Michael Shulman: Shining Bright On Stage and Screen

By Christopher Moore, Broadway Magazine

Michael Shulman first came to national attention playing Artie Baum on the hit television series Party of Five. Today, he is one of the busier actors in New York City. Not only is he earning critical praise for his work in the new play White People at the Atlantic Theatre Off-Broadway, but he also has a new film coming out next month. He took a few minutes to sit with Broadway Magazine and Broadway.tv and talk about past, present, and future.

While he is clearly looking at busy days ahead, he still expresses a fondness for Party of Five.

"It was like a party of five and I was the sixth," smiles Michael, "I'd done some theatre before. I was in Les Miserables and all these things, but that was my first real break-out thing of doing TV and I was so happy to do it." Broadway fans will also note that Michael appeared in John Guare's Four Baboons Adoring The Sun.

Audiences are presently enjoying his performance in White People. In the J.T. Rogers new work, Michael plays a professor named Alan, who is forced by circumstances to confront his own prejudices. The play has captured the attention of critics for its direct take on a complicated issue. "It's about these three intersecting confessions on race and prejudice," says Michael, "It's a heavy play, but there is a lot of comedy in it."

On screen, fans can also soon catch Michael in the new film Sherman's Way with Lacey Chabert, who also worked with Michael on Party of Five. Michael says the new comedy is "about a young guy who goes to Yale, and thinks he has everything figured out. Knows exactly who he want to be...until he ends up on this road trip in Napa Valley."

Having taken some time away from acting to go to college, Michael is excited about what is ahead. "I'm really happy to be done with school. I took off acting to go to college and to be a 'bigger person' hopefully. I'm thrilled to be back and working and to be exploring characters that I really love."

As he goes off for another performance, audiences can look forward to more from Michael Shulman both on stage and screen. The party continues.