Rodney Hicks

{{Infobox person | name = Rodney Hicks | image = | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1974|03|28|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S. | death_date = | death_place =}}

'''Rodney Hicks''' (born March 28, 1974)<ref>{{Cite Instagram|postid=B-R0zLvjLWp|user=rodneyhickshere|title=In my 46 years I have come to believe this with my whole heart and Being. Especially Now. Today is my birthday and that's my wish.|date=March 28, 2020|author=Rodney Hicks|access-date=January 20, 2024|location=Denver, Colorado}}</ref> is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He is perhaps best known for originating the role of Bob in the Broadway musical ''[[Come from Away]]'' (2017) as well as playing various roles in the original and closing Broadway cast of the musical ''[[Rent (musical)|Rent]]''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Rodney Hicks (Performer) |url=https://www.playbill.com/person/rodney-hicks-vault-0000108880 |access-date=March 10, 2022 |website=[[Playbill]]}}</ref>

== Career == Hicks made his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut in 1996 as part of the original cast of the musical ''[[Rent (musical)|Rent]],'' where he originated the role of Paul and was the understudy for the role of Benjamin Coffin III.<ref name=":1" /> He returned to the cast of ''Rent'' in 2007 as the main performer of Benjamin Coffin III, originated by [[Taye Diggs]], where he became the final actor to play the role before the production closed that year.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Sophie |date=January 25, 2021 |title=Stars taking part in the New York Theatre Workshop 'Rent' 25th anniversary gala |url=https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/stars-taking-part-in-new-york-theatre-workshop-rent-25th-anniversary-gala |access-date=January 20, 2024 |work=New York Theatre Guide}}</ref> The final performance, including Hicks, was recorded in ''[[Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harms |first=Talaura |date=December 30, 2023 |title=31 Days of Holiday Cheer: The Final Broadway Cast of Rent Plan a 'Happy New Year' |url=https://playbill.com/article/31-days-of-holiday-cheer-the-final-broadway-cast-of-rent-plan-a-happy-new-year |access-date=January 21, 2024 |work=[[Playbill]]}}</ref> In 2000, Hicks starred as Peter in revival of ''[[Jesus Christ Superstar]],'' which ran for six months in the [[Lyric Theatre (New York City, 1998)|Lyric Theatre]] on Broadway.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesus Christ Superstar |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/jesus-christ-superstar-12491 |access-date=March 10, 2022 |website=[[Internet Broadway Database]]}}</ref> Hicks later also starred as Joe Bonaparte in the 2000 revival of [[Charles Strouse]]'s ''[[Golden Boy (musical)|Golden Boy]]''.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}} Off-Broadway, he co-starred alongside [[Robert Cuccioli]] in the 2006 revival of ''[[Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris]],'' and can be heard on the new cast recording.

In 2010, he played the role of Clarence Norris in the musical ''[[The Scottsboro Boys (musical)|The Scottsboro Boys]]'', which was directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner [[Susan Stroman]] at Off-Broadway's [[Vineyard Theatre]]. The show opened on March 10 and ran until April 18, 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hernandez |first=Ernio |date=February 12, 2010 |title=Stroman Brings New Musical 'The Scottsboro Boys' to Off-Broadway |url=https://www.playbill.com/news/article/136824-Stroman-Brings-New-Musical-The-Scottsboro-Boys-to-Off-Broadway |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604192203/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/136824-Stroman-Brings-New-Musical-The-Scottsboro-Boys-to-Off-Broadway |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |access-date=March 12, 2022 |website=[[Playbill]]}}</ref> The show has received 9 Drama Desk nominations including Best New Musical, 6 Outer Critics Circle awards including Best New Musical and is the winner of two Lucille Lortel awards including Outstanding New Musical and Outstanding Choreography. The show opened on Broadway October 31, 2010, after beginning previews on the 6th of that month. It closed December 12, 2010. He played the lead role of [[Haywood Patterson]] in the 2012 [[Philadelphia Theatre Company]] production of ''The Scottsboro Boys'', where he was awarded the 2012 Barrymore Award for Outstanding Leading Male in a Musical. At the Village Theatre in Seattle, Hicks played the role of Jim, where he was recognized with a Seattle Times Footlight Award for his performance and a Broadway World Seattle's Critics Choice Award (Jay's Picks) for Outstanding Leading Actor.

In 2011, Hicks played the role of Curly in the first all African-American cast of ''[[Oklahoma!]]'' at Portland Center Stage in Portland, Oregon. The production was directed by Chris Coleman, whom Hicks would later marry.

In 2014, Hicks took part in a lab production of ''[[Come from Away]],'' which would later open on Broadway on March 12, 2017. Rodney departed from the cast of ''[[Come from Away]]'' on June 14, 2017, after being diagnosed with [[spasmodic dysphonia]], a neurological condition that causes a person's voice to spasm.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hetrick |first1=Adam |date=1 August 2017 |title=Actor Rodney Hicks Opens Up About Come From Away Departure {{!}} Playbill |url=http://www.playbill.com/article/actor-rodney-hicks-opens-up-about-come-from-away-departure |accessdate=November 26, 2017 |website=[[Playbill]] |language=}}</ref> Hicks was subsequently unable to appear in the [[Come from Away (film)|live stage recording]] of the musical, released in 2021 on [[Apple TV+]]. After treatment, Hicks regained his ability to speak and sing clearly. He has appeared in regional theatres across the country varying in plays from ''[[King Lear]]'', ''[[Lobby Hero]]'' through to ''[[Ain't Misbehavin' (musical)|Ain't Misbehavin'<nowiki/>]]'' and ''[[Two Gentlemen of Verona]]''. In 2023, he played Walter in [[Chess (musical)|''Chess'']] at [[The Muny]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Culwell-Block |first=Logan |date=May 11, 2023 |title=Taylor Louderman, Rodney Hicks, John Riddle, More to Lead Muny's Chess |url=https://playbill.com/article/taylor-louderman-rodney-hicks-john-riddle-more-to-lead-munys-chess |access-date=January 14, 2024 |work=[[Playbill]]}}</ref>

Hicks is currently working on a writing project called, '1 9 6 8'.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hicks |first=Rodney |title=1 9 6 8 |url=https://www.rodneyhicks.net/1968 |access-date=March 12, 2022}}</ref> Hicks's published work as a playwright includes ''Ms. Pearl's Cabaret'' (2019 Eugene O'Neill Playwriting Conference Semi-Finalist), ''FLAME BROILED. or the ugly play'' (Premiered at Local Theatre Company, Boulder CO, Fall 2019), and ''Just Press Save'' (2018 Eugene O'Neill Playwriting Conference Semi-Finalist), the last of which was featured at the 2020 Pride Plays Festival.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 2020 |title=PRIDE PLAYS |url=https://www.rattlestick.org/20192020-season/2020/6/25/pride-plays |access-date=March 12, 2022 |website=Rattlestick Playwrights Theater |language=en-US}}</ref> The virtual reading and workshop was directed by [[Michael Greif]], who previously directed Hicks in ''Rent.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Teeman |first=Tim |date=June 25, 2020 |title=Rodney Hicks and Azure D. Osborne-Lee on 'Pride Plays' and Fighting for Black Queer Change in Theater |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/rodney-hicks-and-azure-d-osborne-lee-on-pride-plays-and-fighting-for-black-queer-change-in-theater |access-date=March 12, 2022 |website=[[The Daily Beast]]}}</ref>

Off-stage, Hicks has appeared on several television shows, such as portraying Delray Williams in ''[[NYPD Blue]]'', the guest lead Jerome Davis in an episode of ''[[Law & Order: Criminal Intent]]'' playing opposite [[Faith Ford]] and [[Johnny Galecki]], and as Perry on the last season of ABC's ''[[Hope and Faith]]''. While living in the Pacific Northwest Hicks guest-starred on NBC's ''[[Grimm (TV series)|Grimm]]'' and TNT's [[Leverage (American TV series)|''Leverage'']].

== Personal life == Hicks was born and raised in [[Philadelphia]]. He graduated from [[Roxborough High School]] in 1992. That same year, he enrolled in [[Mansfield University of Pennsylvania|Mansfield University]], but dropped out in 1994 to pursue acting as a full-time career. He earned early success performing alongside [[Lauryn Hill]] from the hip/hop group [[The Fugees]] in the musical ''Bring in the Morning - A Wake up Call,'' followed by a role in the [[John Coolidge Adams|John Adams]] and [[June Jordan]] pop opera ''[[I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky]],'' which was directed by [[Peter Sellars]].

Hicks is married to Chris Coleman, the artistic director at the Denver Theatre Center for Performing Arts, whom he met while auditioning for ''Oklahoma!.''<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Stabler |first=David |date=January 10, 2019 |title='Mountaintop' actor reveals what it takes to play Martin Luther King, Jr. |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/performance/2013/10/rodney_hicks.html |access-date=March 10, 2022 |website=Oregon Live}}</ref> After getting diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia, Hicks returned to his home in the Pacific Northwest with Coleman to recover. Since his move to Denver in 2018, Hicks has had a world premiere of his play 'FLAME BROILED. or the ugly play' and continues to write and act. Hicks is a meditator.

==References==

==External links== * {{IMDb name|0382953}} * {{IBDB name}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hicks, Rodney}} [[Category:1974 births]] [[Category:American male television actors]] [[Category:American male stage actors]] [[Category:Male actors from Philadelphia]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:21st-century African-American male actors]] [[Category:21st-century American male actors]] [[Category:20th-century African-American male actors]] [[Category:20th-century American male actors]]