| Jose Llana | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jose Llana May 5, 1976 Manila, Philippines |
| Website | |
| http://www.josellana.com | |
Jose Llana is a Filipino-American singer and actor known for his high tenor voice.
Born May 5, 1976, Llana, a native of Manila, Philippines, grew up in Springfield, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. After graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, Jose attended the Manhattan School of Music to study classical voice. During his freshman year he was discovered in an audition for the 1996 Revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I and made his broadway debut as Lun Tha starring opposite Lou Diamond Phillips and Donna Murphy.
He went on to star on Broadway as Angel in Rent, Jessie-Lee in Streetcorner Symphony, Wang Ta in Flower Drum Song opposite Lea Salonga, and as Chip Tolentino in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee[1] for which he and his cast won a 2005 Drama Desk Award for Best Ensemble Performance. His Off-Broadway credits include Gabey in On the Town and Saturn Returns, both at The Public Theater. His regional theater credits include the title role in Candide (Barrymore Award Nomination for Best Actor) and Tin Man Wong in The Ballad of Little Jo at the Steppenwolf Theater (Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination - Best Supporting Actor). He toured the country in Cameron Mackintosh's Martin Guerre as Guillaume which went to The Kennedy Center after originating at The Guthrie Theater.
Jose has appeared on television in HBO's Sex and the City, alongside Margaret Cho and made his commercial debut as a computer salesman for Circuit City in 1999. He appeared in the Sony Pictures 2005 feature film Hitch opposite Will Smith and Eva Mendes as well as appearing in the independent film Unconscious.
Jose is also a best-selling recording artist in his native Philippines having recorded his debut solo album, Jose, in 2004 under the VIVA Philippines label.
Llana most recently starred as El Gato in Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure, which began performances on Broadway March 21, 2011 and officially opened on April 17, 2011.[2] The production closed on May 15, 2011, after 31 previews and 33 performances.[3]
| Preceded by Robb Sapp as Tripp Barrington |
Portraying Chip Tolentino in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 2005-2007 |
Succeeded by Aaron J. Albano |
Jose appeared in the workshop production of the new musical, "Tales of the City," based on the first two books of Armistead Maupin's works. The production was held at the Eugene O'Neill Center in Waterford Connecticut. The composer is Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters, and the librettist is Jeff Whitty, of "Avenue Q" fame.