Biografia
Bart Shatto was born in Peoria, Illinois, to Sara Kelly, a caregiver for disabled adults, and Player Shatto, a maintenance supervisor at Pabst Brewery as well as a bass player and jazz musician. His mother has Irish roots, while his father is of Scottish and German descent. The youngest of four siblings, he has two older sisters and one older brother. He studied mass communications and theatre at Western Illinois University and Southern Illinois University.
He began his theatrical career in St. Louis, Missouri, working with regional theaters and earning his Equity card before relocating to New York City. While performing as an entertainer on Holland America Cruise Lines, he met Jim Caruso of New York's "Cast Party" fame, who invited him to join his musical comedy trio, "Wiseguys." Bart performed with the group for a year, appearing at Carnegie Hall in the "Cabaret Comes to Carnegie" series and "An Evening With Rosemary Clooney." The Wiseguys also performed in London, on Norwegian Cruise Lines, and at numerous venues around NYC. After the group disbanded, Bart pursued his theatrical career, landing the role of Gus/Growltiger in the fourth National Tour of "Cats." This led to his first Broadway show, the Tony-nominated "The Civil War," which marked the beginning of his collaboration with Tony-nominated composer Frank Wildhorn. He worked with Wildhorn on "Dracula: The Musical" on Broadway (playing the Texan Quincey Morris), "Bonnie and Clyde," and various "Civil War" productions nationwide, including the first National Tour starring opposite Grammy-winning country legend Larry Gatlin, gospel artists BeBe and CeCe Winans, and TV star John Schneider. Bart also played Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables" on Broadway and the National Tour, directed by Jason Moore ("Pitch Perfect"). His other Broadway credits include the Tony-nominated "Hands On a Hardbody" (as standby for Tony nominee Keith Carradine) and "War Paint" (opposite three-time Tony winner Patti Lupone).
From 2002 to 2015, Bart was a vocalist with the symphonic rock band Trans-Siberian Orchestra, which Billboard Magazine and Pollstar ranked among the top twenty-five ticket-selling bands of the first decade of the 2000s.
His original cast recordings include Stephen Schwartz's double CD "Children of Eden" (RCA), "Tara Tremendous" (Broadway Records), the soundtrack for the musical film "Life of An Actress" (Broadway Records), "A Country Christmas Carol" (Upper West Records), and "Session Girls" (Broadway Records). Bart has one child, Conor Shatto, a musical theatre graduate of Ithaca College. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, Dr. Amy Bladen, Ph.D.
