Wayne Brady
Wayne Brady is a singer, songwriter and improviser whose work runs from R&B records and Broadway musicals to spontaneous songs on television and his What If?! podcast.
At 100 nudges, fangea sends Wayne’s team an official invite.
🔒 Star boosts open once Wayne claims this page.
Latest
Wayne’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Music
CBS
Broadway
PodcastOverview
- Work
- Singer, songwriter, actor, improviser and host
- Started
- Orlando theme parks, local theatre and SAK Comedy Lab
- Breakout
- Whose Line Is It Anyway?, joining the cast in 1998
- Debut album
- A Long Time Coming, 2008
- Broadway debut
- Billy Flynn in Chicago, 2004
Mini bio
How it started.
Wayne built his performance skills in Orlando, working at theme parks and in local theatre. At SAK Comedy Lab, he found a love of improvisation. Joining Whose Line Is It Anyway? in 1998 brought those skills to a wider audience, and his work on the show won a Primetime Emmy in 2003.
Songs with a story.
His debut album, A Long Time Coming, arrived in 2008. Working with the Heavyweights, Wayne co-wrote songs about love, family and his own experiences, alongside covers including Sam Cooke’s A Change Is Gonna Come. That recording earned a Grammy nomination in 2009.
A life onstage.
He made his Broadway debut as Billy Flynn in Chicago in 2004, later playing Lola in Kinky Boots and Aaron Burr in the Chicago production of Hamilton. The title role in the 2024 revival of The Wiz also put him on its Grammy-nominated cast recording. He followed that with Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge! in 2025 and Georges in La Cage aux Folles in 2026.
Making things up together.
Alongside hosting Let’s Make a Deal, Wayne makes spontaneous scenes and songs with Jonathan Mangum on What If?!. His creative work also includes A Wayne & Mandie Creative, the production company he shares with Mandie Taketa, and their docuseries Wayne Brady: The Family Remix.
Creditschronological, newest first
Music
- 2024Holiday Improv Song (Live)Performer with Adam Ray
- 2024The Wiz: 2024 Broadway Cast RecordingThe Wiz; principal vocalist
- 2008A Long Time ComingSinger and songwriter
Stage
- 2026La Cage aux FollesGeorges, New York City Center Encores!
- 2025–2026All Out: Comedy About AmbitionPerformer
- 2025Moulin Rouge! The MusicalHarold Zidler
- 2024The WizThe Wiz, Broadway revival
- 2015–2016; 2018Kinky BootsLola, Broadway
- 2017HamiltonAaron Burr, Chicago production
- 2004ChicagoBilly Flynn, Broadway debut
Television and podcasts
- 2025 onwardWayne Brady’s What If?! with Jonathan MangumCo-host
- 2024Wayne Brady: The Family RemixCast and executive producer
- 2009 onwardLet’s Make a DealHost
- 1998 onwardWhose Line Is It Anyway?Improviser
Writing
- 2025The End of the World As We Know ItContributor with Maurice Broaddus
Awards
- Grammy nomination, 2025Best Musical Theater Album for The Wiz, as a principal vocalist on the cast recording.
- Florida Artists Hall of Fame, 2022Inducted for his work as an actor and performer.
- Grammy nomination, 2009Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for A Change Is Gonna Come.
- Primetime Emmy, 2003Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for Whose Line Is It Anyway?.
Quotes
I’d rather be on stage than anywhere else.Wayne Brady, New York Theatre Guide
Speaking during his June 2026 run in La Cage aux Folles about the place theatre holds in his career.
Trivia
- He worked with Jamie Jones, Jack Kugell and Jason Pennock, collectively the Heavyweights, on his debut album.
- He wrote the theme song for Disney’s animated series The Weekenders.
- His interests include Afrofuturism and science fiction, and he writes with novelist Maurice Broaddus.
- During Hamilton, singing Dear Theodosia with his daughter in the audience became one of his proudest stage memories.
Find Wayne
Follow his songs, scenes and conversations.
Are you Wayne Brady?
Fans built this page. Claim it to connect with them and unlock Star boosts, or request a takedown if you’d rather it not exist.