Rory O'Malley

Rory O'Malley
Born Rory O'Malley
December 23, 1980
Cleveland, Ohio
Nationality Irish-American
Alma mater Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1]
Occupation film, television, and musical theatre actor
Years active 1996–present
Known for Happy Days, Dreamgirls, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Book of Mormon
Spouse(s) Gerold Schroeder (m. 2014)
Website
Official website

Rory James O'Malley (born December 23, 1980) is an Irish-American film, television, and musical theater actor, best known for his Tony Award-nominated performance as Elder McKinley in The Book of Mormon. He is a co-founder of the gay rights activism group Broadway Impact. O'Malley was featured in the Dustin Lance Black play, '8', on Broadway as Ryan Kendall and in the Los Angeles premiere as Dr. Gregory M. Herek — witnesses in the federal case that overturned California's Proposition 8. On July 21, 2013, O'Malley announced that he is engaged to his boyfriend of five years, Gerold Schroeder.[2]

Career

Film and television

O'Malley made a small cameo appearance in On the Run in 2004. His best known screen appearance was in the 2007 film adaptation of Dreamgirls.[3] O'Malley also performed the song "Cadillac Car" on the soundtrack, Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture.[4]

Theatre

O'Malley starred as Charlie Brown in the 2004 Falcon Theatre production of Snoopy! The Musical, which ran from June 24 to July 18, 2004, in Los Angeles.[5] He also starred as "Richie Cunningham" in the 2006 Los Angeles premiere of Happy Days, as well as the 2007 Goodspeed Opera House production.[6][7][8]

In October 2008, he appeared alongside Colin Donnell and Laura Osnes in the then Broadway-bound musical Pride and Prejudice as Charles Bingley, at the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, New York.[9]

O'Malley's first appearance on Broadway was in the musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, replacing actors in the roles of "Leaf Coneybear", "William Barfee", and "Douglas Panch".[10] Regionally, he has appeared in Kiss of the Spider Woman as Valentin, a Marxist revolutionary. Other work includes Charley's Aunt as Charlie and Santa Claus Is Coming to Motown as Kris Kringle.[1] O'Malley's first appearance Off-Broadway was the 2009 revival of Newsical, directed by Mark Waldrop.[1]

He appears as Elder McKinley in the musical The Book of Mormon, which opened on Broadway on March 24, 2011.[11][12][13] The New York Times reviewer wrote, "But allow me to single out my personal favorites. "Turn It Off" is a hilarious chorus-line piece about repression, performed by the (all-male Mormon) missionaries and destined to make a star of its lead singer and dancer, Rory O'Malley (whose character is repressed in his own special way)."[14] For this role, O'Malley was nominated for the 2011 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical,[15] and was also nominated for a Tony Award.[16]

On July 18, 2011, O'Malley participated in a reading of George Bernard Shaw's play, Fanny's First Play, a satire of theater critics, at the Players Club in Manhattan, New York City.[17]

He appeared as Frank Hoover in Little Miss Sunshine at the Off-Broadway Second Stage Theatre from October 2013 to December 2013.[18]

O'Malley also participates in the Dustin Lance Black play, '8', a chronicle reenactment of the federal case that overturned California's Proposition 8.[19]

Charity work

O'Malley is an active supporter of gay rights, establishing the activism group Broadway Impact in 2009 with Gavin Creel and Jenny Kanelos.[20] O'Malley said of the group in late 2010:"[S]ince its first year, Broadway Impact has held massive rallies for equality in New York City, made thousands of calls through phone banks and even organized 25 buses to Washington, D.C. so that 1,400 people could attend the National Equality March for free. This year we were honored to receive the 2010 Human Rights Campaign Community Award and even participated in the ING New York City Marathon as a charity team. Our team of 12 runners, including myself, raised $38,440 for Broadway Impact!"[21]

On August 15, 2010, O'Malley performed in the benefit concert Sing for the Cure, at Don't Tell Mama in New York City.[22] He was also featured in a Broadway Impact fundraiser on November 2, 2010, hosted by Gavin Creel.[23] Another concert, also benefiting Broadway Impact, had been held prior to that, taking place on July 25, 2010.[24]

He also participated in the Broadway Sings for Pride concert in June 2011.[25] On July 9, 2011, O'Malley joined Mary Tyler Moore, Bernadette Peters and others in the 2011 Broadway Barks adopt-a-thon.[26]

In 2011, O'Malley was named a Givenik Ambassador.[27]

In 2012, O'Malley and his boyfriend Gerold Schroeder were featured in a GAP ad, cheek to cheek, with the caption "BE ONE." [28]

Discography

Album Label Release date
Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture
Music World/Columbia
December 6, 2007[29]
Happy Days: Original Cast Recording
PS Classics
January 22, 2008[30]
The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording
Ghostlight Records
May 17, 2011[31]

Personal life

O'Malley graduated from Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio and Carnegie Mellon University.[32]

Openly gay, he came out at the age of 19.[20] In an April 2011 interview with Brandon Voss, O'Malley said, "Life comes before the business...Maybe some actors haven't gotten a role because they came out, but who gives a shit if you aren't happy? I do have it easier because I'm not a leading man, but I can't imagine having the energy to be in the closet. Besides, gay actors who start up gay organizations can't exactly get away with it."[33] O'Malley remains good friends with Book of Mormon co-star and former college roommate Josh Gad.[34] He currently resides in New York City with his fiancé, Gerold Schroeder.[35] On July 21, 2013, O'Malley announced via Facebook that the night before, Schroeder had proposed marriage, and that the two are now engaged.[36] O'Malley announced on September 28th, 2014, via his Facebook page, that he and Schroeder had married earlier that day. [37]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Resume". roryomalley.com. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  2. ↑ Lindsay Champion, "Somebody Loves Him! Nobody Loves You & Book of Mormon Star Rory O’Malley Gets Engaged", Broadway.com, July 22, 2013
  3. ↑ Gottfried, Marvin (2007). "Introduction". Dreamgirls: The Movie Musical. New York: Newmarket Press. p.15
  4. ↑ Katie Hasty, "'Dreamgirls' Remains No. 1 As Sales Keep Sliding", Billboard.com, January 17, 2006
  5. ↑ "'Peanuts' zestily seasoned in 'Snoopy, the Musical'", latimes.com, June 24, 2004.
  6. ↑ "'Happy Days' Listing, 2008" goodspeed.org, accessed January 24, 2011
  7. ↑ Gans, Andrew. Casting Complete for Paper Mill's 'Happy Days'". Playbill.com, September 21, 2007
  8. ↑ Finkle, David. "Review-'Happy Days – The Musical' at PaperMill". Theatermania.com, October 2, 2007
  9. ↑ "Grease's Laura Osnes is Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice" (PDF). Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  10. ↑ "'Bee' Spells Farewell January 20, 2008" Broadwayworld.com
  11. ↑ Gardener, Elysa. "'South Park' duo goes Broadway: 'Mormon' is a 'pro-faith musical'". USA Today, February 21, 2011, accessed February 23, 2011.
  12. ↑ Stack, Peggy Fletcher (February 25, 2011). "'Book of Mormon' musical called surprisingly sweet". The Salt Lake Tribune.
  13. ↑ "'The Book Of Mormon' to Open at Eugene O'Neill 3/24; Previews 2/24", broadwayworld.com, 2010-09-13
  14. ↑ Ben Brantley (24 March 2011). "Missionary Men With Confidence in Sunshine". New York Times. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  15. ↑ Andrew, Gans. "56th Annual Drama Desk Nominations Announced; Book of Mormon Scores 12 Nominations", playbill.com, April 29, 2011
  16. ↑ "2011 Tony Nominations Announced! THE BOOK OF MORMON Leads With 14!", broadwayworld.com, May 5, 2011
  17. ↑ http://www.playbill.com/news/article/152308-Mara-Davi-Rory-OMalley-Susan-Blackwell-Christine-Pedi-Set-for-Reading-of-Fannys-First-Play
  18. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/theater/reviews/little-miss-sunshine-opens-at-second-stage.html?pagewanted=all
  19. ↑ "Brad Pitt joins star-studded Prop 8 play". CNN.com. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Mellini, Michael (April 21, 2011). "Missionary Man Rory O'Malley On Bottling Up Emotions in The Book of Mormon". Broadway.com. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  21. ↑ O'Malley, Rory. "Broadway Impact". Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  22. ↑ Gans, Andrew (August 6, 2010). "Sing For The Cure: A Benefit to Feature O'Malley, Wilson and Reiber". Playbill. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  23. ↑ Hetrick, Adam (October 29, 2010). "Gavin Creel to Lead Broadway Impact Concert Nov. 2". playbill.com. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  24. ↑ Gans, Andrew. "American Idiot's Umphress, Jones, Canonico, Cervantes, Bennett to Sing for Broadway Impact". Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  25. ↑ http://broadwayworld.com/article/Rory-OMalley-Raymond-J-Lee-et-al-Set-for-BROADWAY-SINGS-FOR-PRIDE-627-20110616
  26. ↑ http://broadwayworld.com/article/Kerry-Butler-Patina-Miller-Nick-Adams-et-al-Set-for-2011-BROADWAY-BARKS-79-20110617
  27. ↑ Gioia, Michael. "Givenik Ambassador and Mormon Star Rory O'Malley Talks Broadway Impact (Video)". Playbill.
  28. ↑ http://broadwayworld.com/printcolumn.php?id=374510
  29. ↑ Katie Hasty, "Ciara, Eminem, Stefani Overtake The Billboard 200", Billboard.com, December 13, 2006.
  30. ↑ "Happy Days (2007 Original Cast Recording)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  31. ↑ Hetrick, Adam. "The Book of Mormon Cast Album to Arrive Via Ghostlight Records". Playbill.com, March 15, 2011.
  32. ↑ "Press Release: Carnegie Mellon Alumnus, Tony Award Nominee Rory O'Malley Returns to Campus for Reading of the Play "8" on Sept. 10". Carnegie Mellon University. August 28, 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  33. ↑ Voss, Brandon. "Missionary Man". Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  34. ↑ Gans, Andrew (May 3, 2011). "Broadway Reacts! We Talk to 2011 Tony Award Nominees". playbill.com. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  35. ↑ O'Malley, Rory (September 28, 2010). "The Actorvist – Broadway's Rory O'Malley on Blending Your Life's Art and Activism". Brains of Minerva. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  36. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/roryom/posts/10152044560579056
  37. ↑ O'Malley, Rory (September 28, 2014). "On Sunday, Gerold Schroeder and I exchanged vows while surrounded by loved ones.". Facebook.com. Retrieved April 27, 2015.

External links