at the
Shubert Theatre. He won a Grammy in 2024 for the original cast recording of
Some Like It Hot in the Best Musical Theater Album category. Borle voices
Vox, a recurring antagonist in the
adult animated dark comedy series
Hazbin Hotel. The ongoing series premiered on
Amazon Prime Video in 2024. Borle has directed two concerts in the
92nd Street Y's
Lyrics and Lyricists series. In 2023, Borle directed
Tale as Old as Time: The Songs of Howard Ashman, which starred Heather Ayers,
John Cariani, Nadina Hassan,
Manu Narayan, and Khadija Sankoh. In 2005, Borle directed
The Lovers, The Dreamers, & Me:
The Songs of Paul Williams in collaboration with his wife, the dancer and choreographer Skye Mattox, who co-wrote the program with Borle. ==Personal life==