Bret Hanna-Shuford, Broadway Veteran and Popular Influencer, Dies at 46

Bret Hanna-Shuford, a veteran of six Broadway shows and popular social media influencer, died after a brief battle with a rare and aggressive form of lymphoma and HLH in Orlando, Florida on January 3, 2026. He was 46.

A Texas native, Hanna-Shuford made his Broadway debut (as Bret Shuford) in the ensemble of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 2005. The following year, he joined the company of Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, subsequently being part of the original cast of The Little Mermaid in 2007. Other Broadway credits include Amazing Grace, Cirque du Soleil Paramour and Wicked, where he understudied roles including The Wizard and Doctor Dillamond prior to the COVID shutdown of 2020. Film and TV credits include Law and Order: SVU, Only Murders in the Building, The Good Fight and The Wolf of Wall Street.

A creative talent offstage, Hanna-Shuford found great success as a social media influencer, creating the Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, online blog and podcasting brand Broadway Husbands with his real-life husband Stephen Hanna, a fellow Broadway veteran who he married in 2011. With their Broadway Husbands account, the couple shared inventive dance collaborations, as well as their personal life journey as LGBTQ+ advocates, which included the path towards adopting their three-year-old son, Maverick, and Hanna-Shuford’s recent revelation of his cancer diagnosis. He was also a licensed life coach and social media strategist that helped creators monetize their ideas.

Having received his BA in Theater from Wagner College, Hanna-Shuford recently began his graduate studies at the University of Florida in Orlando studying Architectural Studies with a concentration in Themed Environments, with the hopes of becoming a Disney Imagineer. He was also working on his first children’s book, Good Night, Break a Leg, about a child with two dads who are performers. It is set to be published in Summer 2026.

In addition to his husband Stephen and son Maverick, Hanna-Shuford is survived by his parents Preston and Deanna and brothers Todd, Eric and Bart. In lieu of flowers, it is requested that donations be made in his memory to the GoFundMe account created to support his family.