Broadway Star Tom Robbins to Perform in His Hometown of Canton in ‘Old Fashioned Canton Christmas’

Broadway actor Tom Robbins is returning to his hometown of Canton to perform there for the first time in many years in Old Fashioned Canton Christmas. 

Among his many Broadway roles, Robbins created the role of Pumbaa, the flatulent warthog, in The Lion King.   Robbins will be singing Hakuna Matata on the Canton Palace Theatre stage on Nov 12 at the 2 and 8 p.m. performances of Old Fashioned Canton Christmas.  

Tickets are $25 and available at the Canton Palace Theatre box office by calling 330-454-8172 Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or at www.cantonpalacetheatre.org. 

After leaving Lehman High School, Tom Robbins attended the Juilliard School of Drama. Since graduating in 1977, he has worked steadily as an actor. He has performed in the original casts of six Broadway shows including The Lion King, in which he created the role of Pumbaa, which he played for almost 13 years.          

Robbins’ other Broadway credits include: Is He Dead?, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, Threepenny Opera, Sunset Boulevard and Once Upon A Mattress. He also played Thenardier in the First National Tour of Les Miserables.               

Robbins appeared off-Broadway in the New York premieres of On the Verge, Isn’t It Romantic and The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket. He played Bardolph in the Public Theatre’s production of Henry V in Central Park.Recently he appeared in My Name is Asher Lev at the Cleveland Playhouse and played Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts and in Atlanta. He will be traveling to the Denver Theatre Center in December to play the lead in the world premiere of a new play called The Whale.  Robbins lives in New York with his wife Leslie and his daughter Mary Rose, a junior at Clark University. 

About Old Fashioned Canton Christmas                

Since its inception four years ago, Old Fashioned Canton Christmas has grown to truly be a community event that has raised almost $60,000 for area non-profit organizations. Taking place at the historic Canton Palace Theatre, this kick-off to the holiday season features individual singers, show choirs, dancers, celebrity impersonators, and more.

This year, tour buses from around the country are flocking to see this spectacular show, under the direction of Deborah Fezelle, with music director Kathleen Bell.  Proceeds will benefit Stark County area nonprofit organizations Hammer & Nails, Inc, Big Brothers Big Sisters and MajesticVoice Inc.