Wikipedia

Blake Allen

Blake Liahona Allen (born July 21, 1988 in Tucson, Arizona) is an American composer and viola player who is most known for writing Insomnia—which debuted at Carnegie Hall— and The Shards of an Honor Code Junkie, music directing the 2019 revival of Over Here!, writing the theme song for the talk show Doris Dear's Gurl Talk, and appearing on Shade: Queens of NYC.

Blake Allen
Birth nameBlake Liahona Allen
Born (1988-07-21) July 21, 1988 (age 36)
Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Occupations
  • Composer
  • Violist
  • Music Director
Websitewww.blakeallen.org

Early life and education

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Blake Liahona Allen was born in Tucson, Arizona on July 21, 1988, the fourth child of pianist Marsha Allen (née Wilcox) and San Allen, an engineer and chief operating officer for Winchester Electronics. His family moved to St. Petersburg, Florida shortly after his birth, then to Gainesville before eventually settling in El Paso, Texas, where he spent most of his youth.[1] He grew up a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was in the viola sections of both the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and Las Cruces Symphony while attending Franklin High School.[2]

Allen studied viola performance at Brigham Young University and worked at the Primrose International Viola Archive at Lee Library.[citation needed]

Career

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Allen was artist-in-residence at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in 2014 and was principal of the Little Orchestra. He has played with the New York Pops.[3] He was Rob Fisher's music assistant from 2012 til 2022.[citation needed]

Allen joined the cast of Shade: Queens of NYC at its inception in October 2017, as Blake Allen, the then-spouse to Marti Gould Cummings. The series documents the daily reality of lives as Manhattan drag queens.[4] In the series, Allen also music directed, arranged, and performed in several episodes culminating in the album A Very Marti Holiday,[5] an album of Christmas music featuring Daphne Rubin-Vega,[6] Cady Huffman, and Lesli Margherita to raise money for the Ali Forney Center.[7]

In December 2017, Allen premiered a musical, The Shards of an Honor Code Junkie, starring Alison Fraser, Teal Wicks, Kristy Cates, Hannah Cruz, and Michael Lowney. The musical was inspired by a friend's suicide while he was a sophomore in college.[8][9][10] After the sold-out world premiere of shards in 2017 as a benefit concert for The Trevor Project, Allen's classical-crossover score was picked up by No Reverse Records to be released in July 2021 as a storybook album.[11]

Allen was one of nine composers[12] and lyricists[13] involved with the Off-Broadway musical Folk Wandering,[14] which premiered in March 2018.[15]

In 2019, Allen won the 2019 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Award for Best Recurring Series for his "An Evening With... Series"[16] as well as the award for Best Special Event (Solo) for Marti Gould Cummings's Marti & The Cummers while being nominated for Best Musical Director and Best Independent Album, for his An Evening With..., Vol. 1[17] The same year, Allen won the 2019 GLAM Award for Best Cabaret for his work with Tina Burner on Witch Perfect[18] at Club Cumming with fellow performers Bootsie Lefaris and Tammy Spenks.[19] In 2020, Allen won Best Arrangement of the Decade for Mack the Knife[20] and was nominated for My Funny Valentine, Best Musical Director, and Best Recurring Series for An Evening With... Series.[21] Allen also performed at Birdland with Lortel and Drama Desk Award winner Kuhoo Verma[22] in early 2020.[23]

Allen produced, music directed, and orchestrated the 2019 Off-Broadway revival of Over Here! at the Triad Theatre with Will Nunziata directing.[24][25] The show starred Debbie Gravitte, Jessica Hendy, Haley Swindal, and Nikka Graff Lanzarone.[26]

Allen also wrote a one-act play, Kelly [1955] based upon the Kelly-Hopkinsville Encounter, which premiered at the Hudson Guild Theatre in March 2019 and also starred Jessica Hendy.[27]

In 2020, Allen was an artist in residence at the Kimmel Nelson Harding Center for the Arts in Nebraska City, Nebraska,[28] after which he released his album Sonatas on Earth Day 2020.[29] The album features music which premiered at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It debuted at #4 on the Billboard charts Classical, where it stayed in the top 10 for two weeks.[30]

At the height of the 2020 Pandemic, Allen wrote Livin' the Dreamboat with lyricist Claire Tran for the Astoria Performing Arts Center in Astoria, Queens.[31] Also in 2020, Allen wrote the theme song and incidental music to Doris Dear's Gurl Talk, a weekly lifestyle show on Broadway on Demand.[32] Allen was music director for the Doris Dear Christmas Special, which featured Tony Nominee Karen Mason.[33]

Allen's Insomnia was developed for Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall and premiered November 8, 2022.[34][35] The piece was written and performed by Jeanna de Waal, Cree Carrico, Argus Quartet, and Christopher Koelzer. The album was released on No Reverse Records in 2024 featuring the Carnegie Hall cast. [36]

Allen wrote Farmyard Follies with Tina Burner. The show debuted in 2023 in Provincetown at the Crown & Anchor and was filmed for a forthcoming documentary feature.[37] The show had been in development for three years before its debut. Allen and Seeber collaborated for several years on cabaret shows, including releasing two full-length albums and the Christmas single "I'd Rather Be Naughty Than Nice". Allen and Seeber were nominated for a 2021 MAC Award for Best Recording (LaMott Friedman Award) for their album and tour Maybe This Time.[38] They collaborated for seven years on the international hit Witch Perfect based upon Disney's Hocus Pocus (1993 film) including winning the 2020 GLAM Award for Best Cabaret.[39]

Shortly after Allen received his PhD from NYU in spring of 2024, Allen began work with librettist Will Nunziata on an operatic adaption of Virginia Woolf's 1931 novel The Waves. [40]

Personal life

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Allen moved to New York City in 2011 and married New York City Council candidate and drag artist, Marti Gould Cummings in 2016.[41]

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2017 Shade: Queens of NYC Himself; music arranger Supporting Role
2018 Mozart in the Jungle Audition musician
2020 Doris Dear Gurl Talk Composer
2020 The Doris Dear Christmas Special Music director; composer
2021 In the Know Dragged [42] Himself; Emma Tallgal
2024 Conversion Composer Album producer

Theatre

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Year Production Role Venue Ref(s)
2017 The Shards of an Honor Code Junkie Composer; Lyricist; Book Writer Metro Baptist Church [10]
2018 Folk Wandering Composer; Lyricist; Musician Pipeline Theatre Co. [43]
2019 Kelly [1955] Playwright; Composer Hudson Guild Theatre [27]
2019 Over Here! Revival Music Director; Arranger Triad Theatre [44]
2020 Livin' the Dreamboat Composer; Orchestrator Astoria Performing Arts Center [45]
2022 Insomnia Composer; Lyricist Weill Recital Hall [46]
2023 Farmyard Follies Composer; Lyricist; Book Provincetown, MA [37]

Discography

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Title Details Peak chart positions
Billboard Classical Billboard Cast Album iTunes Classical iTunes Top 100 iTunes Vocal Amazon Classical
A Very Marti Holiday
  • Release date: 2017
  • Label: Cowboy Bear Ninja & Blake Allen
An Evening With..., Vol. 1
  • Release date: 2019[47]
  • Label: Traguna Productions & Blake Allen
  • Nominated for Best Album at 2019 BroadwayWorld Awards.[48]
Sonatas
  • Release date: 22 April 2020 (Earth Day)
  • Label: Traguna Productions & Blake Allen
 4[30] 1[citation needed] 40[citation needed]
One Thing Is For Certain (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  • Release date: 4 February 2021
  • Label: Traguna Productions & Blake Allen
Tina Burner Maybe This Time
  • Release date: 20 March 2021
  • Label: Tina Burner[49]
 2[citation needed]
The Shards of an Honor Code Junkie
  • Release date: September 17, 2021
  • Label: No Reverse Records
 12[citation needed] 2[citation needed] 78[citation needed] 1[citation needed]
Conversion (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
  • Release date: June 2, 2024
  • Label: Chronicle Cinema & Blake Allen
Insomnia
  • Release date: August 9, 2024
  • Label: No Reverse Records
 3[citation needed] 1[citation needed] 99[citation needed]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2006 National String Orchestra Award Won [citation needed]
2019 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards Best Recurring Series An Evening With... Won [17]
BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards Best Special Event - Solo Marti at Lincoln Center Won
BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards Best Musical Director An Evening With... Nominated
BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards Best Independent Album An Evening With... Vol. 1 Nominated
GLAM Awards Best Cabaret With Perfect Won [50]
GLAM Awards Best Cabaret Marti at Lincoln Center Nominated
2020 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards Best Arrangement Mack the Knife Won [20]
BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards Best Arrangement My Funny Valentine Nominated
BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards Best Musical Director Over Here!; An Evening With...; Witch Perfect Nominated
BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards Best Recurring Series An Evening With... Nominated
BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards Best Special Event - Multiple Over Here! Nominated
2021 Telly Awards Online Scripted Web Series Doris Dear's Gurl Talk Silver [51]

References

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  1. ^ "On Point With: Blake Allen". Thotyssey. March 1, 2021. Archived from the original on August 24, 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Blake Allen". IMDb.[failed verification]
  3. ^ "Meet the Music Team | Pipeline Theatre Company". 14 December 2016.
  4. ^ New Series Looks at the 'Hustle And Sacrifice' of NYC Drag Queens - "Shade: Queens of NYC" examines the less glitzy side of Manhattan's drag stars, October 3, 2017[unreliable source?]
  5. ^ Crowley, Patrick (November 3, 2017). "Gay Agenda, Nov. 3: Scissor Sisters' Ana Matronic & Jake Shears Go Solo, Plus Sam Smith, Kim Petras & More". Billboard.
  6. ^ Gans, Andrew (October 31, 2017), Lesli Margherita, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Cady Huffman Featured on A Very Marti Holiday Album
  7. ^ TV, BroadwayWorld. "BWW Exclusive: Listen to Marti Gould Cummings & Daphne Rubin-Vega Duet on A VERY MARTI HOLIDAY Album!". BroadwayWorld.com.
  8. ^ BWW News Desk. "Blake Allen's The Shards of an Honor Code Junkie Moves to Metro Baptist Church". BroadwayWorld.com.
  9. ^ Gans, Andrew (October 25, 2017). "Alison Fraser, Teal Wicks Set for New Musical That Shines Light on LGBTQ Suicide". Playbill.
  10. ^ a b "New Musical "Shards Of An Honor Code Junkie" Tackles Gay Mormons, Suicide". LOGO News.
  11. ^ Mosher, Stephen. "BWW Interview: Ashley Kate Adams And Mitchell Walker of NO REVERSE RECORDS". BroadwayWorld.com.
  12. ^ Clement, Olivia (March 2, 2018). "Watch the Cast of Folk Wandering Perform 2 Songs From the New Musical". Playbill.
  13. ^ "Pipeline Theatre Company's Folk Wandering Opens Off-Broadway". www.theatermania.com. March 5, 2018.
  14. ^ Clement, Olivia (March 4, 2018). "Folk Wandering Musical Opens Off-Broadway". Playbill.
  15. ^ "Folk Wandering | Pipeline Theatre Company".
  16. ^ Matsuki, Sue (January 27, 2019). "Blake Allen's An Evening With...Series". Archived from the original on June 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Winners Announced for 2019 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards".
  18. ^ Patrick, Bobby. "BWW Review: With WITCH PERFECT Club Cumming Shows Us Which Witch is Which for Halloween". BroadwayWorld.com.
  19. ^ "21st Annual GLAM Awards - The Art of Being Queer". TAOBQ. February 12, 2020.
  20. ^ a b "Winners Announced for the 2020 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards". www.broadwayworld.com.
  21. ^ BWW News Desk. "Just 3 Weeks To Vote For The 2020 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards!". BroadwayWorld.com.
  22. ^ "Lucile Lortel Winners 2020".
  23. ^ "The Lineup with Susie Mosher". March 4, 2020.
  24. ^ "Conference Call: "Over Here!" at The Triad: Will Nunziata, Blake Allen, Debbie Gravitte, Jessica Hendy, and Haley Swindal". Call Me Adam.
  25. ^ Ridge, Richard. "OVER HERE! - Back with the Beat at The Triad". BroadwayWorld.com.
  26. ^ Gans, Andrew (October 28, 2019). "Tony Winner Debbie Gravitte Joins Concert Presentation of Over Here!". Playbill.
  27. ^ a b podcasters, Omny Studio is the complete audio management solution for; Stations, Radio. "Bagels and Broadway 3-9-19 - Bagels and Broadway with Valerie Smaldone - Omny.fm". omny.fm.
  28. ^ "Blake Allen in Residency at KHN". KHN Center for the Arts. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  29. ^ "Blake Allen Announces Release of SONATAS". KHN Center for the Arts. May 10, 2020.
  30. ^ a b "Traditional Classical Albums Chart". Billboard. September 19, 2020.
  31. ^ Kaye, Jacob (May 13, 2020). "Astoria Performing Arts Center to debut six musicals about the COVID-19 crisis – QNS.com". qns.com.
  32. ^ Mosher, Stephen. "BWW Review: DORIS DEAR'S GURL TALK Walks The Walk... In Six Inch Heels". BroadwayWorld.com.
  33. ^ "Doris Dear's Gurl Talk Broadway Tickets". NYC.com.[failed verification]
  34. ^ "Interview for Insomnia featuring Jeanna de Waal and Blake Allen to play Carnegie Hall". 6 November 2022.
  35. ^ "Jeanna de Wall to Lead World Premiere of Insomnia".
  36. ^ "Blake Allen's Insomnia to receive recording". Broadway World. July 15, 2024.
  37. ^ a b "Cock-A-Doodle-Doo Farmyard Follies Makes Its Debut in Provincetown". Provincetown Magazine. 21 September 2023.
  38. ^ "MAC AWard Nominee Maybe This Time".
  39. ^ "2020 Glam Award Winners List".
  40. ^ Zamansky, Natan (November 5, 2024). "New Blake Allen Will Nunziata The Waves in Development".
  41. ^ Cut, the (June 8, 2020). "'The Next Thing I Remember, I'm on the Ground.'". The Cut.
  42. ^ Pellot, Emerald (January 19, 2021). "Marti Gould Cummings gives their husband a retro-inspired drag makeover". In The Know.
  43. ^ Collins-Hughes, Laura (March 5, 2018). "Review: 'Folk Wandering,' a Wistful Musical Full of Story and Searching". The New York Times.
  44. ^ "1974 Broadway 'Over Here' in Concert at The Triad Theater". Theater Pizzazz. November 12, 2019.
  45. ^ "Astoria Performing Arts Center | FOTV". www.fiveohm.tv.
  46. ^ Wiltbank, Michael (November 9, 2022). "See Jeanna de Waal, Cree Carrico, More Celebrate the World Premiere of Blake Allen's Insomnia". Playbill.
  47. ^ BWW News Desk. "Tennessee Waltz And More Featured On An Evening With... Series Debut Album!". BroadwayWorld.com.
  48. ^ B. W. W. Staff. "Just Two Weeks Left To Vote for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards". BroadwayWorld.com.
  49. ^ Tina Burner Releases Covers, BroadwayWorld
  50. ^ "21st Annual GLAM Awards".
  51. ^ "Doris Dear's Gurl Talk Wins Silver Telly Award".
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