Draft:Manley Pope

Pope was born on May 29, 1972 in Wilmington, North Carolina. His father, also named Manley Pope, worked for forty years at the Carolina Power & Light Company in Wilmington.^[1][2] His mother, Peggy Kirby Pope^[2], was a member of the Raleigh Toastmistress club.^[3] Pope has one sister, Kimberly.^[2]

He attended John T. Hoggard High School in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he played football for the Hoggard Vikings.^[4] He also sang in his church youth choir and school chorus.^[5]

Pope studied Drama at East Carolina University and graduated in 1989.^[6]

Pope's first credited film role was in Deuce Coupe in 1992, which he filmed while he was still a student at East Carolina University.^[6] In 1995, Pope starred in his first major musical production with Twist of Fate, directed by Ron Link,^[7] which was awarded "Musical Production of the Year" at the 17th Annual LA Weekly Theater Awards in 1996.^[8]

Pope's first television acting role was in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman in 1994.^[9] In 1997 he was cast as one of the main characters, Devon Whitelaw, in the fourth and final season of Sweet Valley High.^[10] It was there that he met his future spouse, Amy Danles, who played the character of Enid Rollins.^[11]

In 1997, Pope was offered the role of Roger Davis in the Broadway production of Rent, after Sean Keller had to leave the show.^[9] One of the directors had seen Pope in Sweet Valley High and thought he would be perfect for the role and contacted Pope's agent to ask him to come to New York to audition.^[5] Reviews of his performance were largely positive, with the Star-Tribune describing his singing as "powerful",^[12] while the Baltimore Sun stated that his performance was "solid" but didn't stir emotions "deeply enough".^[13] Although it was his first Broadway role, the Chicago Tribune declared that he had the "passion and good looks" for the part of Roger.^[14]

In 1998 Pope, along with four other singers, opened for Roger Daltrey of The Who's 1998 British Rock Symphony tour.^[15][16] He was named one of the ten "sexiest on Broadway" by In Theater magazine in 1999, for his ongoing role as Roger in Rent.^[17] Later that year, he hosted a morning music video slot on VH1.^[18]

In 2000, Pope played the lead character in Feeding the Machine, the first film written and directed by his father-in-law, Glen Danles. The film was made in Danles' hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan^[19] and won Best Picture at the Digidance Festival in Park City, Utah.^[20]

He concluded his time as Roger in Rent in 2002, starring alongside Joey Fatone of N'Sync for his final stretch. By this stage, Pope was considered a "veteran" of the cast, with the Mark Evans of the Associated Press praising his "outstanding" performance.^[21] 2002 was also notable as the year that Pope released his debut CD, Pope,^[22] and performed at The Cutting Room with Sh-K-Boom Records.^[23] Pope played the role of a boyband member in the 2003 film Marci X, starring Lisa Kudrow and Damon Wayans.^[23]

In 2004, Pope played the role of Chad in the workshop for Godspeed Musicals' All Shook Up at Norma Terris Theater in Chester, Connecticut,^[24] but was ultimately replaced by Cheyenne Jackson when the show took to Broadway in 2005.^[25] Pope starred in a rock musical in 2005, The Who's Tommy at Pittsburgh CLO.^[26]

It was announced in 2009 that Pope would direct the West Michigan community theater debut of Rent, co-produced with Grand Valley State University and the Heritage Theater Group.^[27] The production took place in his wife's hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, where her stepfather, Keith Oberfeld, was the executive director of the Heritage Theater Group.^[28] Pope's version of the show included projection technology,^[29] and opened up the roles to be more inclusive, including changing the support group leader from Paul to Paula.^[30]

In 2011, Pope starred as River in Roger Bean's Summer of Love at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine. Erin Sullivan of the Journal Tribune praised his "amazing" singing voice.^[31]

In 1995, Pope participated in a charity basketball group called the "Hollywood Hoopsters", at which he sang the National Anthem. The event raised $4,200 for the Chula Vista High School.^[32]

Pope regularly performs songs from musicals at benefit events. In 2001, he sang in the free Broadway sampler show in Times Square, New York, alongside Rent co-star Trey Ellett.^[33] The following year, he performed in Thank You, Broadway!, a free concert for victims of 9/11 put on by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in New York.^[34] In 2006, Pope headlined One Night Only, a benefit cabaret for the Heritage Theater Group at the Spectrum Theater.^[5] In 2009, he performed Manley Pope: Unplugged, a benefit gig for the GVSU theater program.^[35]

In 1999, Pope married Sweet Valley High co-star Amy Danles,^[11][36] with whom he has two daughters, one of whom is called Watson.^[5]