Photo Credit: Marc Cartwright

Acceptance Speech:

I want to start off by thanking The Orange Curtain Review for this award. It is truly moving to have my work be recognized in this way. I always strive to find the deepest truth in the roles that I play, and Roger was no different. As a performer, I had fallen out of love with musical theater. I have been told too often that my tattoos would hold me back and that I needed to fit the musical theater mold to succeed. I found many parallels between Roger and me. Both of us had been beaten down by life, been made blind to all the beauty and love that surrounds us. And in order to find that love and beauty, sometimes you need to trudge through some dark places in order to find the light on the other side. My time as Roger helped me find that love again. Thank you to The Chance Theater and Matthew McCray for trusting me with this amazing opportunity. Thank you to my cast for going on that amazing journey with me and coming into everything involved with love. Thank you to Ranjiv Perera for showing me the way.

I am reminded of a story that was told at the end of every talkback. As many of you know, Jonathan Larson tragically passed away before the first preview of Rent on Broadway. That night, instead of canceling the show, the cast and crew decided to do a staged reading of the show in their street clothes. However, when they got to the end of Act 1, during “La Vie Boheme,” the cast burst out into the full choreography and finished the performance. At the end of the show, during the curtain call, the theater fell silent. Until one person at the back of the audience shouted out, “Thank you, Jonathan Larson.” Lastly, I would like to thank Jonathan Larson.