About Anthony

From Boat School to Broadway

Anthony Holds grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he graduated from Park Tudor High School. Playing the iconic roles of Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music and Curly in Oklahoma! at Park Tudor were exciting early theatrical experiences, but Anthony was not sold at that age on a career in the fine arts. He harbored deep pride in his family's naval tradition (his father spent twenty-eight years in the navy, and his mother six), and was determined to attend the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He received an appointment to the Naval Academy and proudly accepted.

During his years at Annapolis, Anthony performed as a featured soloist for the Naval Academy Men's Glee Club on various national and international tours. He sang for the President on five occasions, two of them solo. He also played lead roles in the annual musical production his last three years there. It was clear by the second semester of his junior year that, while he was very proud of his naval service, his truest passion was for performing. One night in February, over post-rehearsal drinks, he declared that, from that moment on, he would dedicate himself to attaining a career as an actor and singer. That is, after he fulfilled the five-year postgraduate active duty service obligation that all Academy graduates incur.

In his final year at Annapolis, Anthony studied classical voice with John Shirley-Quirk, the renowned British operatic baritone, at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.

Anthony graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a BS in History, and received his commission as an officer in the Navy. While on temporary duty in Annapolis after graduation, he made regular weekend trips to New York City to study voice and acting. He continued this jury-rigged approach to performance training through six months at Surface Warfare Officer School in Newport, Rhode Island, putting 1,000 miles a week on his car with twice-weekly commutes to NYC for voice and acting training in his off-time.

The following summer, Anthony reported for duty as the Deck Division Officer onboard his first ship, USS AUSTIN (LPD-4), and spent the next six months engaged in operations throughout the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and Black Seas. He remained on AUSTIN, based out of Norfolk, Virginia, for two years, after which he took new orders as the Assistant Maintenance & Logistics Officer of Amphibious Squadron TWO, embarked on USS NASSAU (LHA-4) and overseeing three ships on another six-month operational deployment to the Mediterranean and Adriatic. Back on land and in the homestretch of his active duty Navy stint, Anthony shook off some performing rust playing roles in several local theatrical productions in Norfolk, Virginia.

Finally, in late 2001, after almost nine years on active duty, Anthony's service commitment was complete. With the help of a couple of his Navy friends, he made the move to New York City. The following spring, he got his first major professional singing job: the baritone soloist role in Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, with the Annapolis Symphony. A summer stock gig, his professional theatrical debut, followed: a role in a little-known musical called Monky Business, and Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun at the Arundel Barn Playhouse in Arundel, Maine. While still in Arundel, he landed the roles of Man 1 in I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, and Curly in Oklahoma! at the Seacoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Anthony returned to New York City in the fall of 2002 with his first four professional resume credits and an Equity card.

The five years since have seen Anthony make his way methodically up the ladder of the national theatrical scene. After making his Broadway debut in Dracula, The Musical, at the Belasco Theatre in 2004, he appeared Off-Broadway for the first time in The Great American Trailer Park Musical at Dodger Stages in 2005. He also played Steve Jobs in the New York premiere of Nerds:// A Musical Software Satire at the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival. His regional theatrical credits have included the roles of Jamie in The Last Five Years opposite Kate Baldwin at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Jerry Lukowski in The Full Monty at Denver’s Arvada Center, Andrews in Titanic at the Forestburgh Playhouse, and Freddy in My Fair Lady at the Fulton Opera House.

In the last few years, Anthony has also begun making inroads in the world of television and film. He recently made his network television debut in a guest-starring role on NBC's Law & Order, shot a commercial for ESPN Sportscenter, and starred in a short film called Our Bundle of Extraordinary Joy. Bundle of Joy won the 2006 award for Best Comedy Short Film at the Atlanta Underground Film Festival, and was an official selection at the Hawaii International Film Festival, Charlotte Film Festival, No Festival Required (Arizona), and Brooklyn Rooftop Film Festival (Audience Award).

After starting with the Broadway company in Fall 2006, Anthony spent most of 2007 playing the role of Sir Galahad in the National Tour of Monty Python's Spamalot. He is now back on Broadway as the standby for King Arthur, Galahad, Lancelot, Robin, and Bedevere. Keep checking the site for upcoming performance dates.

Thanks for coming to check out the site. Enjoy!