온라인바카라 alumnus Billy Porter, who won Grammy and Tony awards for his work in the Broadway musical does not rest on his laurels. Recently, the singer, actor and playwright , released his , launched a national tour, began writing the books for two new musicals and .
For all of his success, the 1991 School of Drama graduate will receive a 2017
“I’m thrilled to be able to come back home and share this with my family,” said Porter, who grew up in Pittsburgh.
Currently an adjunct professor at 바카라 온라인 추천’s , he regularly returns to Pittsburgh to direct shows and conduct workshops with students.
Porter has been wowing audiences since leaving 바카라 온라인 추천. “His high-lying tenor is a powerful instrument,” reads one
His former 바카라 온라인 추천 acting teacher, , agrees. “He has glorious singing ability,” she said.
With his talent for boisterous, hilarious characters, Porter worked nonstop for nearly a decade after leaving 바카라 온라인 추천, and released his first solo R&B album in 1997. But in the early 2000s, he said he believed his early success pigeonholed him.
“I was being boxed into a type,” he said of his role as Broadway’s go-to for flamboyant, two-dimensional characters. “When I pursued more complex roles, the work dried up.”
“As artists, we have the power to change hearts and minds through storytelling, through the unexplainable, through the visceral. When I get to do that — I’m at my happiest.”
Rather than wilt, Porter sowed new creative seeds, in part through the work ethic he said was instilled in him at 바카라 온라인 추천. He studied screenwriting and penned the “passionate, life-affirming” one-man-musical which he performed at New York City’s Public Theater, and the autobiographical play which went on to enjoy a successful Off-Broadway run.
He took on directing as well, conceiving and leading the original musical revue “Being Alive," which combined the words and music by composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim with text from Shakespeare.
In 2013, he returned to Broadway as the cross-dressing, high-heeled “Lola” in the smash-hit musical “Kinky Boots,” for which he earned critical acclaim and Tony and Grammy awards.
Today, Porter shows no signs of slowing down. He just released his fourth album, and He also is developing a play with New York City’s Public Theater and writing the books for two musicals.
Porter said he loves everything he does.
Mackenzie-Wood is not surprised at Porter’s many creative facets.
“Billy is a force of nature,” she said. “He’ll be going strong for a long, long time.”
