Broadway He made his
Broadway debut in the 1983 revival of
Zorba as Nikos, for which he won the
Theatre World Award. He played the dual role of a Soldier/Alex and understudied
Mandy Patinkin in
Stephen Sondheim's
Sunday in the Park with George which opened in May 1984. He later took over Patinkin's leading roles of
Georges Seurat/George where he played opposite
Bernadette Peters in September of that year and played the role until April 1985. He received a
Tony Award nomination and won a
Drama Desk Award for his performance as
Cinderella's Prince and the
Wolf in Sondheim's
Into the Woods (1987). It was during this show where he met his wife,
Kim Crosby, who played
Cinderella. In 1990, he starred as
Inspector Javert in
Les Misérables opposite Craig Schulman as
Jean Valjean. In 1991, he starred as Dr. Neville Craven in the original Broadway production of
The Secret Garden playing opposite Patinkin again along with
Daisy Eagan,
Alison Fraser and
Rebecca Luker. In 2020, Westenberg directed the same production at
Missouri State University, where he served as the head of the Musical Theatre department until joining the Musical Theatre faculty at the
University of Colorado Boulder in 2023. In 1995, he was featured as Harry in the Broadway
revival of
Company. Two years later he portrayed
Lyman Hall in the revival of
1776.
Other In 1981, Westenberg played Norman Mushari in
Kurt Vonnegut’s
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater at
Arena Stage. In 1994 and 2001, Westenberg starred as Scrooge’s nephew Fred in the musical adaptation of
A Christmas Carol in
Madison Square Garden. In 1996, Westenberg was in the US National tour of
Funny Girl as
Nick Arnstein opposite
Debbie Gibson as
Fanny Brice. It ended prematurely in November 1996 in
Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 2002, Westenberg was in the US and Japan tour of
The Full Monty. Westenberg has been in several
MUNY (St. Louis) productions. He played Henry Higgins in
My Fair Lady in 2001 opposite his wife,
Kim Crosby, as Eliza Doolittle. He played the roles of both Mr. Darling and Captain Hook in the July 2007 St. Louis MUNY production of
Peter Pan. He reprised these roles in a 2009 production in
Branson, Missouri, with
Cathy Rigby as Peter Pan. In 2012, he directed a production of
Les Misérables at
Springfield Little Theatre. Westenberg is currently starring as the older
Neil Diamond in the 2024 national tour of
A Beautiful Noise.
Television and film Westenberg's film credits include
Mr. and Mrs. Bridge and
The Ice Storm. He has made guest appearances on
Third Watch,
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and the short-lived series
Aliens in the Family. He played Prince Raymond on the soap opera,
One Life to Live from 1989-90. He reprised his roles of a Soldier/Alex and the Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince in the
American Playhouse episodes of
Sunday in the Park with George and
Into the Woods. ==Stage credits==