By Sarah A. Spitz
Pasadena, CA, The Hollywood Times 2/10/2025 There’s a movie waiting out in the Netflix wings called Something’s More Than One Thing. When it’s released, you’ll see Jared Andrew Bybee in it. Jared epitomizes the idea that something’s more than one thing—he’s a stage and screen actor, professional opera singer and podcast voice artist.
He’ll be onstage when Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus opens at The Pasadena Playhouse on February 15, marking his third appearance at the official State Theatre of California. While his speaking role as the Major-Domo has, in his words, “Just one beautiful line,” he’ll also be heard using his beautiful resonant baritone voice singing in the production.
He told me that, “Darko (Tresnjak), our director, wanted to do something that’s not commonly done in the play version of Amadeus. He wanted real singers to fill out the scenes that people may be familiar with in the movie, where Mozart is directing and writing his operas, and there are little vignettes of Don Giovanni or The Marriage of Figaro; he wanted real singers involved to create this image on stage, singing these actual pieces of music.”
Born in Modesto, CA and now living in Las Vegas, he’s 39, handsome, stands 6-feet 5-inches tall, and I wondered whether he thinks his height contributes to his voice. “I didn’t get tall till my senior year in high school. The shape of my face definitely affects the sound, it’s more narrow and oblong, but the height has helped me to be present on stage and take it all in when I perform. So it’s been an advantage.”
He learned he could sing when he volunteered to perform the national anthem at his senior homecoming game. “And I realized that I had this voice that was different and unique.”
Music is in his genes: “My dad’s sister, Ariel Bybee, was a mezzo soprano at the Metropolitan Opera for about 20 years. She started her career at San Francisco Opera, and she also was a winner of the Madame Butterfly contest, which was quite prestigious at the time. And on my mom’s side of the family, they’re all Italian, and my mom’s dad was a country western singer, a songwriter, and he had a country western band and played covers of Johnny Cash songs. So music comes from both sides of my family.”
As for Jared, he went from practicing piano, alto saxophone, trombone and the standup string bass to, “Of course, the electric guitar and a bit of drums, too.”
He ended up graduating from from The University of Utah, where he majored in economics, minored in music and completed a pre-medical curriculum. “But when applying to medical school, I actually didn’t get many bites, and I decided before I take the long road of going to medical school outside the country or retaking classes, I figured this was the time to pursue one of my hobbies.”
He’d heard from a friend about The Academy of Vocal Arts in New York and world-renowned voice teacher Bill Schuman. “I applied on a whim but didn’t get in. But the following day, I got a call from an unknown number, and the caller said, ‘Hello, my name’s Bill Schuman. I heard that you’re talented, and I’d like to hear you. Can you be at my apartment in 15, 20 minutes?’ And I don’t know how, but whatever came out of my mouth was from beyond, and it was enough to get him to take me as a student.” Under Schuman’s tutelage, Jared graduated from The Academy of Vocal Arts.
Being in a dual career as both actor and singer can be tricky but he has one manager for both. “I’m very lucky. I have a unique manager, Katherine Olsen, of Encompass Arts. She represents opera singers, actors, directors, television show personalities and more. She has a really wide range of people that makes for a good fit with who I am as an artist.”
Jared recently played Escamillo in Carmen (Charleston Opera Theater), Don Giovanni (Seattle Opera), The Pilot in The Little Prince (Utah Opera), Lescaut in Manon Mescaut (Liceu Opera Barcelona), The Barber of Seville (Arizona Opera), and covered the role of Steve Jobs (Santa Fe Opera). Screen credits include the CBS primetime drama FBI, the upcoming Netflix feature Something’s More Than One Thing, and the award-winning web series Love in 2020.
Jared was chosen to cover baritone Ed Parks for Santa Fe Opera’s world premiere of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs by Mason Bates. “He’s a prolific up-and-coming composer, who’s also a DJ. So his music is very modern, electronic. Unfortunately for me, Ed is too healthy. There was never a day where I could step in.
“But Santa Fe always gives the cover artists a full run through and it was incredible. I read Walter Isaacson’s biography of Jobs and made contact with Apple employee number 3 or 4, and he agreed to do a Zoom with me and give me some tips about Steve’s personality and some of his quirks.
“There was a traditional orchestra, and as Mason was conducting, during the live performance he would incorporate electronic beats and samples, and collaborate with the orchestra in the middle of these songs and passages. And it was really electric. It was alive. It was cool.”
Jared gets emotional when he recounts how he first connected with Pasadena Playhouse. “During the Covid shutdown, I sent a tape in for this movie produced by the Russo Brothers. I didn’t hear anything back, and then I got an email from my manager saying, ‘Somebody in the cast of Something’s More Than One Thing got sick, and they need a replacement. They liked your tape. Can you be there today?’ I was in Northern California with my parents. So I jumped on a plane, flew into LA, and took an Uber to where they were filming near Pasadena.
“I finished filming and I was staying at a hotel nearby. Because of Covid, the streets were pretty empty and I started walking around. I saw a sign for The Pasadena Playhouse and walked by, thinking this is such a beautiful building. Some day, I am going to work here.
“Two years later, I was in their production of A Little Night Music. Later I was blessed to work alongside two truly great actors, Alfred Molina and John Douglas Thompson, in the amazing updated revival of Inherit the Wind. Now it’s Amadeus with Jefferson Mays and Sam Clemmett.”
Among Jared’s current projects is Alexsei’s Quest, a musical production being developed by playwright George Pfirrmann, about Russian political opposition leader Alexsei Navalny, who survived being poisoned but died in prison under suspicious circumstances. A concert version took place in New York last September, with Jared in the role of the late Russian physicist and human rights activist, Andrei Sakharov, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
He just wrapped up production on Season 3 of the podcast audio drama, Visionaries: The Origin, and he’s doing auditions for a number of new projects, including video games and theatre tours.
Jared has several tattoos on his fingers. On his left hand are the letters INRI. “Most of my tattoos kind of give the impression of the columns in a Catholic church. These are letters you see above Jesus’ head on the cross, Latin for Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”
I asked if he was religious. “I grew up Christian, and my faith has evolved. It’s very personal to me, and it keeps me grounded and from straying too much.”
Which helps because, “My singular true path hasn’t revealed itself yet, but I’m still young and I’m open to where this path leads and excited to see where it goes.”
