Phillip Boykin (sometimes credited as Phillip Lamar Boykin) (born November 2, 1968) is an American bass-baritone, broadway, gospel, jazz and opera singer, film and stage actor.

Early life

One of ten children, Boykin grew up in Greenville, South Carolina. He started studies in Opera Performance at South Carolina State College before transferring to the

North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...

. He left NCSA in 1990 and moved to the

Hartt School The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford located in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, that offers degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. Founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and ...

of the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. The university attracts students from 48 states and 43 countries. The university and it ...

where he received his

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of pre ...

in Vocal Performance in 1995. He later studied toward a Master's degree in Opera and Jazz Vocals from

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

. He received the 2015 Hartt Alumni Award from The Hartt School.

Career

Boykin was nominated for the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

, as well as the

Drama Desk The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fol ...

and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as Crown in the Broadway revival of ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', it ...

'' (2012). He was awarded the Theater World Award for his Outstanding Broadway debut. Boykin was also featured in '' On the Town'' which ran on Broadway at the Lyric Theatre in 2014-2015. In 2017 he was featured in the Broadway revival of '' Sunday in the Park with George''. He made Broadway history as the first African-American Boatman/Lee Randolph in the production, which reopened Broadway's newest and oldest theater at the time, the

Hudson Theatre The Hudson Theatre is a Broadway theater at 139–141 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. One of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, the Hudson was built ...

, which played its last Broadway show in 1968. Boykin played the role of Tonton Julian in the Revival of ''

Once on This Island ''Once on This Island'' is a coming-of-age one-act stage musical with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. It is based on the 1985 novel ''My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl'' by Rosa Guy, a Caribbean-set retelling ...

'', which opened on Broadway at the

Circle in the Square Theatre The Circle in the Square Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 50th Street, in the basement of Paramount Plaza, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is one of two Broadway theaters that use a thrust stage that extends ...

on December 3, 2017 and closed on January 6, 2019. He is the founder and director of "The NYGospel Brothers", a gospel quartet that travels around the world spreading the good news. He was seen in the films '' Freedom'' (2014) starring

Cuba Gooding Jr. Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Emmy nomination. After his breakthrough role as Tre Styles in ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), he appear ...

, ''

Top Five ''Top Five'' is a 2014 American comedy film written and directed by Chris Rock. Produced by Scott Rudin and Eli Bush, the film stars Rock, Rosario Dawson, and Gabrielle Union, and follows New York City comedian and film star Andre Allen (Rock), ...

'' (2014) starring Chris Rock, and ''Easter Mysteries'' an oratorio-musical written by John O’Boyle. In 2019, he was inducted into the South Carolina Theatre Association Hall of Fame following a performance of the ''Once on this Island'' tour in his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boykin, Phillip American male musical theatre actors Living people University of Hartford alumni University of Hartford Hartt School alumni Theatre World Award winners 1968 births