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Isaac Cole Powell

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Not to be confused with Izaack Powell.

Isaac Cole Powell
Born (1994-12-30) December 30, 1994 (age 29)
Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
EducationUniversity of North Carolina School of the Arts (BFA)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
Years active2015–present
PartnerWesley Taylor (2017–2021)

Isaac Cole Powell (born December 30, 1994) is an American actor and singer. He played the role of Daniel in the Broadway revival of the musical Once on This Island[1] and was cast as Tony in the 2020 Broadway revival of West Side Story.[2]

Early life and career

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Powell was raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, the youngest of three children born to Terry and Will Powell, a three-time world CrossFit champion.[3] His father is African-American; his mother is white.[3] His sister, Jessica Powell, is a Certified Personal Trainer at their father's fitness studio and is featured on TLC's My Big Fat Fabulous Life as Whitney's fitness trainer.[4][5] Powell began to act in middle school with the Community Theatre of Greensboro.[3] He attended Philip J. Weaver Academy, a performing arts high school, before transferring to a boarding program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) during his senior year of high school. He graduated from UNCSA with an acting degree in May 2017.[3][6]

While in college, Powell began to accumulate professional acting credits, playing Nikos in the musical Legally Blonde at the Barn Dinner Theatres.[7] After graduation, in the summer of 2017, he appeared in Newsies and Mamma Mia! with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera[8][9] and originated the title role in Nikola Tesla Drops the Beat at the Adirondack Theatre Festival in Glens Falls, New York.[3][10]

Powell played the role of Daniel in the 2017 Broadway revival of Once on This Island, which began previews in November 2017 and opened officially in December. Jesse Green, writing in The New York Times called Powell's solo, "Some Girls," a "quietly sensitive rendering."[11] Robert Hofler, in TheWrap, wrote that Powell makes the song "the most poignant moment in this revival."[12] TheaterMania's review deemed Powell, "charismatic and silvery-voiced."[13] He recorded his role on the revival's cast album.[14]

Powell competed in May 2018 on the live Broadway game show, I Only Have Lies for You.[15] In the spring of 2018, he signed on with the New Pandemics modeling agency and modeled for Palomo Spain's and NIHL's fall 2019 lines at New York Fashion Week.[16][17][18] In W Magazine, Powell notes that "[M]odeling is a new thing ... I've been basically shooting all the gay publications, which is really, really great."[19] He models in addition to acting, and was featured in the final issue of Hello Mr.[20][21]

Powell played Tony in the 2020 Broadway revival of West Side Story. The production, directed by Ivo van Hove, began previews on December 10, 2019, and officially opened on February 20, 2020 at the Broadway Theatre, but closed early on March 11, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

In November 2020, Powell was cast in Universal Pictures and director Stephen Chbosky's film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen as new character Rhys, a high school jock.[22]

On August 29, 2021, Powell was featured in the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) network's aired concert for the musical Wicked which was hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel. Other featured artists were Rita Moreno, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana DeBose, Ali Stroker, Amber Riley, Mario Cantone, Jennifer Nettles, Stephanie Hsu, Alex Newell, Gavin Creel and Gabrielle Ruiz performing many of the musical's numbers.[23]

Personal life

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Powell is gay and came out at the age of 16.[16] In 2016, Powell met Broadway actor, Wesley Taylor, when Taylor was visiting University of North Carolina School of the Arts where Powell was a junior in the school's theatre program.[24] The two then began a relationship in 2017 and were engaged in May 2019. They ended their relationship in 2021.[citation needed]

Theatre credits

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Year Title Role Theatre Director(s) Ref.
2017 Nikola Tesla Drops The Beat Nikola Tesla Adirondack Theatre Festival Marshall Pailet
[25]
Newsies Ensemble Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera
(at the Benedum Center) 		Richard J. Hinds
[8]
Mamma Mia! Barry Ivan
[26]
2017–19 Once on This Island Daniel Circle in the Square Theatre Michael Arden
[12]
2019–20 West Side Story Tony Broadway Theatre Ivo van Hove
[27]
2024 Gatsby: An American Myth Jay Gatsby American Repertory Theatre Rachel Chavkin [28]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2015 Just a Body Pastor Dave Short film
2019 XaveMePlease Xavier Short film
2021 Dear Evan Hansen Rhys
2022 Susie Searches Ray Garcia
2023 Cat Person Clay
2023 Past Lives Guy
2023 Our Son Solo

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2018 Broadway.com #LiveatFive Himself 1 episode
2018 Murphy Brown Jack Episode: "A Lifetime of Achievement"
2018–2019 Indoor Boys Logan 6 episodes
2021 Modern Love Vince Episode: "A Life Plan for Two, Followed by One"
2021 American Horror Story: Double Feature Troy Lord 4 episodes
2022 American Horror Story: NYC Theo Graves 7 episodes
2024 The Franchise Bryson Main role

Awards and nominations

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Year Awards Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2019 Grammy Awards Best Musical Theater Album Once on This Island Nominated
[29]
2020 Drama League Awards Distinguished Performance West Side Story Nominated
[30]

References

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  1. ^ "Once on This Island – Cast And Creative". Once On This Island. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Rooney, David. "West Side Story Broadway Revival Cast Unveiled", The Hollywood Reporter, July 10, 2019
  3. ^ a b c d e DeCwikiel-Kane, Dawn. "Greensboro native lands big role on Broadway", News & Record, August 6, 2017, accessed June 4, 2018
  4. ^ "Our Trainers - Powell Fitness". December 31, 2019. Archived from the original on November 23, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  5. ^ go.tlc.com https://go.tlc.com/show/my-big-fat-fabulous-life-tlc. Retrieved November 23, 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ Murawski, Katie (December 12, 2017). "Isaac Powell takes Broadway: Greensboro native and UNCSA graduate debuted his role on Dec. 3". Yes! Weekly. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  7. ^ "Isaac Powell", Backstage, accessed July 13, 2019
  8. ^ a b Gans, Andrew (July 13, 2017). "Check Out Who Will 'Seize the Day' in Pittsburgh CLO's Newsies". Playbill.
  9. ^ "Mamma Mia! Cast". Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  10. ^ Broadway.com #LiveatFive with Isaac Cole Powell of Once on This Island, Broadway.com, May 7, 2018, retrieved June 3, 2018
  11. ^ Green, Jesse. "Review: Once on This Island, Revived and Ravishing", December 3, 2017
  12. ^ a b Hofler, Robert. "Once on This Island Broadway Review: A Middling Musical Revival About a Long-Suffering Woman", TheWrap, December 3, 2018
  13. ^ Levitt, Hayley. "Once on This Island", TheaterMania.com, December 3, 2017
  14. ^ Ahrens, Lynn and Stephen Flaherty. "Breaking Down the Once on This Island Revival Cast Album Track by Track", Playbill, May 23, 2018
  15. ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Betsy Wolfe and Isaac Powell Are Upcoming Contestants on I Only Have Lies for You", Playbill, May 18, 2018
  16. ^ a b "Broadway star Isaac Cole Powell on racial identity in Trump's America". GayTimes. September 29, 2018.
  17. ^ "The Best BTS Moments from NYFW: Mens". CFDA. February 2, 2019.
  18. ^ "About | New Pandemics". www.newpandemics.com. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  19. ^ Eckardt, Stephanie. "These LGBTQ+ Models Just Might Change the Industry Forever". W Magazine. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  20. ^ Mr., Hello. "About - Hello Mr". hellomrmag.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  21. ^ "And now, our time has come". mailchi.mp. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  22. ^ "'West Side Story's Isaac Powell Joins Universal's 'Dear Evan Hansen' Movie". November 12, 2020.
  23. ^ "Kristin Chenoweth & Idina Menzel to Host 'Wicked in Concert' PBS Special; Full Cast Announced". August 5, 2021.
  24. ^ "Broadway First Dates: Wesley Taylor and Isaac Powell". March 14, 2018 – via YouTube.
  25. ^ Goepfert, Bob (June 27, 2017). "Bob Goepfert Reviews "'Nikola Tesla Drops the Beat'". WAMC.
  26. ^ "Mamma Mia! at Pittsburgh CLO". Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera.
  27. ^ McPhee, Ryan (July 10, 2019). "Isaac Powell, Shereen Pimentel, More Set for West Side Story Broadway Revival". Playbill.
  28. ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (April 10, 2024). "Isaac Powell, Charlotte MacInnes, Ben Levi Ross to Lead World Premiere Gatsby Musical at American Repertory Theater". Playbill. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  29. ^ "61st Annual GRAMMY Awards". Recording Academy. December 6, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  30. ^ "Adrienne Warren, Danny Burstein, and Danielle Brooks Among 2020 Drama League Award Nominees". Playbill. May 1, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
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