After coming on the scene as a semi-finalist in Season 9 of American Idol, the multi-talented performer Todrick Hall has quickly built a following to become a household name in the world of musical theatre. From his flash mob for Ariana Grande to his Beyoncé themed flash mob performed in the middle of a Target store, Hall’s Youtube channel has grown to over 2 million subscribers.
Hall is now taking his talents on tour in his upcoming show, Straight Outta Oz. The tour will run the entire summer at cities all across the country. New York Film Academy Musical Theatre students and alumni shouldn’t be surprised when they see a familiar face in the cast, as recent graduate Kylan Ross will be playing “The Wizard.”
Fortunately for us, we had a chance to chat with the recent Musical Theatre graduate before he heads off on tour this summer.
Congratulations on being cast as ‘The Wizard’ in Todrick Hall’s Straight Outta Oz! When was the moment you knew you wanted to pursue musical theatre?
I guess there were many different moments in my life that led up to me wanting to pursue musical theatre. Before I can remember, I loved singing pop music. I remember my mom would always be playing either Celine Dion or Michael Bolton songs, or singing random show tunes in the house, so I was raised with music all my life.
What really opened my eyes to musical theatre was the movie musical adaptations of the musicals Rent and Chicago. I remember being younger and watching those movies on repeat, over and over again, to the point where I could recite the whole movies from start to finish.
My first big theatre experience was when I went on a high school trip to London when I was 14 and our teachers brought us to see Wicked. From the moment the overture began to play I was in awe. I stood up at the end of the song ‘Defying Gravity’ and began to leave the theatre, until my teachers stopped me and told me that there was another act. I couldn’t believe how music, singing and dancing could tell such a story and I knew from that moment that this was something that I wanted to do. When I returned home I joined a local musical society called S.O.N.G and with them my passion and love for musical theatre grew with every show we put on.
Why did you decide to study at NYFA?
When I decided to study musical theatre I was actually in my final year of college studying Forensic Science and Biology. I knew I wanted to finish my degree but I also knew that there was really only one thing I wanted to do, and that was to perform, so I began to research schools. After looking through lots of programs I came across NYFA and from reading what classes they offered and seeing who some of their staff members were, I was sold. NYFA’s 2-Year Conservatory Program not only offers musical theatre training but on-camera training too, which no other program I researched offered. Other classes like Pop/Rock and Movie Musical were also a huge bonus to an already impressive program. I knew NYFA was the place for me.
How did you land the role of ‘The Wizard?’
I was looking up auditions on backstage.com when I came across the auditions for Straight Outta Oz. I have been a huge Todrick Hall fan, so when I read the breakdown I knew that this was something I had to audition for. It was one of the first auditions I did after graduating from NYFA, so I was still getting used to the daily audition routine while trying to keep the audition nerves at bay. The first day of auditions at Pearl studios was the singers’ call and I sang “The Show Must Go On” by Queen. I came back the following day to the dance call where we did a commercial/hip-hop routine followed by another singing call where I sang “Alive” by Sia. A few weeks later I received a call from Todrick Hall offering me the role of ‘The Wizard.’
What was your reaction when you found out?
I was actually on a break from a restaurant job I was working at when I got the call from Todrick. I was in complete shock, so I did what most people do in a time of shock and I called my mother. We spent about five minutes just shouting back and forth at each other with excitement on the phone. I then called my boyfriend Cullen, another NYFA alum, and told him the good news. Unfortunately for me, I had to go back and work the dinner shift at my job, but, needless to say, I was smiling from ear to ear that night.
Would you say your training and experience at NYFA is useful in terms of being prepared for this role?
I can honestly say that my training and experience at NYFA played, and will continue to play, a huge role in my audition process, as well as preparing for a role and performing. I have learned so many valuable skills and knowledge from the best in the business and I will be forever grateful for that. I would especially like to thank the dance staff at NYFA and in particular Chad Austin, Michelle Potterf and Deidre Goodwin, who I was lucky enough to have from the beginning to the end of my NYFA training.
I never thought I would ever be able to go to a dance audition, but working with these people really improved my confidence, skill and training in dance and now I go to as many dance calls as I can. All of the staff at NYFA are the most supportive, caring and driven people I have ever met and I am so grateful to have learned from and to have worked with such talented people who genuinely want to best for all their students.
When will we be able to see you perform as ‘The Wizard?’
Straight Outta Oz will be touring the country all summer and we will be having a New York show on August 4th in The Highline Ballroom. For tickets and more information about show locations and venues visit todrickhall.com