Billy Porter (entertainer)

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Billy Porter
Born (1969-09-21) September 21, 1969 (age 54)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation Pop singer, theatre actor
Awards 2013 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical 2013 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical

Billy Porter (born September 21, 1969, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a Broadway performer, pop singer, film and television actor and vocal coach. He graduated from the Musical Theatre Program at Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School's[1] School of Drama and achieved fame performing on Broadway before going off on a solo career as a singer.

Porter won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Lola in Kinky Boots at the 67th Tony Awards. For the role, Porter also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical.[2]

Career

He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts with a B.F.A in Drama as well as a certification from The Professional Program In Screenwriting[3] at UCLA.

During the summers of 1987 and 1988, Porter was a member of an entertainment group called "Flash" which performed daily at Kennywood Park in West Mifflin, Pa.

He played the Teen Angel in the 1994 revival of Grease!. Other plays he has been in include Topdog/Underdog at City Theatre (2004),[4]Jesus Christ Superstar and Dreamgirls at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, and the song cycles "Myths and Hymns" and "Songs for a New World" (Off-Broadway, 1995)[5]

In September 2010, Porter appeared as Belize in Signature Theatre Company's 20th Anniversary production of Tony Kushner's Angels in America.[6]

Porter wrote and performed in his one-man autobiographical show, Ghetto Superstar (The Man That I Am) at Joe's Pub in New York City in February and March 2005.[7][8] Porter was nominated for "Outstanding New York Theater: Broadway & Off Broadway Award" at the 17th GLAAD Media Awards

Porter originated the role of "Lola" in Kinky Boots on Broadway, with songs by Cyndi Lauper, book by Harvey Fierstein and directed/choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. Porter won both the 2013 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for this role.[9][10]

Porter has also appeared in a number of films. He played a major role as Shiniqua, a drag queen who befriends Angel (David Norona) and Lee (Keivyn McNeill Graves) in Seth Michael Donsky's Twisted (1997), an adaptation of Oliver Twist.[11] He has also appeared on an episode of the The RuPaul Show.

He has had a musical career with two albums released, Billy Porter on DV8/A&M Records in 1997 and At the Corner of Broadway + Soul in 2005 on Sh-K-Boom Records. He was also featured in a number of songs in the tribute album It's Only Life: The Songs of John Bucchino in 2006 released on PS Classics. He sings on Adam Guettel's 1999 album Myths and Hymns studio cast album on Nonesuch Records.[12]He also covered "Only One Road" that was included on the Human Rights Campaign compilation album Love Rocks.

Porter wrote the play While I Yet Live, which premiered Off-Broadway at Primary Stages on September 24, 2014 in previews, officially on October 12. In addition to Porter, the cast included Lillias White and S. Epatha Merkerson.[13]

Discography

Albums

Singles

  • 1997: "Show Me"/"What Iz Time"
  • 2005: "Awaiting You" (from Myths and Hymns)/"Time" (Live) (Sh-K-Boom Records)
Other songs
Appears in

Filmography

Theatre

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Rawson, Christopher. "Rooting for the Underdog: Homewood native Billy Porter finds his focus in a career with many facets" Pittsburgh Pos-Gazette, March 5, 2004
  5. ↑ "'Songs for a New World' Listing" Internet Off-Broadway Database, accessed August 7, 2015
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Sandman, Jenny. [www.curtainup.com/ghettosuperstar.html "Review. 'Ghetto Superstar (THE MAN THAT I AM)' "] curtainup.com, March 15, 2005
  8. ↑ Murray, Matthew. "Off-Broadway Review. 'Ghetto Superstar (The Man That I Am)' talkinbroadway.com, March 6, 2005
  9. ↑ Purcell, Carey. " 'Kinky Boots', 'Vanya and Sonia', 'Pippin' and 'Virginia Woolf?' Are Big Winners at 67th Annual Tony Awards" playbill.com, June 10, 2013
  10. ↑ Hetrick, Adam and Gans, Andrew. "Billy Porter, Andrea Martin, 'Pippin', 'Matilda', 'Vanya and Sonia' Win Drama Desk Awards" playbill.com, May 20, 2013
  11. ↑ Thomas, Kevin. "A 'Twisted' Tale of Souls Rising Above Corruption" Los Angeles Times, December 12, 1997
  12. ↑ " 'Myths and Hymns' Studio Cast" castalbums.org, accessed August 7, 2015
  13. ↑ Hetrick, Adam. "Billy Porter's While I Yet Live, with Lillias White and S. Epatha Merkerson, Premieres Off-Broadway" playbill.com, September 24, 2014
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ The Broken Hearts Club allmovie.com, accessed August 7, 2015
  16. ↑ Noel allmovie.com, accessed August 7, 2015
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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