rory o ' malley
conan o' brien, tig notaro, rory o' malley and paul f. tompkins at pcat18
pictured above is carnegie mellon alumnus and tony award nominee rory o' malley .
rory o’malley might never have stepped foot on a stage if it hadn’t been for his… basement .
- kristin booth / catt sadler / rory o' malley (2017)... himself
- christina perri / rory o' malley / the script (2011)... himself
watching the throne with rory o’malley. this episode is brought to you by marc maron: too real on netflix .
and rory o' malley, aka, king george, says the money went toward broadway cares / equity fights aids .
rory o' malley is an irish - american film, television, and theater actor. he portrays king george iii in hamilton .
rory o’malley is already famous for his tony award nominated turn as the lightly closeted mormon elder mckinley in the book of mormon on broadway .
rory o' neill, famous for his drag queen persona panti bliss, ...
rory o' malley heads back to broadway as king george in the smash hit
hamilton .
( photo courtesy of roryomalley. com )
from mormon to monarch, carnegie mellon university grad rory o' malley may have the monopoly on depicting the best comedically conflicted characters on broadway .
“cmu gave me so many tools to be better at my craft, ” o' malley says .
rory o' malley balances his role as a closeted missionary in the book of mormon with his work as cofounder of gay rights organization broadway impact .
cleveland' s own rory o' malley, center, leads the ultraclean mormon missionary chorus in broadway' s
the book of mormon .
press release: carnegie mellon alumnus, tony award nominee rory o' malley returns to campus for reading of the play
8
on sept. 10
hamilton' s current king george, rory o' malley, plays his final performance at broadway' s richard rodgers theatre today. o' malley is set to play king george in the musical' s national tour. beginning january 17, o' malley will be replaced by saturday night live veteran taran killam, who will make his broadway debut in the production .
camp yatc is pleased to announced an exclusive master class with rory o’malley. tickets are available for purchase or you can enter for a chance to win tickets !
check out o’malley’s action - filled “hamilton” day below. for more information on “out of the basement, ” head here .
rory somehow convinced his mother to sit down and talk about the agony and ecstasy of raising a child who dreams of being an actor. gerry o' malley ...
press release: carnegie mellon alumnus, tony award nominee rory o' malley returns to campus for reading of the play
8
on sept. 10 - news - carnegie mellon university
. on july 21, 2013, o' malley announced that he is engaged to his boyfriend of five years, gerold schroeder .
o’malley’s mother, along with his boyfriend, will be accompanying him to the tony awards on june 12. she’ll be sitting with the mother of fellow mormon star, and best actor nominee, josh gad—gad and o’malley were college roommates at carnegie mellon university. o’malley said his mother is ecstatic for gad’s nomination. “she came to our final workshop, which was her first introduction to the show. she said, “josh is going to get a tony! ’” o’malley said. “she didn’t say, “oh, you were great, son! ’”
o’malley’s irish ancestors made their parish along a stretch of land that later became known as irishtown. their local church was st. malachy’s .
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. o' malley also performed the song
cadillac car
on the soundtrack, dreamgirls: music from the motion picture .
o' malley assumed the role of king george iii from jonathan groff in the original broadway production of hamilton on april 11, 2016 .
the character of charlie brown is typically the wallpaper against which the more vivacious characters stand out. here, rory o' malley makes charlie pop in the funniest and most authentic turn of the show .
rory o' malley, who convulsed audiences in his tony - nominated turn as the repressed, tap - dancing elder mckinley in the book of mormon, is on to something intriguing in pub crawl .
“i feel very strongly that there are kids out there making the same kinds of safe spaces and creative outlets that are carrying them through a lot as i did, ” rory o' malley said .
news › stories › archives › 2012 › august › press release: carnegie mellon alumnus, tony award nominee rory o' malley returns to campus for reading of the play
8
on sept. 10
o' malley, 35, spends only nine minutes on stage at the richard rodgers theatre, six of it singing and humming by himself, but it is such quality time that it has o' malley opining in agreement with mel brooks: “it' s good to be king. ”
besides professional success, o' malley has found personal happiness, marrying his longtime companion, gerold schroeder, in 2014. o' malley was brought up by a loving single mother, an accountant who also worked as a bartender. for o' malley, who learned to crawl growing up in the tavern environment, it all served as grist for an acclaimed one - man show, “pub crawl, ” which he introduced in 2014 .
on july 21, 2013, o' malley announced his engagement to boyfriend gerold schroeder via facebook, and they married on september 28, 2014 .
for o' malley, 33, the road to
partners
begins with a second - grade christmas pageant. he played st. joseph .
actors josh gad, right, and rory o' malley from' the book of mormon' pose for a portrait in new york, tuesday, may 31, 2011. (ap photo / charles sykes )
“hamilton’s” rory o’malley was among the first to express his condolences on twitter. “devastating news. my condolences to his family and friends who clearly loved him so much. sending love your way, ” he wrote .
geraldine o' malley enrolled her son in classes at lakewood' s beck center for the arts. and that, as they say, was that .
in 2012, o' malley and his boyfriend gerold schroeder were featured in a gap ad, cheek to cheek, with the caption
be one .
whether chuckling or wiping away tears, geraldine o' malley decided to support her son' s interest. she enrolled him in classes at the beck center .
with: josh gad (elder cunningham), andrew rannells (elder price), nikki m. james (nabulungi), rory o’malley (moroni), brian tyree henry (general) and michael potts (mafala hatimbi) .
o' malley also participates in the dustin lance black play,' 8', a chronicle reenactment of the federal case that overturned california' s proposition 8 .
most kids beg to have their eight - year - old birthday parties at chuck e. cheese ,
o' malley says in
pub crawl .
when not working in a play or before the cameras, o' malley looks for places to perform his autobiographical one - man show ,
pub crawl .
“i ended up meeting my father for about 10 minutes. it was wild. it wasn’t planned. it was a major moment in my life, ” says o’malley .
more than a dozen industry folk request to meet with gad. no one calls o’malley. no one. while gad marches around manhattan for meetings, o’malley wanders the theater district, staring at broadway marquees that his name may never grace. they’ll get another shot at the los angeles showcase just two months later, but it’s little consolation for o’malley—he planned to move to new york after graduation. at the l. a. showcase, gad again gets a big response. this time, o’malley gets a few bites. with no choice but to head west, he settles in l. a. after he and gad earn their degrees from the school of drama in 2003 .
but not lost on o' malley were the lessons he learned, absorbing as much as he could during his years as an undergrad. acting professor tony mckay “embodied all that was right with the faculty, ” o' malley recalls, “helping us explore our craft in a new way beyond what we had learned in high school. ”
join film, television and musical theater actor rory o' malley, known for his tony award - nominated performance as elder mckinley in
the book of mormon ,
when he comes to build to talk about his role as beloved king george in the broadway smash multiple tony - award winning musical
hamilton .
o' malley is also a co - founder of the gay rights activism group broadway impact .
drowning in frequent - flier miles, gad calls o’malley. o’malley’s advice is clear: “you have to just choose a place and make that your home for a little bit, because it’ll ground you, and it’ll give you the opportunity to figure things out. ” gad listens. he leases an apartment near o’malley’s; soon enough, gad is cast in a small play. besides the paycheck, there’s more good news in the role: he meets his future wife, who performs opposite gad as the lead actress .
video: tony ward, neil francis and ruaidhri o' connor give ...
rory o’malley is an 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 .
but o' malley believes an actor never stops learning, so he' s looking at his experience on the fx comedy
partners
as a sort of graduate school .
select segments from pardcast - a - thon 2018, a benefit for smile train. featuring conan o' brien, tig notaro, rory o' malley and paul f. tompkins. purchase the full 12 - hour audio / video package at nevernotfunny. com! proceeds benefit smile train. this episode is brought to you by mack weldon…
did you find rory o’malley hilarious in the book of mormon, rushers? are you impressed with how he’s able to juggle both his life’s passions? and what are the odds that he and college roommate josh gad would end up tony nominees for the same broadway show years later? leave your thoughts in the comments below, and tune into this week’s episode of stage rush tv for an adorable piece with o’malley about his buddy gad .
“she fell for him and got pregnant and he went back to ireland as soon as he found out. that was the last time she ever saw him, ” o’malley says .
o' malley made his broadway debut in “the 25th annual putnam county spelling bee” and had a starring role as richie cunningham in a los angeles stage adaptation of “happy days. ”
o' malley was born in cleveland, ohio, and was brought up by his single mother, who is of irish ancestry. he grew up catholic. he graduated from saint ignatius high school in cleveland, ohio and carnegie mellon university. o' malley became friends with josh gad and leslie odom, jr. at carnegie mellon university and remain good friends .
about 10 months later, gad and o’malley are asked to attend another mormon workshop. now there’s a complete show—two acts, 16 songs, and new characters, including one for o’malley, who impressed the creators so much that they developed a part just for him: “elder mckinley, ” a ruddy - cheeked, flamboyantly gay - but - closeted mormon missionary. he even has his own song, “turn it off, ” about the “nifty little mormon trick” of pushing negative thoughts like homosexuality out of his head. the role hits close to home for o’malley .
despite beginning his mormon journey as only an ensemble member, there was one bright spot—o’malley didn’t have to audition. “they just called the whitest guys in town, and i’m one of them wherever i go, ” o’malley said. the growth of his part was gradual, but o’malley remembers reworking the second - act number “i am africa” in workshops and seeing how his role was evolving. “elder mckinley begins leading the boys to this choreographed dance of being african in africa. that’s when i realized it was really special, that my character had this arc. ”
o' malley was born in cleveland, ohio, and was brought up by his single mother, who is of irish ancestry. he grew up catholic. he graduated from saint ignatius high school in cleveland, ohio and carnegie mellon university. o' malley became friends with josh gad and leslie odom, jr. at carnegie mellon university and remains good friends with them .
encapsulates many of our american ideals that we pray will be maintained into the next administration. i feel lucky to share this interview with rory o’malley who reflects so many of them. he worked hard and achieved his goal of becoming a broadway star. he co - founded
cleveland native rory o' malley, who grew up in west park and bay village, plays michael on
partners ,
the fx comedy starring kelsey grammer and martin lawrence. it premieres at 9 p. m. monday, aug. 4. (fx )
later when he was 19, o’malley made a trip to ireland himself to see his ancestral homeland. on his way his mother warned him to watch out in case he met his dad .
cleveland, ohio - rory o' malley is officially broadway royalty. starting april 11, the cleveland native will don the crown of king george in
hamilton ,
the hip - hop musical about founding father alexander hamilton and the hottest ticket on the great white way .
before o’malley makes his “out of the basement” debut, huffpost asked him to share what it takes to embody king george iii eight times a week in “hamilton. ” he responded with 13 behind - the - scenes snapshots that make us feel lucky to be alive at a time when musical theater is making history. (you can also follow more of o’malley’s adventures on instagram here) .
tony award nominee for book of mormon and current king george iii in hamilton, rory o' malley, takes the stage this week in the new hit musical, straight to bradway. this truly is a theatrical production about a theatrical production! with songs like
3 true facts…
and what a story it is. in the show o’malley talks about how his mom fell in love with a fly by night irishman, fresh off the boat from ireland where he was visiting family .
with help from michael, o’malley was able to attend private school and develop in a way that eventually led to broadway. it completely changed his life. he hasn’t forgotten his roots or his debt .
< p > rory somehow convinced his mother to sit down and talk about the agony and ecstasy of raising a child who dreams of being an actor. gerry o’malley talks us through the ups and downs of having an actor son and why her favorite job rory ever had was at a financial firm. rory also gives an update on the first national tour of hamilton now that he is in san francisco and in the last week of rehearsal. < / p >
this particular workshop piqued my interest and was my first introduction to yatc. i was intrigued because, well, it' s rory o' malley. before king george, he was best known as elder mckinley in the original broadway cast of book of mormon. o' malley took to the stage to thunderous applause and a room full of wide - eyed adoration, kept in check only by ryan' s warning that they were all peers and to keep the fangirl swooning to 10 minutes .
through his association with marshall, o' malley met boyett, who asked him to audition for
partners .
as with that christmas pageant in the second grade, it was all about those contacts .
< p > rory somehow convinced his mother to sit down and talk about the agony and ecstasy of raising a child who dreams of being an actor. gerry o' malley talks us through the ups and downs of having an actor son and why her favorite job rory ever had was at a financial firm. rory also gives an update on the first national tour of hamilton now that he is in san francisco and in the last week of rehearsal. < / p >
, she suggested that he double check. “she said, ‘are you sure? how do you know? ’” o’malley recalled. “i said, ‘it was on tv, mom. ’” despite the momentary disbelief, o’malley cites sharing the news with his supportive mom as the highlight of his tony journey. “she certainly worked just as hard, if not harder, on my dreams by being who she is and raising me. ”
tony - award nominee and current king george iii in hamilton, rory o' malley joins the guys this week to dive deep into his catholic school upbringing, surviving a long (long) distance relationship, and having matt bomer as a classmate. plus, the guys chat real world, gaga, …
“with irish drama things are told with humor. i love that people come in for a pub night of fun and that’s what they’re going to get, but there are a few tears too, ” says o’malley .
“we did a reading of it at cmu, ” says o' malley, citing one of many trips he has taken back to campus and the city over the years “to talk to students and also perform. ”
living the dream with rory
listeners get their chance to ask rory questions like
who inspired you to become an actor ?
,
how do you get ...
join film, television and musical theater actor rory o' malley, known for his tony award - nominated performance as elder mckinley in
the book of mormon ,
when he comes to build to talk about his role as beloved king george in the broadway smash multiple tony - award winning musical
hamilton .
o' malley is also a co - founder of the gay rights activism group broadway impact. for full schedule and more videos go to urltoken follow us: twitter: urltoken facebook: urltoken instagram: urltoken snapchat: buildseriesnyc
last weekend, in the intimate san francisco playhouse, about 100 students had the privilege of attending a master class put on by the young actors' theatre camp (yatc). the featured artist was rory o' malley, who is currently in san francisco playing king george iii in the national tour of hamilton .
rory talks about the previous night' s tony awards and gushes over his friend gavin creel' s win. then rory talks to raymond j. lee (groundhog day, ...
josh gad (the book of mormon, frozen, rory' s college roommate) finally gets on the podcast after months of begging. he confesses to rory that his iconic ...
o’malley is proud of where he comes from and who he is. a cleveland native with a firm irish catholic background, o’malley knew he was gay from an early age and went on to co - found the gay rights organization broadway impact shortly after california’s proposition 8 was passed in 2008. the non - profit, which he formed with two - time tony nominee gavin creel, aims to educate about marriage equality with involvement from the broadway community .
he also participated in the broadway sings for pride concert in june 2011. on july 9, 2011, o' malley joined mary tyler moore, bernadette peters and others in the 2011 broadway barks adopt - a - thon .
however, the part that has earned o’malley raves and a tony nomination for best featured actor for his first major broadway role wasn’t originally in the show. o’malley began as an ensemble mormon character, and throughout the show’s three years of workshops, creators trey parker and matt stone (of south park) and robert lopez (avenue q) kept expanding his duties until he became elder mckinley, the mormon mission leader in uganda who carries “turn it off. ”
work begets work; after 21, gad lands a lead in the tv sitcom back to you, while o’malley enjoys consistent work in off - broadway and regional musicals. in early 2008, their agents ask whether they’d be interested in helping develop an irreverent new musical comedy written by trey parker and matt stone, creators of the wildly successful television cartoon south park, with music by robert lopez, co - creator of the smash hit broadway musical avenue q. for gad and o’malley—huge fans of south park — the decision is a no - brainer. giddy for the workshop to start, o’malley even brings a dvd of team america —the south park duo’s latest film—for parker and stone to sign .
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 .
rory has talks with his friends in show business about staying grounded and happy while living the dream .
best wishes to david and his family. rory, your generosity and sweet spirit are an inspiration .
rory o’malley (the book of mormon, hamilton) didn’t come out of the closet, he came out of the basement. he survived childhood in the midwest by escaping to his subterranean rec room to perform musicals…by himself…for himself. he’s finally ready to premiere his campy masterpieces in the most famous basement on broadway, feinstein’s / 54 below !
o' malley was eight when he told his mother that he wanted to be in showbiz after getting a taste of the spotlight in a second grade christmas pageant where he played st. joseph. (in a 2014 interview with the plain dealer' s mark dawidziak, o' malley chalked up the gig to nepotism, as his aunt was the second - grade teacher .
in show business, it' s always about who you know ,
he said. )
, a grassroots organization that fought for marriage equality. as an actor, he commands the stage whenever he’s on it. when he’s not, the audiance wants more. o’malley is living the dream and wants to help you achieve yours .
ronan o gara is an ambassador for haven, an irish ngo working to better the lives of those in haiti .
rory o' malley shares his testimonial for it gets better broadway. this interview explains part of his survival skills in high school in terms of being yourself. this is part of a series on dealing with bullying and what happened as he grew older and his pride in living in a city where people stand together against hate. (03: 25 )
now, as king george iii (the fourth to take the role) in the revolutionary pulitzer prize - winning “hamilton, ” o' malley excels as the english scepter - bearer who isn' t fazed a bit by the disapproval of colonials .
“the show is about my being raised irish catholic in cleveland. my mom was a single mother. she had six siblings in a big irish family, all descended from shanty irish folks who arrived after the famine, ” o’malley told the irish voice .
o' malley then moves into even more emotionally poignant territory. at 19, he takes a vacation to ireland and treks to a small village in an effort to track down the man who fathered him and disappeared 20 years earlier. the climax is gripping and tear - inducing, although things never grow too severe — not with o' malley' s reassuringly magical smile. the show seems a likely prospect for a future life, perhaps in a theatrical setting. while the eight musicians clearly help fuel the evening, they could easily be pared down to three or so. what' s important in pub crawl is not the music or the musical atmosphere; it' s the story of struggle, acceptance, community and love that o' malley spins .
the co - founder of broadway impact, a grassroots theater - community organization supporting marriage equality, o' malley announced last month that he and his partner, gerald schroeder, are engaged. they live in the hell' s kitchen area of manhattan .
“you better believe i' m still living my dream because of the support of josh and leslie and a number of other people i met at cmu, ” o' malley says. “for years after graduation, we had each other' s back. ”
not long after moving in, o’malley comes to the rescue of his new roommate. gad is having trouble memorizing the weekly speech assignment. every freshman acting student has to recite a memorized poem with perfect diction, followed by an immediate critique from the professor—in front of the entire class. “i knew i was going to get lambasted, ” says gad. not if o’malley can help it. he listens to gad’s recital over and over, helping him whenever he loses his place. gad passes the exam, avoiding the professor’s wrath .
although
partners
is his first gig as a series regular, o' malley has made guest appearances on showtime' s
nurse jackie ,
the nbc drama
law & order: svu
and the short - lived nbc comedy
1600 penn .
o' malley has a podcast, “living the dream, ” about the realities of the profession after the glitter loses its luster. “i started it as a service to myself, ” he says, “and was amazed that other actors were interested in joining the conversation .
cleveland, ohio - - rory o' malley learned a ton about theater at the beck center for the arts in lakewood, then at st. ignatius high school, then at carnegie mellon university' s school of drama. the cleveland native took that learning to broadway, where he earned a 2011 tony nomination for his portrayal of elder mckinley in
the book of mormon .
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
. 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. o' malley' s first appearance off - broadway was the 2009 revival of newsical, directed by mark waldrop .
o' malley, who also appeared in this past season' s nobody loves you and little miss sunshine, enters in a blue / green plaid shirt and jeans, sporting sunglasses and wrapped in the tricolor flag of ireland. after getting things off to a rousing irish - bar musical start, o' malley presents his milieu: the angle, a blue - collar, shanty irish neighborhood along the cuyahoga river where the folks work hard and drink hard. he explains how he was conceived during a drunken one - night - stand on st. patrick' s day, 1980, with the man in question fleeing long before he was born, thus making o' malley
the biggest mick bastard you have ever met .
but he also had
the best mother imaginable ,
and an extended community of irish neighbors .
o’malley’s mother’s hard working friends called themselves the weekend warriors. “they surrounded her and they helped raise me. my mom worked at the pub on top of her 50 hours a week at an accounting firm. so it’s really a story about her and everyone who raised me. ”
which has now arrived at the paper mill playhouse. fans of the small - screen hit - - and almost no one else - - will be mildly interested to know that the two - act tuner focuses not on the sitcom' s main character, richie cunningham (rory o' malley), but on the popular motorcycle - riding, tough - talking fonzie (played by joey sorge) .
he originated the role of elder mckinley in the musical the book of mormon, which opened on broadway on march 24, 2011. 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) .
for this role, o' malley was nominated for the 2011 drama desk award for outstanding featured actor in a musical, and was also nominated for a tony award .
the roommates know they’ve got a good thing going, so they decide to move into an off - campus apartment together for sophomore year. just seven days into their new living arrangement, o’malley tells gad there is something he must tell him. it sounds serious: “i’m gay. ”
after that play, i sat my mom down and told her that i decided what i wanted to do with my life ,
o' malley said .
i wanted to be an actor. now my mom probably didn' t know whether to laugh or cry .
o' malley and his mom moved from west park to bay village when he was in the third grade, and, over the next 10 years, the fledgling actor also appeared in productions at the rocky river community theater, clague playhouse and, of course, st. ignatius .
their fall semester brings them closer together, a result of their groggy walks to mandatory 8am yoga classes and late - night post - rehearsal treks home. after an autumn of self - discovery and new routines, winter ushers in a geographical change in their friendship. gad’s roommate drops out, which hardly leaves him disappointed—he’ll be perhaps the only freshman on campus with his own room. o’malley, though, has other plans for the vacant top bunk. despite gad’s best rebuttals, o’malley carts his boxes down the hall and tacks up posters on the walls of his new digs .
gad is speechless. it seems to him that o’malley has charmed every female on campus with his boyish smile—he’s gay? gad’s loss for words doesn’t last long. he tells his best friend that being honest with himself and his friends is both courageous and the right thing to do. o’malley, who had a “very catholic upbringing, ” is relieved that he can count on gad’s friendship. campus support follows. “cmu was a great place for me—to have great role models, other faculty members, students who were proud of themselves. … i made a decision to be one of them, to be proud of who i was. ” gad says he should have realized o’malley was gay the moment he decorated their hamerschlag room freshman year. “he had a poster of sarah mclachlan and bono on his wall. those two don’t mix in any straight community, ever! ”
openly gay, o' malley came out at the age of 19. 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 .
having started the evening with a strong musical component — musical director stephen oremus, also from the book of mormon, leads a group of eight musicians (including two vocalists) — and moved into a dandy stream of funny anecdotes, o' malley turns serious. as a nine - year - old third grader, he learns that michael is dying from aids. in a puzzling development, the supportive fireman marries rory' s mother — so that she can collect his pension and death benefits — and dies two months later. before he does, he makes rory' s mom promise to take the boy to new york to see a broadway show. michael clearly understood where rory was headed .
written by
south park' s
trey parker and matt stone with
avenue q' s
robert lopez ,
the bom
leads all 2011 tony contenders with 14 nominations, including the coveted best musical prize and - - for o' malley - - best supporting actor in a musical .
we spent so much time at paddy' s pub ,
o' malley said .
my mom worked a second job there two nights a week as a bartender. fridays always meant fish fries and live music. and a lot of irish music is storytelling. i just absorbed all of that .
i have a buddy who likes to do an impression of me ,
o' malley said .
and his one line is:' i' m rory and i' m from cleveland and i' m grateful.' and if the two things i' m known for is that i' m proud to be from cleveland and i' m grateful, i' ve done my job. people know who i am .
pub crawl is o’malley’s hilarious and deeply moving new show about being raised in the irish pub culture of cleveland, ohio. using traditional irish pub songs (including a blast of the pogues), it tells the story of how his single mother and her circle of friends and family at the pub helped raise him .
i always thought i would move to new york after graduation, but, instead, i moved to los angeles ,
o' malley said .
i realized i was more scared of that choice than i was of new york, and i thought, at 22, i should get it over with .
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. he also starred as
richie cunningham
in the 2006 los angeles premiere of happy days, as well as the 2007 goodspeed opera house production .
during the next two years, the former roommates’ careers inch forward, barely. ironically, gad’s struggles reassure o’malley, who sees gad’s career as a benchmark for his own. “in those first few years when josh wasn’t really working a lot, i thought ‘ok, good, i have some time. i’m still on my way. ’”
o' malley, 30, grew up in west park and bay village and graduated from st. ignatius high school and carnegie mellon university in pittsburgh. he went west to los angeles and appeared in the
dreamgirls
film, then east to the replacement cast of gotham' s
the 25th annual putnam county spelling bee .
tentatively titled, the book of mormon, the show follows a pair of young mormons on their missionary trip to uganda. gad is cast as “elder cunningham, ” a loveable, misguided mormon missionary, and a lead in the show. o’malley is in the ensemble, whose members play missionaries, prophets, devils, hobbits, and others. the show is shrouded in secrecy, and it’s far from complete, containing only one act and fewer than 10 songs. at the end of the workshop, they turn in their scripts, and o’malley is just thankful for the experience: “it’ll probably never happen, or it’ll be a movie without all of us, but at least i got them to sign my dvd. ” gad heads back to l. a. , where more work awaits him, and o’malley continues working in musicals and plays in new york. meanwhile, the creative team heads off to write new songs and scenes for what may become a broadway musical, a motion picture, or an utter waste of time .
rory tells how he and josh groban got into a friendly competion to collect the most money for broadawy cares and how it escalated quickly ...
< p > rory talks about his final performance in hamilton on broadway and passing the torch to taran killam before startinf the tour. then joel grey (oscar, tony, and golden globe award winner) chats with rory about life in show biz. he’s a broadway legend. < / p >
i' ve always said that' the book of mormon' always would be the greatest creative experience of my life, but this certainly has been equal to it, in terms of learning ,
o' malley said .
just sitting around, listening to the stories these people have to tell, has made this an incredible experience .
a few days later, before he even has a chance to pick up an lsat study guide, gad’s agent calls him. spelling bee needs a replacement for the role of william barfee. they want to see him. he auditions, and o’malley’s prediction comes true. instead of completing law - school applications, gad starts memorizing lines for his broadway role .
rory celebrates his homecoming to la after a year and a half away with hamilton and talks to fellow castmate raymond baynard. ray is a ...
rory tells the crazy tale of his broadway show nerds getting canceled only three weeks into rehearsal and then finding himself in hamilton days later... .
o' malley, 35, has always tipped his cap to his beginnings in cleveland, including his one man show
pub crawl ,
a musical tribute to growing up in west park and in the irish pub culture, specifically paddy' s pub on ridge road in parma, where his mom, an accountant, worked a second job as a bartender .
yet for this “great story, ” there was one person that o’malley had to prepare prior to seeing it—his mother. “well, my family—they go to church every sunday. definitely, i told my mom specific lyrics, specific things that i wanted her to be aware of, ” o’malley said. “i wanted to start the conversation with her before the show, which everyone else has when they’re leaving the show. i didn’t want her to be totally stunned. but she loved the show. she’s seen it five times since we’ve opened in the past two months. she’s driven from cleveland a few times already, and she’s coming back in june. it’s a great feeling that she’s embraced it the way that she has. ”
< p > rory talks about his final performance in hamilton on broadway and passing the torch to taran killam before startinf the tour. then joel grey (oscar, tony, and golden globe award winner) chats with rory about life in show biz. he' s a broadway legend. < / p >
mormon creators parker and stone have a reputation for offending every religious group and ethnicity under the sun with their long - running cartoon series south park. being that o’malley helms a socially - aware activism group, his involvement with the masters of envelope - pushing material had to be addressed. “i had friends who asked, ‘are gays going to be upset? ’ it never occurred to me that people would think [ the show ] could be offensive to gay people, ” o’malley said. “it never was to me and i’ve seen it through the entire process. when you’re working with people who are so smart and gifted at being funny, you don’t have to worry too much about that. they’re also just telling a great story. ”
siobhan talks to rory about making her way from the london theatre scene to sunset boulevard on broadway opposite glenn close and eventually to los angeles... .
joseph leo bwarie, who played frankie valli in jersey boys on broadway and all over the country, reminisces with rory about the old days while ...
alex boniello fills rory in on his journey from school athlete to broadway performer in last seasons beloved revival of spring awakening. his story of why ...
rory talks about his wild nerves before doing his show at 54 below last week and then speaks with his crazy and hilarious pal chris leary! ...
this week rory talks about the audience reaction during the first performance of hamilton after the election and is joined by guest andrew briedis, the man ...
o' malley is an active supporter of gay rights, establishing the activism group broadway impact in 2009 with gavin creel and jenny kanelos. 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 !
< p > edi patterson (vice principals on hbo) talks with rory about coming up in the comedy world through the groundlings and how she became a master at improvisation and sketch. edi and rory worked together on the tv show partners with kelsey grammer and martin lawrence, and quickly became pals. < / p >
the book of mormon from left, josh gad, nikki m. james and andrew rannells in this musical by trey parker, matt stone and robert lopez at the eugene o’neill theater .
partners ,
which premieres at 9 p. m. monday, aug. 4 (a second episode following at 9: 30), stars sitcom veterans kelsey grammer (
frasier
) and martin lawrence (
martin
) as two vastly different chicago lawyers. o' malley plays michael, the witty office assistant who never seems to do any actual work .
i feel like i' m getting to attend television university, learning from the best professors you could ask for ,
o' malley said during a recent visit home .
i want to keep pushing myself and learning, and in terms of learning a new medium from tv legends, it just doesn' t get any better than kelsey grammer and martin lawrence .
o' malley made his broadway debut in the musical
the 25th annual putnam county spelling bee ,
replacing the actors who played leaf coneybear, willliam barfee and douglas panch. that was followed by the off - broadway revival of
newsical .
then, on march 24, 2011, he began his acclaimed run as elder mckinley in
the book of mormon .
< p > rory’s husband makes fun of him for an entire episode! gerold schroeder joins us on ltd to talk about what it’s like to be a “civilian” in a relationship with an actor. rory and gerold have been together for nine years and stuck it out through good times like < em > the book of mormon < / em > and through bad times like “that census job. ” gerold and rory discuss how they have managed the long distance relationship between ny and la over the last 8 months with humor and plane travel. rory also thanks the entire broadway community for all of their support over the last week! < / p >
producer craig zadan (chicago, jesus christ superstar live) tells rory what his definition of being a producer is and how he excelled as one on ...
edi patterson (vice principals on hbo) talks with rory about coming up in the comedy world through the groundlings and how she became a master at ...
rory answers listener' s questions and replays his converation with his buddy josh gad. josh is currently starring in the movie marshall about thurgood marshall and ...
lauren kias is an extremely talented dancer and member of the hamilton ensemble. she also happens to be rory' s scene partner in the pivotal moment ...
seth rudetsky (siruis xm broadway, disaster the musical) and his husband james wesley talk to rory about their concert for america this saturday june 24th ...
rory talks about his final performance in hamilton on broadway and passing the torch to taran killam before startinf the tour. then joel grey (oscar, ...
here comes the general! christopher jackson talks to rory during the final week of his tony nominated performance as george washington in hamilton. christopher (in ...
on august 15, 2010, o' malley performed in the benefit concert sing for the cure, at don' t tell mama in new york city. he was also featured in a broadway impact fundraiser on november 2, 2010, hosted by gavin creel. another concert, also benefiting broadway impact, had been held prior to that, taking place on july 25, 2010 .
< p > jimmy is the host of the very successful podcast never not funny and his new podcast playing games with jimmy pardo. jimmy started as a stage actor but found his calling in standup comedy and began touring the country eventually ending up at the tonight show with conan o’brien. he tells rory about his early days in the business and how juggles his comedy career and family life. jimmy has a real love of broadway and explains to rory how they were almost in the movie dreamgirls together. < / p >
she' s the furthest thing from a stage mom you could find ,
o' malley said of his mother, who retired after 41 years as an accountant and still lives in bay village .
but she was never anything but completely supportive. she' s seen every play i' ve ever been in. she probably saw' book of mormon' 20 times .
he ended up working for television comedy legend garry marshall (
the odd couple ,
laverne & shirley
). o' malley was cast as richie cunningham in the 2006 los angeles stage production of
happy days ,
a musical based on the long - running abc series created by marshall. he reprised the role for a 2007 production at connecticut' s goodspeed opera house .
featuring musical direction by grammy and tony winner stephen oremus, “out of the basement” offers o’malley’s signature wit in abundance, with songs from “beauty and the beast, ” “sister act” and “beaches. ” if there’s a message, it’s “that you can be fabulous as a pudgy, pasty - white gay kid in the midwest, and be anything that you want, ” he told the huffington post .
patti murin (frozen, lysistrata jones) talks with rory about what if feels like to lead a big juggernaut blockbuster show. she is incredibly open about ...
nicole parker (madtv, wicked, fame becomes me) talks with rory about her path to success in the improv and sketch comedy world which landed her ...
mo brady (the addams family, smash, the ensemblist) talks with rory about his move from broadway ensemble to video and social media producer for a ...
marilu henner (taxi, evening shade, chicago on broadway) talks to rory about her amazing career and how she went from the first ever production of ...
the very funny alex wyse (spring awakening, lysistrata jones, masters of sex) talks to rory about his beautiful experience in spring awakening from la to...
rory james o'malley ( born december 23 , 1980 ) is an 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 . o'malley is currently performing the role of king george iii in the first u.s. national tour of hamilton , following his nine-month tenure in the role in the show 's broadway company at the richard rodgers theatre . 
rory james o'malley (born december 23, 1980) is an 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. o'malley is currently performing the role of king george iii in the first u.s. national tour of hamilton, following his nine-month tenure in the role in the show's broadway company at the richard rodgers theatre.
rory james o'malley (born december 23, 1980) is an 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. o'malley is currently performing the role of king george iii in the first u.s. national tour of hamilton, following his nine-month tenure in the role in the show's broadway company at the richard rodgers theatre.