Phillip Boykin (sometimes credited as Phillip Lamar Boykin) (born November 2, 1968) is an American actor and bass-baritone singer. He currently portrays Hades in the Broadway production of Hadestown.[1]
Early life
editOne of ten children, Boykin grew up in Greenville, South Carolina.[2] He started studies in Opera Performance at South Carolina State College before transferring to the North Carolina School of the Arts. He left NCSA in 1990[3] and moved to the Hartt School of the University of Hartford where he received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance in 1995.[4] He later studied toward a Master's degree in Opera and Jazz Vocals from Howard University.[5]
He received the 2015 Hartt Alumni Award from The Hartt School.[6]
Career
editBoykin was nominated for the Tony Award, as well as the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as Crown in the Broadway revival of Porgy and Bess (2012). He was awarded the Theater World Award for his Outstanding Broadway debut. He reprised the role in 2014 at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.[7]
He portrayed Booker T. Washington in Ragtime at Avery Fisher Hall in 2013. Boykin was also featured in On the Town which ran on Broadway at the Lyric Theatre in 2014-2015.[8] In 2015, he starred as the Pirate King in New York City Center’s The Pirates of Penzance. In 2017 he was featured in the Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park with George. He made Broadway history as the first African-American Boatman/Lee Randolph in the production, which reopened Broadway's newest and oldest theater at the time, the Hudson Theatre, which played its last Broadway show in 1968.[9] Boykin played the role of Tonton Julian in the Revival of Once on This Island, which opened on Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theatre on December 3, 2017 and closed on January 6, 2019.[10] In 2022, he was featured in the Hugh Jackman led Broadway revival of The Music Man as Olin Britt and a Traveling Salesman.
He is the founder and director of "The NYGospel Brothers", a gospel quartet that travels around the world spreading the good news.
He was seen in the films Freedom (2014) starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Top Five (2014) starring Chris Rock, and Easter Mysteries an oratorio-musical written by John O’Boyle.[11]
In 2019, he was inducted into the South Carolina Theatre Association Hall of Fame following a performance of the Once on this Island tour in his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina.[12]
In September 2023, he started starring in the Broadway production of Hadestown as Hades.[1] He's set to have his final performance on January 12, 2025 opposite Jordan Fisher as Orpheus.[13]
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actor in a Musical | Porgy and Bess | Nominated | |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Nominated | |||
| Theatre World Award | Won | ||||
| 2019 | Grammy Award | Best Musical Theater Album | Once on This Island | Nominated | |
References
edit- ^ a b Betty Who and Phillip Boykin to Join Hadestown on Broadway
- ^ " 'Porgy and Bess' Phillip Boykin on Finding Inspiration From Audra, Suzan-Lori and Mom | Tony Awards 2012". Broadway.com (2012-01-12). Retrieved on 2012-07-25.
- ^ UNCSA alumni receive Tony Award nominations JournalNow.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-25.
- ^ "Hartt Graduates Phillip Boykin, Christopher Jahnke and More Nominated for 2012 Tony Awards" broadwayworld.com, May 2, 2012. Retrieved on 2012-07-25.
- ^ "Biography".
- ^ "Student News, May 7, 2015" westhartfordnews.com, May 6, 2015
- ^ Porgy and Bess ibdb.com, retrieved December 19, 2017
- ^ On the Town ibdb.com, retrieved December 19, 2017
- ^ Gioia, Michael. "Complete Cast Announced for Broadway Revival of 'Sunday in the Park With George'" Playbill, January 23,
- ^ Lefkowitz, Andy. " 'Once on This Island' Revival Begins Performances on Broadway" Archived 2013-08-19 at the Wayback Machine broadway.com, November 9, 2017
- ^ Easter Mysteries christianfilmdatabase.com
- ^ Shurley, Neil. "Phillip Boykin Inducted Into South Carolina Theatre Association Hall of Fame". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- ^ Jordan Fisher, Maia Reficco, Phillip Boykin Extend Runs in Broadway's Hadestown
- ^ "61st Annual GRAMMY Awards". GRAMMY.com. 2018-12-06. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
