Larry_Owens_(actor)

Larry Owens (actor)

Larry Owens (actor)

American comedian, actor, writer, and singer


Larry Owens is an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer. He received a Lucille Lortel Award and a Drama Desk Award for his leading performance in the off-Broadway musical A Strange Loop. He has acted on television shows including Search Party, High Maintenance, Modern Love and Abbott Elementary.

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Early life and education

Owens was born and raised in East Baltimore, Maryland.[1] He named Hairspray as a musical he saw growing up that helped him see musical theater as a career path.[1] He loved the work of Stephen Sondheim and nurtured his interest at the performing arts camp Stagedoor Manor.[2]

He trained in acting and improvisational theater at the School at Steppenwolf, where Tarell Alvin McCraney, Amy Morton and K. Todd Freeman were some of his instructors.[3][4]

Owens moved to New York in 2015 to pursue a professional career in the performance arts.[2] He was a volunteer at the Musical Theatre Factory and there connected with playwright Michael R. Jackson, who wrote A Strange Loop.[2]

Career

Theatre

Owens performed in the musical theater productions Spamilton and Gigantic.[5] He also performed for Catherine Cohen's Cabernet Cabaret and hosted his own monthly show Decolonize Your Mind with Karen Chee.[6]

In 2019 he received critical acclaim for his performance in Michael R. Jackson's A Strange Loop, performed off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons and directed by Stephen Brackett.[5][3] Vinson Cunningham write in The New Yorker: "Owens... performs Jackson’s songs with power, humor, and pathos, filling in the textual gaps in Usher’s characterization with an entire life’s worth of mannerism and style."[7] For his performance he won a Lucille Lortel Award and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, among other accolades.[8][9]

In July 2021 he starred in the original solo show Sondheimia, performed at Feinstein's/54 Below.[5]

Television

Owens was a staff writer for the truTV game show Paid Off.[10] He acted on season four of High Maintenance as well as the television shows Search Party, Abbott Elementary, Dash & Lily, Life & Beth, and Modern Love.[1][11][12][13] He is a voice actor in the Amazon animated series Fairfax.[14]

Personal life

Owens is gay.[6]

Filmography

Stage

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Television

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Film

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Awards and nominations

For A Strange Loop

2019

2020


References

  1. "Larry Owens: Sunday In The Park 6 Feet Away From George". NPR. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  2. Ferri, Josh. "Five Burning Questions with A Strange Loop Breakout Star Larry Owens". Broadway Box. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  3. Zinoman, Jason (2019-01-31). "Instead of Killer Punchlines, Killer Choruses". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  4. Gans, Andrew. "Checking In With… A Strange Loop Star Larry Owens". Playbill. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  5. Goldberg, David (2019-08-02). "Larry Owens on Broadway's beauty standards as a queer black man of size". Dazed. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  6. Cunningham, Vinson (2019-06-21). "The Ecstatic Doubling of "A Strange Loop"". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  7. "GMTWP Alum Michael R. Jackson Wins Pulitzer". tisch.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  8. Variety Staff (2020-06-14). "'The Inheritance,' 'Strange Loop,' 'Moulin Rouge' Among Drama Desk Award Winners". Variety. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  9. Chee, Karen (2018-03-02). "Larry Owens (@larryowenslive) Is Searching for a Twitter Bae". Vulture. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  10. Petski, Denise (2021-10-29). "'Search Party': HBO Max Comedy Adds Seven To Season 5 Cast". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  11. Porter, Rick (2021-02-22). "Amazon's 'Modern Love' Sets Star-Packed Cast for Season 2". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  12. Zorilla, Monica Marie. "Kiersey Clemons, Jaboukie Young-White to Star in Amazon's Adult Animated Comedy 'Fairfax'". ph.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  13. "Larry Owens Theatre Credits, News, Bio and Photos". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  14. "Larry Owens theatre profile". www.abouttheartists.com. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  15. "Larry Owens, Performer". www.theatricalindex.com. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  16. Theater, New York (2020-10-09). "The Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in America". New York Theater. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  17. "Helpsters returns for more of the adorable same". www.cultofmac.com. 2020-10-16. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  18. Oats, A. E. (2022-03-21). "Meet The Cast Of "Life & Beth"". TVOvermind. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  19. "Larry Owens". Metacritic. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  20. "Puppet Me". www.siff.net. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  21. "Larry Owens". www.iobdb.com. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  22. Huston, Caitlin (2020-06-18). "Drama League announces 2020 winners". Broadway News. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  23. "Everything you need to know about A Strange Loop on Broadway". NewYorkTheatreGuide.com. Retrieved 4 April 2022.

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