Remembering Josh Grisetti, a Wonderful Performer and an Even Better Person

by Chris Peterson

Content note: This column discusses suicide.

The theatre community lost actor Josh Grisetti on Friday morning. Josh died by suicide, according to a statement shared by his close friends Sierra Boggess and Rob McClure. I have rewritten that sentence several times, hoping it might become easier to process. It has not.

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Josh was a wonderful performer. He made his Broadway debut in It Shoulda Been You and later played Nigel Bottom in Something Rotten! He also appeared in the final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

He was also an incredibly kind and generous person. In a theatre community where reputations travel quickly, Josh’s was remarkably spotless. I’ve never heard an unkind word about him.

Josh and I became friendly through our shared experience in theatre education. Every now and then, we would email back and forth about the state of college theatre programs and what the future should look like for young performers. He cared deeply about his students at Cal State Fullerton and whether they were being given honest information about the profession waiting for them.

In fact, our last back and forth was about looking to raise awareness about the student program cuts that were happening at the university. He was incredibly angry about the situation and posted on his TikTok often about it. “I’m being loud about it because I’m a theatre professor and we’re loud. lol”, he wrote to me.

@joshgrisetti Layman explanation of odd (and temporary) funding reallocations to all CSUF “IRA-funded” programs. This affects virtually all departments/colleges, not just Theatre, and it is solely related to “IRA” funded programs (not systemic University funds, which are thriving at the moment). NOTE: This is strictly the opinion of the presenter and not an official perspective of the University. Obviously. 😬 No shade to my cherished institution… but also… whaaat?! 🤨👎 #collegetheatre #college #calstatefullerton #csuf #fyp ♬ Big Minute - DJ BAI

I will miss those emails. I will miss knowing that Josh was out there asking difficult questions about theatre education and pushing for students to receive the training and support they deserved.

I hope his wife, family, and friends understand how far his kindness reached. Even those of us who were fortunate enough to share only occasional conversations with him felt it.

Josh Grisetti was a gifted artist, a devoted educator and an extraordinarily decent human being. The theatre community has lost someone who still had so much to offer. He will be incredibly missed.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Free, confidential support is available around the clock in the United States.