Jordan Luke Gage
Jordan Luke Gage | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 April 1992 Reading, Berkshire, England |
| Alma mater | Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, singer |
| Known for | & Juliet (2019–2022) Bonnie & Clyde (2022–2023) |
Jordan Luke Gage (born 8 April 1992) is a British actor. Though he has appeared in several television shows, Gage is best known as a musical theatre performer, most notably originating the roles of Romeo in the 2019 jukebox musical & Juliet and Clyde Barrow in the 2022 gangster musical Bonnie & Clyde on the West End.
Early life and education
[edit]As a child, Gage's family tradition was to attend a West End show on Christmas Eve every year, with Gage describing productions of The Lion King at age eight and Les Misérables at age thirteen as two integral shows that drew him towards performing.[1] He attended stage camps in his youth and performed for the first time when he was in Year 7 at school and was cast as Mike Teevee in a production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. After leaving Leighton Park School he attended Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts for his BA training after winning a BBC scholarship. While in education, he appeared in productions of My Fair Lady, Girlfriends and Bat Boy: The Musical.[2]
Acting career
[edit]Gage landed his first professional role whilst still in training, in Boy George’s award winning musical ‘Taboo’ playing the role of Marilyn. It was agreed that he could graduate early and be a part of the production at the purpose built Brixton clubhouse in London. The show went on to win best revival at the Whatsonstage awards. Gage appeared as a contestant on the twelfth series of The X Factor and received four "yeses" from the judges during the auditions after performing "See You Again" by Charlie Puth.[3]
In 2017, Gage portrayed the role of ensemble member Hoffman in Jim Steinman's Bat Out of Hell: The Musical and also acted as the alternate for the lead role of Strat before taking over as the lead full-time on 4 September 2018 at the Dominion Theatre when original leading actor Andrew Polec left the production.[4] As part of promotion for the show, Gage and the cast performed "Bat Out of Hell" in front of 30,000 people in Hyde Park as part of The Proms.[5]
Gage created the role of Romeo Montague in the Max Martin jukebox musical & Juliet at the show's world premiere at the Manchester Opera House between 10 September and 12 October 2019 and remained a part of the cast when it transferred to the Shaftesbury Theatre on 20 November.[6][7] He performed six songs on the official West End cast recording: "It's My Life", "Love Me like You Do", "One More Try", "Can't Feel My Face", "Everybody" and "I Want It That Way".[8] The show was forced to close in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, in the interim, Gage starred as Jason "J.D." Dean in a summer revival of Heathers: The Musical at the Theatre Royal Haymarket alongside Christina Bennington.[9] Gage returned to the cast of & Juliet when the show reopened in September 2021.[10] In January 2022, he announced that he was leaving the show and played his final performance on 26 March.[11]
On 23 February 2022, it was announced that Gage would portray the lead role of Clyde Barrow in the original West End cast of Bonnie & Clyde, alongside Frances Mayli McCann as Bonnie Parker, who he had previously performed with in Heathers; The Musical, as McCann had portrayed Heather McNamara. Performances began at the Arts Theatre on 9 April 2022 and the show finished its run on 10 July.[12] During this run, Gage also participated in a one-off script in hand reading of The Pride in order to celebrate 50 years since the UK's first gay pride rally.[13] On 23 October, Gage performed his first solo concerts at The Outernet.[14] Gage subsequently played Fabrizio Naccarelli in a staged concert version of The Light in the Piazza at Alexandra Palace on 27 November.[15] On 7 November, it was announced that Bonnie & Clyde would be returning to the West End on 4 March 2023, though this time at the Garrick Theatre, with Gage and McCann reprising their roles.[16] The official cast album was released on 28 July 2023, with Gage featuring on twelve of the twenty eight tracks.[17]
He played the title role in a special Halloween concert performance of Bat Boy: The Musical at the London Palladium on 31 October 2023 alongside Trevor Dion Nicholas, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, and his Bonnie & Clyde co-star Jodie Steele.[18] He returned to the Palladium on 7 April 2024 for a concert performance of Bare opposite Laurie Kynaston.[19]
Personal life
[edit]Gage is openly gay, first discussing his sexuality publicly in 2021.[20] He got engaged to his partner on 1 September 2023.
Filmography
[edit]Film & TV
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Gryffindor Schoolboy | ||
| 2014 | Cilla | Adrian Barber | 2 episodes | [21] |
| 2015 | The X Factor | Himself/Contestant | ||
| Cucumber | Luc | 1 episode | ||
| How Not to Disappear Completely | David | Film |
Theatre credits
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Theatre | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Taboo | Marilyn | Brixton Clubhouse | London |
| 2017–19 | Bat Out of Hell: The Musical | Hoffman/Alternate Strat (2017–18) Strat (2018–19) |
Dominion Theatre | West End |
| 2019–21 | & Juliet | Romeo Montague | Manchester Opera House / Shaftesbury Theatre | Manchester / West End |
| 2021 | Heathers: The Musical | Jason "J.D." Dean | Theatre Royal Haymarket | West End |
| 2021–22 | & Juliet | Romeo Montague | Shaftesbury Theatre | West End |
| 2022 | Bonnie & Clyde | Clyde Barrow | Arts Theatre | West End |
| The Pride | Philip | Fortune Theatre | West End | |
| The Light in the Piazza | Fabrizio Naccarelli | Alexandra Palace | Off-West End | |
| 2023 | Bonnie & Clyde | Clyde Barrow | Garrick Theatre | West End |
| Bat Boy: The Musical | Edgar/Bat Boy | London Palladium | Concert special | |
| 2024 | Bare: The Musical | Jason |
Accolades
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Musical | & Juliet | Nominated | [22] |
| 2022 | National Diversity Awards | Positive Role Model for LGBT | N/A | Nominated | [23] |
| 2022 | West End Wilma Awards | Best Performer in a West End show | Bonnie & Clyde | Won | [24] |
| 2023 | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Performer in a Musical | Bonnie & Clyde | Nominated | [25] |
References
[edit]- ^ "Stage Directions: Jordan Luke Gage – 'I've missed the applause, the laughter and the love of the audience'".
- ^ "Jordan Luke Gage | West End Performers | London Theatre Direct".
- ^ "Wokingham man Jordan Luke flies through to X Factor boot camp". 6 September 2015.
- ^ "London Bat Out of Hell Star Jordan Luke Gage on Taking over the Leading Role in the Rock Extravaganza and His Surprising Tattoo".
- ^ "Interview with Jordan Luke Gage". 10 October 2018.
- ^ "What if Juliet didn't die at the end of Romeo & Juliet?". 25 January 2019.
- ^ "& Juliet cast: First look at the brand new musical portraits | WhatsOnStage". 11 September 2019.
- ^ "& Juliet OCR album song-by-song review". 26 November 2019.
- ^ "Christina Bennington and Jordan Luke Gage to star in 'Heathers' West End summer revival". 28 May 2021.
- ^ "& JULIET Update from the Shaftesbury Theatre". 4 September 2020.
- ^ "Keala Settle to join & Juliet as show announces new cast plans | WhatsOnStage". 18 January 2022.
- ^ "Frances Mayli McCann and Jordan Luke Gage Will be Bonnie and Clyde in London Bow of Musical".
- ^ "Jordan Luke Gage and Lauryn Redding join Omari Douglas for the Pride in the West End". 27 May 2022.
- ^ "Jordan Luke Gage announces first-ever solo concert". 15 July 2022.
- ^ "Amara Okereke and Jordan Luke Gage join the Light in the Piazza | WhatsOnStage". 8 September 2022.
- ^ "Jordan Luke Gage and Frances Mayli McCann to return for West End "Bonnie and Clyde"". 7 November 2022.
- ^ "Review: BONNIE & CLYDE, Original West End Cast Recording".
- ^ "Bat Boy: The Musical to stage star-studded Halloween concert". 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Jordan Luke Gage and Laurie Kynaston to star in 'Bare' musical". 31 January 2024.
- ^ "Jordan Luke Gage: 'I want to be able to inspire young gay actors'; Attitude UK". 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Jordan Luke Gage". IMDb.
- ^ "20th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards winners include Andrew Scott, Claire Foy, Come from Away and Six | WhatsOnStage". March 2020.
- ^ @JordanLukeGage (24 March 2022). "I'm very chuffed that someone somewhere has nominated me for this ! Thank you. 🥺 if you'd like to vote for me pleas…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Instagram".
- ^ "Nominations in full: the 23rd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards". 8 December 2022.