Biography

Bart Shatto was born in Peoria, Illinois to Sara Kelly, who worked as a caregiver for disabled adults. His father, Player Shatto, was a maintenance supervisor for Pabst Brewery and a bass player and jazz musician. His mother is of Irish descent and his father is of Scottish/German ancestry. The youngest of four, he has two older sisters and one older brother. He studied mass communications and theatre at both Western Illinois University and Southern Illinois University.

He started his theatrical career in St. Louis, Missouri working for regional theaters and getting his Equity card before moving to New York City. While working on Holland America Cruise Lines as an entertainer he met Jim Caruso (of New York's "Cast Party" fame) who invited him to become a member of his musical comedy trio "Wiseguys", Bart worked with "Wiseguys for a year performing at Carnegie Hall in "Cabaret Comes to Carnegie" series and "An Evening With Rosemary Clooney". Wiseguys also performed in London, on Norwegian Cruise Lines and many other venues throughout NYC. After the group dissolved, Bart decided to pursue this theatrical career landing the role of "Gus/Growltiger" in the 4th National Tour of "Cats". That would lead to his first Broadway show Tony-nominated "The Civil War" which began his relationship with Tony-nominated composer Frank Wildhorn who he would work with later on in "Dracula: the Musical" on Broadway (as the Texan Quincey Morris) , "Bonnie and Clyde" and many "Civil War" productions around the country including the 1st National Tour starring opposite country music legend Grammy-winning Larry Gatlin, gospel icons, BeBe and CeCe Winans and TV star John Schneider. Bart also played the pivotal role of Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables" on Broadway and National Tour under the direction of Jason Moore ("Pitch Perfect"). Other Broadway credits include the Tony-nominated "Hands On a Hardbody" (standby for Tony nominee Keith Carradine) and "War Paint" (opposite Three-Time Tony Winner Patti Lupone).

Bart was a veteran vocalist with the symphonic rock band Trans-Siberian Orchestra from 2002 - 2015. Both Billboard Magazine and Pollstar have ranked them as one of the top twenty-five ticket-selling bands in the first decade of the new millennium.

Original Cast albums include Stephen Schwartz's double CD "Children of Eden" (RCA) , "Tara Tremendous" (Broadway Records), the Motion Picture Soundtrack to the musical "Life of An Actress" (Broadway Records), "A Country Christmas Carol" (Upper West Records), "Session Girls" (Broadway Records). He has one child, Conor Shatto who is a graduate of Ithaca College in musical theatre. Bart resides in New Jersey with his wife, Dr. Amy Bladen Ph.D.
- IMDb mini biography by: Bart Shatto