Rodney Hicks

Rodney Hicks (born March 28, 1974) is an American playwright, stage, television, and film actor. He is perhaps best known for originating the role of Bob in the Broadway musical Come from Away, as well as playing various roles in the original and closing Broadway cast of the musical Rent. Career Hicks made his Broadway debut in 1996 as part of the original cast of the musical Rent, where he originated the roles of Paul and Benjamin Coffin III. He returned to the cast of Rent in 2007 as Benjamin Coffin III, where he became the final actor to play the role before the production closed that year. His performance was recorded in Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway. In 2000, Hicks starred as Peter in revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, which ran for six months in the Lyric Theatre on Broadway. Hicks later also starred as Joe Bonaparte in the 2000 revival of Charles Strouse's Golden Boy. 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, 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. 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, who Hicks would later marry.