Smagula made his professional acting debut at age 20 in the Paper Mill Playhouse production of
Man of La Mancha. He also appeared in the American premiere of
Children of Eden, also at Paper Mill Playhouse. Smagula also sings on that production's cast album. Smagula appeared in the ensemble and performed the role of Beadle Bamford in
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at the Ahamanson Theater with
Kelsey Grammer and
Christine Baranski and also played the Beadle in the
Signature Theater production in
Arlington, VA, which starred
Norm Lewis. Smagula made his Broadway debut at age 24 in the ensemble of
The Full Monty (2000). He performed the principal role of Dave Bukatinsky over 3 dozen times, opposite both
Patrick Wilson and Will Chase. In 2002, he appeared in the Broadway revival of
Man of La Mancha starring
Brian Stokes Mitchell. Smagula understudied Ubaldo Piangi on the Second National Tour of
The Phantom of the Opera and later played the role on the Third National tour. He also would understudy the role on Broadway for one year. In 2005, Smagula appeared as Sal Iacuzzo on HBO's
The Sopranos. He also appeared in the film
The Island, directed by Michael Bay and
The Producers movie musical. In 2008, Smagula starred as Rocky in the
Encores! production of
Damn Yankees! starring Sean Hayes and Jane Krakowski at the
New York City Center. Ben Brantley of the New York Times said Smagula "harmonizes sweetly" on the iconic song "Heart." Smagula appeared in Manhattan Theatre Club's production of
To Be or Not To Be at the Friedman Theater on Broadway, directed by Casey Nicholaw. He also played a 10-week stint as
Chef Louis in
Disney's
The Little Mermaid on Broadway In 2010, Smagula joined the Broadway company of
Billy Elliot, where he performed the principal role of George over 50 times. He also appeared in the film
Step Up 3D in 2010. From 2011 to 2016, Smagula appeared in television shows including
Hot in Cleveland, ''Grey's Anatomy
, Jessie
, Betty White's Off Their Rockers
, Parks and Recreation
, Sam and Cat
, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
, Rizzoli
and Isles, Community, and Bones''. In 2017, Smagula played John Woodburn in the film
Rebel in the Rye, written and directed by Danny Strong and starring Kevin Spacey and Nicholas Hoult. From 2019 to 2020, Smagula played
Monsieur Thénardier in the national tour of
Les Misérables. In 2022, he played Harry the Horse in
Guys and Dolls at
The Eisenhower Theater. In 2023, he played the dual role of Mr./Billy Webster in
Stephen Sondheim and
James Lapine's
Sunday in the Park with George at the
Pasadena Playhouse. He also played Sir Bedevere in the
Kennedy Center production of
Spamalot and reprised the role in the Broadway revival at the
St. James Theatre. ==Filmography==