Kyle Jean-Baptiste
August 30, 2015 7:31 AM   Subscribe

Kyle Jean-Baptiste died in an accident on Friday at the age of 21. Mr. Jean-Baptiste joined the company of Les Miserables this summer after his college graduation, and became the first African-American man to play Jean Valjean on Broadway on June 23, while understudying the role. He recently announced on Facebook that he would be joining the Broadway cast of The Color Purple alongside Jennifer Hudson. His last performance as Valjean was on Thursday night.

He recently performed "The Confrontation" with Lin-Manuel Miranda at the #Ham4Ham lottery for Hamilton tickets.

Last night, the show's current Jean Valjean, Ramin Karimloo spoke to the audience and paid tribute to their friend and cast mate.

Collection of performances (BroadwayWorld)
posted by roomthreeseventeen (26 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
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posted by sourcequench at 7:36 AM on August 30, 2015


. peace to his family and loved ones.
posted by pearlybob at 8:10 AM on August 30, 2015


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posted by brecc at 8:13 AM on August 30, 2015


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posted by bjgeiger at 8:18 AM on August 30, 2015


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posted by Tacodog at 8:27 AM on August 30, 2015


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posted by an animate objects at 8:30 AM on August 30, 2015


I saw him in his regular (small) roles in Les Miz a couple of weeks ago. It was before he did Ham4Ham, so he was an unknown member of the ensemble to me. There are some actors who just draw your attention with their presence even in small roles, and he was one of them. The video of him singing Confrontation at the stage door with a fan (which I think is included in the Broadway World collection) gives a sense of a warm and generous person. A terrible loss. I have enormous respect for the talent, professionalism, and stamina of live theater performers, especially for the Les Miz company doing two shows yesterday. Mind boggling.
posted by Mavri at 8:46 AM on August 30, 2015


So tragic.
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posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:08 AM on August 30, 2015


Way way too young.

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posted by marienbad at 9:19 AM on August 30, 2015


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posted by oceanjesse at 9:21 AM on August 30, 2015


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posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 9:35 AM on August 30, 2015


Just devastating. His #Ham4Ham is one of my absolute favorites. Saw the news on Lin-Manuel Miranda's Twitter and couldn't believe it.

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posted by kmz at 9:47 AM on August 30, 2015


This is staggeringly heartbreaking.

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posted by mixedmetaphors at 9:59 AM on August 30, 2015


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posted by hopeless romantique at 10:10 AM on August 30, 2015


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posted by biggreenplant at 10:35 AM on August 30, 2015


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posted by discopolo at 11:18 AM on August 30, 2015


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posted by ariadne's threadspinner at 11:22 AM on August 30, 2015


Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescat in pace.
posted by ob1quixote at 11:41 AM on August 30, 2015


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posted by sockermom at 12:23 PM on August 30, 2015


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posted by backstitch at 2:47 PM on August 30, 2015


Jean-Baptiste was was a graduate of Baldwin Wallace's incredible musical theater program. Here are some features on his life and death from the BW angle in the Cleveland newspaper.

But what about that accident? Details?
posted by Modest House at 3:15 PM on August 30, 2015


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posted by c'mon sea legs at 3:21 PM on August 30, 2015


No, no, no, no, no...

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posted by two or three cars parked under the stars at 10:05 PM on August 30, 2015


Modest House,he fell off a fire escape at his mother's apartment.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:53 AM on August 31, 2015


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posted by Gelatin at 10:50 AM on August 31, 2015


Crying again
posted by kmz at 4:36 PM on September 1, 2015


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