Austin P. McKenzie (born August 24, 1993) is an American actor and singer, known for his role as Melchior Gabor inDeaf West Theatre's 2015 Broadway revival ofSpring Awakening.^[1] His performance as Melchior garnered significant critical acclaim, and multiple theatrical award nominations, for both Los Angeles runs and its run on Broadway.^[2][3]

McKenzie grew up inMesa, Arizona. When he was young, he wanted to become a music minister, even though his family did not regularly attend church.^[4]

Starting at age fifteen, McKenzie spent six summers assisting at asummer camp for children and adults with mental and physical disabilities called Lions Camp Tatiyee. The camp was his first contact with people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and inspired him to enroll atColumbia College Chicago, where he studiedAmerican Sign Language and Childhood Education with the intention of becoming aspecial educator.^[5] He graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor's degree in American Sign Language and Vocal Performance.^[6]

During high school, McKenzie had a casual involvement in the arts and was involved with some theatre, but did not see it as a possible career.^[7]

Soon after graduating from Columbia College Chicago, McKenzie sent a tape to directorMichael Arden and the creative team atDeaf West Theatre, with hopes of obtaining a job as an interpreter during the company's ASL-inclusive run ofSpring Awakening. However, the Deaf West team saw his potential, and requested he audition for the leading role in the production—the radical atheist Melchior Gabor. He was given the role, and began rehearsing for the show in mid-2014.^[8] At first, McKenzie was the only member of the hearing cast that was able to effectively communicate with their deaf and hard-of-hearing cohorts, thanks to his training in ASL.^[9] Deaf West'sSpring Awakening originally performed at a 99-seat theatre off ofSkid Row in Los Angeles, California, from September 14, 2014, to November 9, 2014. It was McKenzie's professional theatre debut.^[10]

In 2015, the production was rebooted at theWallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills with the additions of cast membersAndy Mientus as Hanschen Rilow,Krysta Rodriguez as Ilse Neumann,Alex Boniello as the voice of Moritz Stiefel, andAlex Wyse as Georg Zirschnitz. McKenzie reprised his role as Melchior. McKenzie and the rest of the cast were highly acclaimed by critics, receiving many nominations and wins forOvation Awards, including his Best Leading Actor in a Musical nomination. The show ran from May 21, 2015 to June 14, 2015.

In the mid-summer of 2015, it was announced that the production would transfer toBroadway with its current cast for a limited engagement at theBrooks Atkinson Theatre. McKenzie made his Broadway debut on September 8, 2015, and stayed with the production through its closing on January 24, 2016.^[11] The show ran two weeks past its intended run due to its positive reviews, and garnered threeTony Award nominations including Best Revival of a Musical.^[12][13]

In addition to theatre, McKenzie has appeared on both the big and small screen. In 2015, he appeared in a one-episode, guest-starring role in the television seriesThe 101.

He starred in the feature filmSpeech & Debate, adapted from the hit 2007off-Broadway playof the same name by Tony-winning playwrightStephen Karam and released by Sycamore Pictures and Vertical Entertainment on April 7, 2017. McKenzie stars as one of three leads as the character of Howie, an openly gay teenager alongsideSarah Steele, who also starred in the original off-Broadway premiere ofSpeech & Debate andLiam James. The film features three misfit students in high school who are frustrated with the hypocrisy they see in their parents and school staff. Together, they try to revive an extinct school debate club to face the situation in which they find themselves. A number of theater names includingDarren Criss andLin-Manuel Miranda cameo in the film andKristin Chenoweth sings an original song.^[14][15]

In 2017, McKenzie starred in the ABC miniseriesWhen We Rise, created byDustin Lance Black andGus Van Sant. He portrays the youngLGBT activistCleve Jones in the period piece, which chronicles the struggles of LGBTQ people who helped pioneer an offshoot of thecivil rights movement in the 20th century.

McKenzie identifies as bisexual.^[16] He has been in a relationship with actorKevin McHale, whom he met while filmingWhen We Rise,^[17] since 2016.^[18]

• Austin P. McKenzie at theInternet Broadway Database
• Austin P. McKenzie atIMDb 
• Austin P. McKenzie onTwitter
• Austin P. McKenzie onInstagram

• 1993 births
• Living people
• American male stage actors
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• American gay actors
• People from Mesa, Arizona
• LGBTQ people from Arizona
• Theatre World Award winners
• American Sign Language interpreters
• 21st-century American LGBTQ people

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