Myles Frost | |
|---|---|
 Frost in 2023 | |
| Born | July 21, 1999 Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. |
| Education | Belmont University Bowie State University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2019–present |
Myles Frost (born July 21, 1999) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, music producer and dancer. [1] He won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Michael Jackson in the Broadway production of MJ the Musical and received a Grammy Award nomination for the cast recording. [1]
Frost was born in Silver Spring, Maryland. [2] He spent his early years moving back and forth between Maryland and Washington, D.C. [1] Raised by his mother, Charmayne Strayhorn, a systems engineer, and his grandmother, a school teacher, he developed two enduring passions early in life: golf, beginning at the age of three, and piano, beginning at the age of five. [1] [3] Growing up he sang and played the piano and drums at church, and he performed in an R&B cover band in middle school at local shopping centers. While attending Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland, he performed in school productions of the musicals Hairspray (as Seaweed), Legally Blonde (as Warner), and Cinderella (as Lord Pinkleton). [1] In 2017, while still in high school, he was a contestant on The Voice but was not selected by any of the coaches to move further in the competition. [4]
After graduating from high school, Frost entered Belmont University in Nashville where he studied music technology for two years. He transferred from Belmont to Bowie State University as an audio engineering major, but ultimately left school when he was cast as Michael Jackson in the Broadway production of MJ the Musical . [1] Frost earned the role after Ephraim Sykes left the production late in the show's development, and the producers had to locate a new actor rapidly. [1] The production team auditioned many established actors, but none of them was working, and broadened their search. [1] A YouTube video of Frost performing the song "Billie Jean" from a high school talent show drew the attention of the producers, and he was invited to audition; ultimately winning the part. [1] Earning positive critical attention, Frost won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Michael Jackson around the age of 28–33 in the Broadway theatre production of MJ the Musical . [1] He is the youngest solo recipient of the Tony Award in the "Best Actor in a Musical" category, a record previously held by Ben Platt. [5] [6] [7] Myles left the production on April 2, 2023. He was replaced by Elijah Johnson of Mindless Behavior on April 4, 2023. He then went on to reprise the role as MJ in the West End production that opened in March 2024. [8]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Origin | Trayvon Martin |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | The Voice | Himself/Contestant | Not selected/No chair turn |
| 2019 | All In | Shane | Television movie |
| 2019–2020 | Family Reunion | Vocal appearance | 3 episodes (seasons 1 & 2) |
| 2021 | American Gangster Presents: The Big 50 | Clarence | BET+ original movie |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical | MJ the Musical | Won | |
| 2023 | Grammy Awards | Best Musical Theater Album | Nominated | [9] | |
Thomas S. Wootton High School or Wootton High School(WHS) is a public high school in Rockville, Maryland. Its namesake is Thomas S. Wootton, the founder of Montgomery County. The school was founded in 1970 and is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools system.
Leonard Joseph Cariou is a Canadian stage actor, singer and stage director. He gained prominence for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original cast of Stephen Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979) alongside Angela Lansbury for which he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He also received Tony nominations for his roles in the Betty Comden and Adolph Green musical Applause (1970), and the Sondheim musical A Little Night Music (1973).
Tony Vincent is an American actor, songwriter, and singer based in New York City and Nashville.
Marc E. Platt is an American producer who has worked in film, theatre, and television. He has received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as nominations for three Academy Awards.
Andrew Scott Rannells is an American actor. He is best known for originating the role of Elder Kevin Price in the 2011 Broadway musical The Book of Mormon, for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and won the 2012 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. He received his second Tony nomination in 2017 for his performance as Whizzer in the 2016 Broadway revival of Falsettos. Other Broadway credits include Hairspray (2005), Jersey Boys (2009), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2014), Hamilton (2015), The Boys in the Band (2018), and Gutenberg! The Musical! (2023). For his performance in the Off West End production of Tammy Faye, he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award.
Kevin Chamberlin is an American actor. He is known for his theatre roles such as Horton in Seussical and Uncle Fester in The Addams Family. For his theatre work, he was nominated for three Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. He also starred as Bertram Winkle in the Disney Channel Original Series sitcom Jessie from 2011 to 2015. From 2018 to 2019, he starred as The Wizard of Oz in Wicked on Broadway.
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, known together as Pasek and Paul, are an American songwriting duo and composing team for musical theater, films and television. Their theater works include A Christmas Story, Dogfight, Edges, Dear Evan Hansen, and James and the Giant Peach. Their original songs have been featured in Only Murders in the Building, Sesame Street, Welcome to Wrexham, Harlem, Smash and in the films Aladdin, Trolls, Pink: All I Know So Far, La La Land, for which they won both the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song for the song "City of Stars", and The Greatest Showman. Their work on the original musical Dear Evan Hansen has received widespread critical acclaim and earned them the 2017 Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Original Score. In 2022, they won the Tony Award for Best Musical for serving as producers for the Broadway production of Michael R. Jackson's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical A Strange Loop.
Justin Paul is an American composer and lyricist best known for writing songs for films such as La La Land (2016) and The Greatest Showman (2017), and the stage musical Dear Evan Hansen, all of which he co-wrote with his songwriting partner, Benj Pasek.
Colman Jason Domingo is an American actor, playwright, and director. Prominent on both screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, and nominations for an Academy Award and two Tony Awards. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2024.
Benjamin Schiff Platt is an American actor and singer. The son of film and theater producer Marc Platt and philanthropist Julie Platt, he began his acting career in musical theater as a child and appeared in productions of The Sound of Music (2006) and The Book of Mormon (2012–2015), rising to prominence for originating the title role in the Broadway coming-of-age musical Dear Evan Hansen (2015–2017). His performance in the latter earned him multiple accolades, including the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, a Daytime Emmy, and a Grammy Award. Platt reprised the role of Evan Hansen in the 2021 film adaptation of the musical, produced by his father. He then played Leo Frank in the 2022 New York City Center Gala production of Parade, which transferred to Broadway in 2023 and earned him another Tony nomination and another Grammy nomination.
George Ernest Salazar is an American actor, singer, and musician known for his work on and off-Broadway. He made his Broadway debut in the 2011 revival of Stephen Schwartz's Godspell. Salazar originated the role of Michael Mell in the 2015 musical Be More Chill and performed in the musical's 2018 Off-Broadway and Broadway in 2019 at the Lyceum Theater in New York City. He originated the role of Grover in The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical and starred in Pasadena Playhouse's production of Little Shop of Horrors as Seymour Krelborn.
Christopher Neal Jackson is an American actor and singer. He began his career in 1995 starring in the Off-Broadway musical Time and the Wind by composer Galt MacDermot at the age of 20. He made his Broadway debut in 1997 as an ensemble member in the original Broadway cast of Disney's The Lion King. He remained with the show for several years, ultimately taking over the role of Simba. He went on to perform leading roles in several more Broadway musicals and plays, including After Midnight, Bronx Bombers, Holler If Ya Hear Me, and Memphis. He drew critical acclaim in several projects with Lin-Manuel Miranda: originating the roles of Benny in In the Heights and George Washington in the smash hit Hamilton. For the latter role he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He also collaborated with Miranda on the Disney film Moana in which he provides the singing voice of Chief Tui. His other film work includes secondary roles in After.Life and Tracers.
Alex Boniello is an American actor, musician, author, and producer best known for his portrayal of the voice of Moritz in the 2015 Broadway revival of Spring Awakening, as well as his performance as Connor Murphy in the Broadway production of Dear Evan Hansen. In 2019, he won the Tony Award for Best Musical as a producer for Hadestown.
Elijah Rhea Johnson is an American singer and actor, best known as a former member of the boy band Mindless Behavior. He began his career as a child actor, portraying Young Simba in the Broadway production of The Lion King. Later in his career, EJ became the lead singer of the Kidz Bop crew until 2013. EJ is also known for performance on stage many times as a child and for his singles "Meet Me on the Dance Floor".
Derek Anthony Klena is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his work on Broadway, including originating the roles of Nick Healy in Jagged Little Pill (2019–2021), Dmitry in Anastasia (2017–2018), and Michael in The Bridges of Madison County (2014). His breakthrough was in the original Off-Broadway production of Pasek & Paul's stage adaptation of Dogfight, and he played Fiyero in the 10th anniversary company of Wicked on Broadway. Klena most recently portrayed Christian in the Broadway company of Moulin Rouge! replacing Aaron Tveit in the role on and off from 2022 to 2024. He has made appearances on several television series such as Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Code, and Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin.
Michaela Antonia Jaé Rodriguez, formerly known as Mj Rodriguez, is an American actress and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Rodriguez attended several performing arts schools in her youth before being cast in a theater production of Rent as Angel Dumott Schunard, winning the 2011 Clive Barnes Award for her performance.
MJ the Musical is a jukebox musical based on the life of the American entertainer Michael Jackson. It features Jackson's music, with a book by Lynn Nottage, and choreography by Christopher Wheeldon.
A Strange Loop is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson, and winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. First produced off-Broadway in 2019, then staged in Washington, D.C. in 2021, A Strange Loop premiered on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre in April 2022. The show won Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical at the 75th Tony Awards.
MJ (Original Broadway Cast Recording) is the cast album to the 2021 musical MJ. The musical tells the story of American singer, songwriter, and dancer Michael Jackson with book written by Lynn Nottage. The music and lyrics are mostly by Michael Jackson. The recording stars Myles Frost, Ayana George, Christian Wilson, Tavon Olds-Sample, Antoine L. Smith, Apollo Levine, Quentin Earl Darrington, Whitney Bashor, Trey Campbell, Lamont Walker II. It also features Raymond Baynard and Zelig Williams.
Evan Hansen is the titular character and main protagonist of the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen by Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. A bullied 17-year-old high schooler with social anxiety and depression, who lives with his single mother Heidi Hansen after she divorced from his father Mark Hansen ten years before, he attempts to find the acceptance and love he has been lacking in his life. On his journey to be found, he discovers the consequences of risking it all for the chance to be heard.
