Larry Owens (actor)

Last updated
Larry Owens
Born
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Alma materThe School at Steppenwolf
Occupations
  • Actor
  • writer
  • singer
  • comedian
Years active2015–present
Known for A Strange Loop

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 . Owens has acted on television shows including Search Party , High Maintenance , Modern Love , and Abbott Elementary .

Contents

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 and named Tarell Alvin McCraney, Amy Morton, and K. Todd Freeman as 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 gained wider prominence and 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 praised his performance 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 queer. [6]

Filmography

Stage

YearTitleRoleLocationNotesRef
2012 Fat Camp DarnellAmerican Theatre of ActorsOff-Broadway [15]
2014 Grease Roger The Muny [16]
2014 Dreamgirls Tiny Joe Dixon / TV Stage Manager / The Five Tuxedos / Film Executive / Security Guard / Ensemble Gerding Theater at the Armory [16]
2015 Gigantic Darnell Vineyard Theatre Off-Broadway [15]
2016–2017 Spamilton Sondheim / Little Orphan Annie Triad Theatre Off-Broadway [17]
2017–2018 Puerto Rican Traveling Theater Off-Broadway [18]
2019 A Strange Loop Usher Playwrights Horizons Off-Broadway [2]
2021SondheimiaProtagonist Feinstein's/54 Below Solo show; also writer. [19]

Television

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2020 Betty Devereaux1 episode [5]
2020 High Maintenance Arnold1 episode [2]
2020The Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in AmericaBelizeTelevision movie [20]
2020 Helpsters Billy Bug1 episode [21]
2020 Dash & Lily Artsy Guide1 episode [5]
2021 Modern Love Toby DooleyEpisode: "How Do You Remember Me?" [13]
2021–2022 Fairfax Jules (voice)Recurring role [14]
2021–2022 Search Party Idiot / RitchieRecurring role [12]
2022 Life & Beth ClarkRecurring role [22]
2022 Ziwe PastorEpisode: "Critical Race Theory"
2022–2023 Abbott Elementary Zach4 episodes [11]
2022 Harley Quinn Music Meister (voice)Episode: "It's a Swamp Thing"

Film

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2018 To Dust Stanley [23]
2018A Chest of DrawersBarnaby CromwellShort film [24]
2019 Last Ferry Shane [23]
2021Puppet MeHostShort film [25]
2023 Problemista Craigslist [26]
2023 Dumb Money Chris
2023Urkel Saves Santa: the MovieSanta (voice)Direct-to-Video
TBA Silent Retreat EricPost-production [27]

Awards and nominations

For A Strange Loop

2019

2020

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Larry Owens: Sunday In The Park 6 Feet Away From George". NPR. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Brunner, Jeryl. "He Went From Being Uncastable To Playing The Role Of A Lifetime In 'A Strange Loop'". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  3. 1 2 Ferri, Josh. "Five Burning Questions with A Strange Loop Breakout Star Larry Owens". Broadway Box. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  4. ↑ Zinoman, Jason (2019-01-31). "Instead of Killer Punchlines, Killer Choruses". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gans, Andrew. "Checking In With… A Strange Loop Star Larry Owens". Playbill. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  6. 1 2 Goldberg, David (2019-08-02). "Larry Owens on Broadway's beauty standards as a queer black man of size". Dazed. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  7. ↑ Cunningham, Vinson (2019-06-21). "The Ecstatic Doubling of "A Strange Loop"". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  8. ↑ "GMTWP Alum Michael R. Jackson Wins Pulitzer". tisch.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  9. ↑ Variety Staff (2020-06-14). "'The Inheritance,' 'Strange Loop,' 'Moulin Rouge' Among Drama Desk Award Winners". Variety. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  10. ↑ Chee, Karen (2018-03-02). "Larry Owens (@larryowenslive) Is Searching for a Twitter Bae". Vulture. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  11. 1 2 Jones, Marcus (2022-03-29). "'Abbott Elementary' star Chris Perfetti explains how Jacob is 'a total 180' from his usual roles". EW.com. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  12. 1 2 Petski, Denise (2021-10-29). "'Search Party': HBO Max Comedy Adds Seven To Season 5 Cast". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  13. 1 2 Porter, Rick (2021-02-22). "Amazon's 'Modern Love' Sets Star-Packed Cast for Season 2". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  14. 1 2 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.
  15. 1 2 "Larry Owens Theatre Credits, News, Bio and Photos". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  16. 1 2 "Larry Owens theatre profile". www.abouttheartists.com. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  17. ↑ "Larry Owens, Performer". www.theatricalindex.com. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  18. ↑ Forbes, Harry. "Spamilton (47th Street Theater/The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater)" . Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  19. ↑ "Larry Owens' Sondheimia in Cabaret at Feinstein's/54 Below 2021". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
  20. ↑ Theater, New York (2020-10-09). "The Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in America". New York Theater. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  21. ↑ "Helpsters returns for more of the adorable same". www.cultofmac.com. 2020-10-16. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  22. ↑ Oats, A. E. (2022-03-21). "Meet The Cast Of "Life & Beth"". TVOvermind. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  23. 1 2 "Larry Owens". Metacritic. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  24. ↑ "A CHEST OF DRAWERS by Maxwell Nalevansky @ Brooklyn Film Festival" . Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  25. ↑ "Puppet Me". www.siff.net. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  26. ↑ Grobar, Matt (November 11, 2021). "Greta Lee, Laith Nakli, Isabella Rossellini, RZA & More Board Julio Torres' Film For A24 And Emma Stone's Fruit Tree". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  27. ↑ White, Peter (2022-02-10). "'Pitch Perfect': Todd Strauss-Schulson To Direct & EP Pilot Of Peacock Spinoff Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  28. ↑ "Larry Owens". www.iobdb.com. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  29. ↑ Huston, Caitlin (2020-06-18). "Drama League announces 2020 winners". Broadway News. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  30. ↑ "Larry Owens, Christian Borle, and More Win 2020 Lucille Lortel Awards | TheaterMania". www.theatermania.com. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  31. ↑ "Everything you need to know about A Strange Loop on Broadway". NewYorkTheatreGuide.com. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
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