Andrew Rannells Honors His Theater Roots With A Chilling Musical Performance

The "Girls" and "Black Monday" actor is among of bevy of stars featured on composer Joe Iconis' new album, due out June 17.
Andrew Rannells appears on "Album," theater composer Joe Iconis' forthcoming 44-track record.
Andrew Rannells appears on "Album," theater composer Joe Iconis' forthcoming 44-track record.
via Associated Press

Andrew Rannells made hearts swoon as Lena Dunham’s gay bestie on HBO’s “Girls” and put a satirical spin on 1980s Wall Street as the star and producer of Showtime’s “Black Monday,” but his heart has always belonged to the stage.

The Nebraska native left an indelible imprint on Broadway 11 years ago as Elder Price in the smash musical “The Book of Mormon,” for which he received a Tony Award nomination. Next month, he returns to his musical theater roots with a chilling performance of “Kevin,” a track featured on composer Joe Iconis’ starry new album.

Iconis, a 2019 Tony nominee for “Be More Chill,” gave HuffPost a peek at the recording process with the below video, showing Rannells at work in the studio.

Watch a clip of Andrew Rannells performing “Kevin” below.

“Joe not only writes a hell of a hook in his songs, his lyrics are so complex and rich that it gives the performer a wild amount of depth to play in,” Rannells, whose other Broadway credits include “Falsettos” and “The Boys in the Band,” told HuffPost. “The story of his songs are always surprising and never quite end the way you think they will.”

“The arc of the song is really fun to play as an actor,” he added. “Musically, it’s just a joy to sing, the way it builds to such a frantic pitch. I love how you can just unleash yourself by the end of the song.”

Rannells is among many theater stars, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Krysta Rodriguez and Aaron Tveit, to be featured on Iconis’ forthcoming album.

Simply titled “Album” and due out June 17 on Ghostlight Records, the 44-track collection features material from “Be More Chill,” as well as his lesser-known musicals “Love in Hate Nation” and “Broadway Bounty Hunter,” along with never-before-heard tracks.

A New York native, Iconis told HuffPost he got the idea for “Album” in spring 2020, shortly after theaters and other performance spaces were closed to curb the spread of COVID-19.

"I liked the idea of connecting a great many people during a time when no connection seemed possible," Iconis said of "Album," due out June 1
"I liked the idea of connecting a great many people during a time when no connection seemed possible," Iconis said of "Album," due out June 1
Bennett Raglin via Getty Images

“I liked the idea of connecting a great many people during a time when no connection seemed possible,” he explained. “I also liked the idea of releasing something that is the opposite of how most people consume media in 2022, which is in bite-sized chunks.”

Later, Iconis praised Rannells as a “charismatic, surprising” artist whose textured performing style made him an ideal match for “Kevin,” which was first written 11 years ago.

“He’s blessed with these gorgeous, wholesome looks, and I think it’s to his credit that he’s made a career of playing complicated, unusual characters whose behaviors are often in conversation with their appearance,” the composer said of Rannells.

“Some musical theater performers have great voices and can deliver dialogue, but acting while singing doesn’t happen. Andrew is not that. He gives you the same nuanced, developed performance when he is singing as he does when he’s in a scene.”

Iconis will celebrate the release of “Album” with a June 22 concert at the Bourbon Room in Los Angeles. In July, he returns to New York for a series of shows at Manhattan nightspot Feinstein’s/54 Below.

In August, he’ll head west once again to produce a workshop of his latest project, “The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical,” at the La Jolla Playhouse near San Diego, California.

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