Jose Llana (born 5 May 1976) is a Filipino-American singer and actor best known for originating roles in the Broadway musicals ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childr ...

'' (1996), ''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical theatre, musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, ''The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee (author), C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway the ...

'' (2002), '' Here Lies Love'' (2023), and ''

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, with a book written by Rachel Sheinkin, created by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional ...

'' (2005), the latter for which he won the 2005

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

for Outstanding Ensemble Performance.

Biography

Born 5 May 1976, Llana, a native of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, grew up in

Springfield, Virginia Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 31,339 as of the 20 ...

, a suburb of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

After graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, Jose attended the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

to study classical voice. During his freshman year he was discovered in an audition for the 1996 Revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''

'' and made his Broadway debut as Lun Tha starring opposite Lou Diamond Phillips and

Donna Murphy Donna Murphy (born March 7, 1959) is an American actress, best known for her work in musical theater. A five-time Tony Award nominee, she has twice won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical: for her role as Fosca in '' Passion'' (1994–1995) ...

. He went on to star on Broadway as Angel in '' Rent'', Jessie-Lee in ''Streetcorner Symphony'', Wang Ta in ''

'' opposite Lea Salonga, and as Chip Tolentino in ''

'' for which he and his cast won a 2005

for Best Ensemble Performance. His Off-Broadway credits include Gabey in '' On the Town'' and '' Saturn Returns'', both at

The Public Theater The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: ...

and Adam in Falling for Eve at The York Theater. His regional theater credits include the title role in ''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

'' (Barrymore Award Nomination for Best Actor) and Tin Man Wong in ''The Ballad of Little Jo'' at the Steppenwolf Theater (Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination - Best Supporting Actor). He toured the country in Cameron Mackintosh's '' Martin Guerre'' as Guillaume which went to The Kennedy Center after originating at The Guthrie Theater. Llana has appeared on television in HBO's ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...

'', alongside

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, actress and musician. In her Stand-up comedy, stand-up routines she critiques social and political problems, especially about race and sexuality. She starred in the Ame ...

and made his commercial debut as a computer salesman for Circuit City in 1999. He appeared in the Sony Pictures 2005 feature film '' Hitch'' opposite

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

and Eva Mendes, as well as the independent film ''Unconscious''. Llana is also a best-selling recording artist in his native Philippines having recorded his debut solo album, ''Jose'', in 2004 under the VIVA Philippines label. Llana starred as El Gato in '' Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure'', which began performances on Broadway March 21, 2011 and officially opened on April 17, 2011. The production closed on May 15, 2011, after 31 previews and 33 performances. Llana has portrayed

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

(2014 Lucille Lortel Award Nomination, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical) in

David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...

and Fat Boy Slim's '' Here Lies Love'', directed by Alex Timbers, since the workshop production at Mass MoCA in North Adams, MA during the summer of 2012. '' Here Lies Love'' had its world premier production at The Public Theater in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on April 2, 2013, and was extended four times through July 28, 2013. The Off-Broadway commercial production of '' Here Lies Love'' opened at The Public Theater in

on May 1, 2014, and has performances through January 2015. Llana co-starred as Bill Sikes in The Paper Mill Playhouse production of ''Oliver!'' in December 2013. On March 12, 2015, Llana made his Lincoln Center American Songbook Concert Debut at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse in New York. On June 18, 2015, it was announced that Llana will succeed Ken Watanabe in the role of the King of Siam in Lincoln Center's Tony-winning revival of ''

''. Llana played an 11-week engagement in the role from July 14 to September 29.

Personal life

Llana was born in

and immigrated with his family to

when he was 3 years old. He is gay and is married to his partner of 15 years, Erik Rose.

Theatre credits

Selected credits

References

External links

Official Site
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Llana, Jose American tenors 1976 births Living people Filipino emigrants to the United States Filipino musicians Manhattan School of Music faculty American male stage actors American gay actors Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology alumni 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male actors 20th-century American male actors Musicians from Manila Male actors from Manila People from Springfield, Virginia Singers from Virginia Male actors from Virginia

Biography

Personal life

Theatre credits

See also

References

External links