Rory James O'Malley (born December 23, 1980, in Cleveland, Ohio) is an Irish-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 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 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. (Picture: Rory O'Malley and Gerold Schroeder)

In October 2008, he appeared alongside Colin Donnell and Laura Osnes in the then Broadway-bound musical Pride and Prejudice as Charles Bingley, at the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, New York.

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.




Gerold Schroeder and Rory O'Malley

He appears as 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.

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.

O'Malley also participates in the Dustin Lance Black play, '8', a chronicle reenactment of the federal case that overturned California's Proposition 8.

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:"Since 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, DC 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!"

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.

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.

In 2011, O'Malley was named a Givenik Ambassador.

In 2012, O'Malley and his boyfriend Gerold Schroeder were featured in a GAP ad, cheek to cheek, with the caption "BE ONE."

O'Malley is a graduate of Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio. He then went on to attend Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for a BFA in acting and musical theatre.

Openly gay, he 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." He currently resides in New York City with his boyfriend. O'Malley remains good friends with Book of Mormon co-star and former college roommate Josh Gad.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rory_O%27Malley

Further Readings:

The Book of Mormon: The Testament of a Broadway Musical by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Newmarket Press; annotated edition edition (December 4, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062234943
ISBN-13: 978-0062234940
Amazon: The Book of Mormon: The Testament of a Broadway Musical

Hello. I would like to share with you the most amazing book.

In celebration of the making of The Book of Mormon, the authors, production team, and entire original cast recount their experiences as they grew their show from the initial idea to opening night on Broadway. With the complete book and lyrics annotated by the full creative team and cast, along with more than 700 photographs and illustrations, they share the journey that began one night in a Manhattan bar and culminated seven years later in the achievement that is The Book of Mormon.

More LGBT Couples at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Real Life Romance


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