Broadway actor Chris Peluso, 40, passed away on August 15. He was best known for his roles in Mamma Mia! and Wicked.
According to Playbill, Peluso’s family verified his death. The actor’s “sudden passing” was alleged to have occurred one year after he “stepped away from theater work to seek treatment for schizoaffective disorder.” There were no further explanations given.
On Wednesday, Peluso’s alma mater, the University of Michigan, paid tribute to him on social media. According to Linda Goodrich, the interim head of the University of Michigan’s musical theater department, Chris Peluso was “loving, charismatic, and divinely gifted.” “The Michigan Musical Theatre family is heartbroken as we announce his passing,” Goodrich wrote. Our deepest sympathies are with his loved ones.
Toni Trucks, a member of the SEAL Team, also commented: “This is devastating.” Chris just exists in my mind as a happy memory. I am clinging to the hope he gave me. Wonderfully generous. This is hilarious. So selfless. amazing gifted and kind.
As an understudy, Peluso initially came to the attention of theatergoers when he played three male lead parts in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, as well as the Balladeer in the 2004 production of Assassins, Louis, and Nicolas in Lestat by Elton John.
On Broadway, he played Sky in Mamma Mia, and on tour with Wicked, he was both Fiyero and the understudy. Off-Broadway, he was the star of The Glorious Ones.
Show Boat, Miss Saigon, The Woman in White, and Death Takes a Holiday were just a few of the London plays in which Peluso performed, and he also toured the United Kingdom in Funny Girl.
Actors from all around the world shared their sympathy. “I learned so much from his kindness and professionalism,” Broadway actress Desi Oakley commented, adding, “I am sending so much love to all who walked closely with him.” His wife, Jessica Gomes, and their two daughters also survive Peluso.
