Ben Vereen has spent six decades making the hardest things look easy. The singer, dancer and actor turns 80 on October 10, and the theater world is not letting the milestone pass quietly. The New Jersey Performing Arts Center has announced Ben Vereen’s 80th Birthday Concert for Saturday, November 21, in Newark. Vereen himself will perform. Melba Moore and Brian Stokes Mitchell are on the bill, and so are Lillias White and Shoshana Bean.
They will have plenty of material to choose from. Vereen was born in Laurinburg, North Carolina, in 1946 and was a Broadway star before he turned 30. He earned a Tony nomination as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar and won the Tony the following year for Pippin. Television viewers met him in 1977 as Chicken George in Roots, the miniseries that changed America, and the role brought him an Emmy nomination. Two years later he lit up Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz. Children of the ’80s knew him as Uncle Phil on Webster.
Ben Vereen’s Greatest Comeback
Much of Vereen’s early success came through his collaborations with legendary choreographer and director Bob Fosse. The two first worked together on the 1969 film Sweet Charity, and Fosse later directed Vereen in Pippin, where he played the mysterious Leading Player. The musical’s memorable television commercial, featuring Vereen performing Fosse’s choreography, helped introduce Broadway to a much wider audience. In a 2023 interview with BroadwayWorld, Vereen credited Fosse with teaching him lessons about discipline and dedication that he continued to carry throughout his career.
His most remarkable performance may have been his own recovery. In 1992 Vereen suffered a stroke and was struck by a car while walking along a highway in Malibu. He was left with a broken leg and faced a long, painful rehabilitation, and he worked his way back. He has known deep sorrow as well. He lost his daughter Naja in 1987 and his son Ben Jr. in 2020.
His return to Broadway in April 1993 was nothing short of remarkable. Just 10 months after being struck by a truck, Vereen stepped onto the stage in Jelly’s Last Jam, starring opposite Gregory Hines. The accident had caused serious head and internal injuries, and doctors initially feared he might never walk without assistance again. Vereen underwent months of grueling rehabilitation, gradually relearning how to walk and dance. His recovery required intensive physical therapy and countless hours rebuilding the strength, balance, and coordination that had once come so naturally to him.
The November celebration will bring together performers whose own Broadway careers span generations. In addition to Melba Moore, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Lillias White, and Shoshana Bean, the lineup includes five-time Grammy nominee Karrin Allyson and Broadway veteran Stephanie Pope, with music from the Andy Farber Orchestra. The concert is part of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s annual TD James Moody Jazz Festival and will feature selections from Vereen’s work across Broadway, film, and television. The one-night-only performance is scheduled for November 21 at 8 p.m.
Through all of it he kept performing. In 2025 the Chita Rivera Awards honored him with their Lifetime Achievement Award. At 80 he has earned the right to sit back and let others do the singing. Nobody who has seen him work expects him to stay in his seat for long.
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