Thursday, February 17, 2022
Dublin born Ciarán Sheehan is an acclaimed actor, singer, voice healer whose performances have been said to warm the heart and touch the soul. There is an amazing quality to his voice and his ability to capture an audience is nothing short of remarkable. Ciarán has many professional accomplishments to his credit, most notably playing the role of The Phantom in “The Phantom of The Opera” for over 1,000 performances on Broadway and in Toronto. But perhaps of more importance than his accomplishments is his sincere desire to use his incredible talents to inspire others to look within themselves to discover their own inner beauty.
Ciarán’s current projects include his three shows - “Ciarán ~ An Evening with Friends,” “Awaken,” and “Broadway and Beyond,” as well as various special events and stage productions projects. He is also delighted to be collaborating on original music for his next CD project as well as in the early stages of an autobiography book project. He studies voice with David Jones and acting with Terry Schreiber and Larry Moss in New York City.
Professional Career
Ciarán began his career in a rock band made up of high school friends and during his college years he fronted a heavy metal band playing metal and rock clubs in the northeast of the US. At the age of twenty he had a near death experience in a horrific car accident. His time recuperating gave him a new focus on life and he began to gain more of an interest in acting and eventually found himself studying with Meisner disciple Kathryn Gately in NYC. Later he had the great privilege of studying and working with Broadway director and The Actors Studio founder Bobby Lewis. For a number of years Ciarán focused solely on his acting and set singing aside completely.
After an introduction to The Irish Repertory Theatre in NYC Ciarán met legendary Broadway director Harold Prince during The Rep’s production of Hal’s award winning play “Grandchild of Kings.” Hal was very much a mentor to Ciarán, guiding him to voice teachers with a goal of eventually putting him on Broadway. Six months after meeting Hal Ciarán made his Broadway debut in “Les Miserables” (Babet, Marius), and shortly thereafter Prince cast Ciarán as Raoul in “The Phantom of the Opera.” After a year of playing Raoul on Broadway, Ciarán then starred in the coveted role of The Phantom. He sang the role of the Phantom in over 1,000 performances during the course of two and a half years both on Broadway and in Toronto.
Other NY stage performances include numerous appearances with The Irish Repertory Theatre Company; Shaughnessy in “The Hostage”, Ciarán in “The Irish…and how they got that way…” by Frank McCourt, Sir Dinadan in “Camelot” (with Jeremy Irons), and Woody in “Finian’s Rainbow.” Most recently Billy Bigelow in The Reagle Music Theatre production of “Carousel.” Television appearances include Law and Order, One Life To Live, Another World, Late Night with David Letterman, and numerous appearances on PBS Stations nationally.
As a producer, Ciarán created the sold out productions of “The Molly Maguires” directed by Tony nominated director Sheryl Kaller at the FM Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre, PA in which he also starred. He has three PBS specials to his credit – “The Irish…and how they got that way…”, “From Galway to Broadway,” and “Ciarán ~ An Evening with Friends.” Recordings include The Irish…and how they got that way, Ha’penny Bridge, and Ciarán ~ An Evening with Friends Vol. I & 2.
As a solo artist some of Ciarán’s most memorable engagements have been… Four sold out performances at Carnegie Hall, The National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland, performing the American National Anthem at New York State Governor George Pataki’s inauguration as well as at various professional sporting arenas including Giants Stadium, opening the dedication of the Irish Hunger Memorial in New York City, soloist at the internationally televised memorial mass for John and Carolyn Kennedy Jr., serenading Ed and Allison Lucas during their wedding ceremony on the infield of old Yankee Stadium, soloist at the funeral service for Beau Biden, son of Vice President Joe Biden.
As a voice healer Ciarán has taught with his friend, world renowned spiritual medium James Van Praagh at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies. In his program “Awaken” Ciarán uses the power of music, meditation, and his own life story to help transform the lives of all who hear him, particularly abuse survivors like himself. Ciarán is thrilled to be adding this spiritual, healing genre to his repertoire and feels privileged to be able to use his talents to impact the lives of others in a healing way.