ATHENS, Ohio — Going from Athens to the bright lights of Broadway is quite a journey — and for Rhys Carr, this recently became a reality. Carr, a graduate of Athens High School and Ohio University, is currently touring as part of the ensemble in their first Broadway production, “Moulin Rouge!”
“I think I always saw this for me,” Carr said. “Doing “Moulin Rouge” on this stage, in the way that I’m doing it, it feels right, and it feels like this is exactly where I meant to be.”
Carr said their journey toward performing on Broadway reflects the extent to which their upbringing in the Athens community theater and dance scene paid off.
Some of those experiences came from performing with Ohio Valley Summer Theater.
“Around 11 or 12, I did about six shows with them, and then I ended up doing ‘Spring Awakening’ my senior year with ABC Players, and those are some of the best experiences of my life,” Carr said.
Carr also took voice and dance lessons, specifically mentioning the support of their voice teacher Melissa Brobeck and dance instructor Christi Moore. Moore worked with Carr since they were 13 and started training at Factory Street dance studio, all the way through their time at OU.
The dance studio “was a really safe environment for me to learn dance and to learn dance technique, and to fail and to thrive and be around friends that make it feel like it’s just the most fun thing ever,” Carr said.
They graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Ohio University as part of the first class of OU’s musical theater track within its theater performance degree program.
Carr said that one standout performance at OU was when they played Anatole Kuragin in “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812,” a musical based on the novel “War and Peace.”
“I wasn’t sure if it was my time to be able to play a principle and a romantic love interest — specifically, a romantic love interest that’s pursuing a woman. And receiving that role was a very big acting challenge that I was afraid of and that I initially did not see myself in,” Carr said.
However, “upon receiving it, I saw ways that I fit into it and it became clear to me that I’m more capable than what I think I am,” Carr said.
Car also co-founded Vibrancy Theater, a BIPOC-led student organization at OU.
“Its goal is to uplift BIPOC voices and decolonize theater, because it can be a very colonized white space sometimes,” they said. “Getting to be a part of a legacy like Vibrancy, and getting to do the Vibrancy shows while I was there, was really special to me.”
These experiences didn’t just help Carr professionally, but also supported them personally.
“My time at OU also really helped me understand my gender identity as a gender nonconforming performer,” Carr said. “It can sometimes feel really challenging, and at OU, I was able to really understand myself and learn about myself and go through phases of like, ‘who am I?’”
Moulin Rouge
Just two years after graduating, Carr made their way to Broadway. They are currently touring with “Moulin Rouge!” as part of the ensemble and a backup for the character Pierre.
The show earned 13 Tony Award nominations in 2020, its opening season. It won 10, including Best Musical.
One of those winners was Sonya Tayeh. “I’ve been following her for a little bit, even before ‘Moulin Rouge!’” Carr said. “And the way that she choreographs movement, and the way that she sees movement is remarkable.”
“Moulin Rouge!” is a jukebox musical, blending original songs with familiar pop songs.
“I’ve done a lot of shows that are very specific with what their style is, and it’s pretty much one or two things — like a ballet show, or like a musical theater jazz show, or a ’60s kickball chain groovy show,” Carr said. “But never anything like this.”
In addition to enjoying the dancing and music, Carr said they are also grateful to be part of sharing the story.
“Life can be very difficult and very challenging, and getting to just get lost in this world of this story that is not true, but can feel true to a lot of people, it feels really nice,” Carr said. “And it’s nice, because I get to offer that to other people.”
Carr said strangers often approach them, “and they’re like, ‘That was the best show I’ve ever seen. I really needed to see that today. That was really healing.’”
“It’s a full circle moment, because I feel like theater has helped me to heal in a lot of ways,” Carr added. “I feel like it’s helped me to feel comfortable with who I am, and I felt like I found a home in it.”
Carr said their journey to performing on Broadway would not have been possible without their local theater, music and dance experiences, and the support of their family.
“All those dance classes, all those drives to Nelsonville for Stuart’s Opera House, for rehearsals, all of those things were leading up to this,” they said.
Their experience also stresses the need for local arts funding, Carr added.
Art is “something that we all need, whether we know it or not, whether it’s a song on Spotify, whether it’s your favorite TV show or whether it’s the graphic design of a book that you saw,” they said. “There’s a lot of joy that can be found and discovered, and I don’t think we should deprive ourselves of that. So fund the arts, fund the arts, fund the arts.”
Dani Kington contributed to this story.
