About

Brian grew up in Winslow, Illinois, a small town in the northwestern part of the state. In high school he was both an athlete – playing football, basketball, baseball and running track – and choir singer. His love of music and a strong voice led him to musical theater in high school, sparking an early passion for performing.

At Highland Community College (Freeport, Illinois) Brian performed in a couple dozen plays and musicals. There, E. Mike Dobbins (head of the Theatre Department) introduced Brian to Shakespeare, igniting a lifelong love of language and classical theater. He began landing professional gigs at the New American Theatre in Rockford, Illinois and summer stock theater throughout the Midwest. He then auditioned for and earned a spot in the Professional Theatre Training Program (P.T.T.P.) at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. The skills and experience he gained from the P.T.T.P. allowed him to launch a theater career still going strong.

Brian Mani has tackled a wide range of roles in both musicals and plays throughout his career – from Teddy Roosevelt to Timon of Athens, from Julian Marsh to Julius Caesar. As a core company actor at American Players Theatre (Spring Green, Wisconsin) since 2002, he has been in over 70 productions. He’s worked at Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Next Act Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Skylight Music Theatre and Forward Theater. In the Chicago area, he has performed at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire and Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace. Across the country, he’s performed at 59E59 Theaters (Off-Broadway), Folger Theater (Washington, D.C.), Clarence Brown Theatre (Knoxville, Tennessee), Nevada Conservatory Theatre (University of Nevada – Las Vegas), Illinois Shakespeare, Colorado Shakespeare and Utah Shakespeare Festival. Internationally, he has performed in Tampere, Finland; Bremen, Germany and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

In all, Brian has over 200 productions under his belt. Some favorite roles include: Tevye (FIDDLER ON THE ROOF), Willy Loman (DEATH OF A SALESMAN), Hamm (ENDGAME), Timon (TIMON OF ATHENS) and the title role in KING LEAR.

Currently, Brian and his wife, Marie Kohler, reside in Spring Green and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They share three daughters and eight grandchildren.