Broadway star Joe Aaron Reid is currently making his London theatre debut as Benny in In The Heights at the King’s Cross Theatre.
Last year Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara AlegrÃa Hudes' musical transferred to the King’s Cross Theatre following its UK premiere at the Southwark Playhouse in 2014. Directed by Luke Sheppard with choreography by Drew McOnie, In The Heights has extended its run several times.
Joe‘s Broadway credits include: Stephen in IF/THEN alongside Idina Menzel, Fred Casely in Chicago, Ronnie Driscoll in Curtains, understudy Willie Lopez in Ghost The Musical, ensemble in Catch Me If You Can and understudy Howard in Finian's Rainbow.
His off-Broadway credits feature: Daniel in Once On This Island, Howard in Finian's Rainbow, The Tin Pan Alley Rag, Kismet, Why We Tell the Story and Lines. Joe’s U.S. regional theatre credits include: Gaby in On The Town (5th Avenue Theater), Gymnasia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Williamstown), understudy Coalhouse in Ragtime (Paper Mill Playhouse), Ronnie Driscoll in Curtains (Ahmanson Theatre) and Munkustrap in Cats (Northern Stage).
In addition, Joe appeared in both seasons of U.S. musical drama Smash and played DJ Shaggy in Jerry Mitchell's workshop of Legally Blonde The Musical. I recently spoke to Joe about what makes In The Heights a dream job, the differences between working in New York and London plus his experiences with IF/THEN, Smash and more.
In The Heights marks your London theatre debut, how did your casting come about?
I moved here last March; a friend put me in touch with an agent and I was auditioning for a couple of shows. I actually booked another show that ended up getting cancelled (Stardust Road). Two days after I found out it was cancelled I had an audition for In The Heights, I think they had been re-casting for quite some time and I was brought in when it was final call backs. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason because the other show was only supposed to run for a couple of weeks whereas In The Heights was going to run for a month… but it has kept extending and extending. It has been a blessing, for sure!
