By day, he helps viewers members discover their seats. By evening, he’s onstage, commanding them. For actor Tyrone Huntley, the hustle is a part of the position in Los Angeles.
Lower than 48 hours after elevating his voice to the heavens as Simon within the Hollywood Bowl’s electrical, weekend-only manufacturing of “Jesus Christ Celebrity,” Huntley was again on the iconic amphitheater — not below the lights, however beneath them — carrying a white polo and usher’s badge, guiding concertgoers to their seats.
“It was surreal getting again to work and being on the opposite aspect of the stage,” Huntley stated, overhearing individuals speak concerning the early August present days later. “They didn’t know who I used to be, so I used to be simply listening and smiling and figuring out that we actually made an impression.” Even advertising employees on the Bowl seen, posting him on TikTok in a clip seen by some 30,000 viewers to date.
Tyrone Huntley, heart, performs as Simon in “Jesus Christ Celebrity” on the Hollywood Bowl, alongside Cynthia Erivo as Jesus, left.
(Farah Sosa)
Huntley is one in every of many working actors caught between ambition and survival. As movie and TV manufacturing within the area drops to historic lows, many business staff have turned to service jobs or aspect gigs to remain within the leisure capital. The area’s slowdown has been brutal: the dual strikes of 2023, studio belt-tightening, productions lured out of state and wildfires that shuttered work this yr. The result’s fewer auditions, shorter runs and a scramble for survival jobs — even for performers who’ve simply taken heart stage.
The U.Ok.-born actor is aware of each side. Educated at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, Huntley leaped instantly right into a U.Ok. tour of “Sister Act” — alongside his future co-star Erivo — spending greater than a decade in London unique casts comparable to “Memphis,” “Dreamgirls” and “The E book of Mormon.”
Coincidentally, his breakout position got here in 2016 when he landed the co-lead as Judas in “Jesus Christ Celebrity” at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. The efficiency earned him an Night Normal Theatre Award and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination. “It gave me the arrogance to suppose huge,” Huntley stated. He later reprised Judas on the North American tour in 2021 after the earlier lead was arrested for his position within the Jan. 6 rebel on the Capitol.
Huntley moved to Los Angeles in 2022 with a watch on the silver display screen however discovered himself arriving in a metropolis nonetheless wobbling. “Artistically, it simply seems like everyone seems to be struggling,” he stated. For the final three years, Huntley’s flown forwards and backwards to London — most lately for an acclaimed “Good day, Dolly!” revival with Imelda Staunton — utilizing regular West Finish paychecks to bankroll life in L.A. And being a member of Actors’ Fairness Assn., the stage actors’ union within the U.S., helps cowl medical insurance prices right here, not a consideration he might have within the U.Ok. the place protection is free.
Tyrone Huntley stands in his usher uniform in entrance of the stage the place only a few weeks earlier he performed Simon alongside Cynthia Erivo’s Jesus in “Jesus Christ Celebrity.”
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Occasions)
For actors like Huntley, the monetary backdrop is tough to disregard. California practically scrapped its new Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund, which subsidizes nonprofit applications, this yr earlier than lawmakers restored it. L.A. County trimmed again its arts grants, forcing small theaters to do extra with much less. And in Washington, the Trump administration has moved to roll again federal arts funding, leaving some native firms with out essential Nationwide Endowment for the Arts assist.
Decided to remain in L.A., Huntley auditioned for the Bowl’s “Jesus Christ Celebrity” 2025 manufacturing, this time as Simon Zealotes, the fiery apostle with one of many present’s most rousing anthems. The casting was headline-making: Erivo, contemporary off “Depraved,” as Jesus, and Adam Lambert as Judas. The manufacturing was hailed as “the musical theater model of the Avengers,” with theater critic Charles McNulty praising the supernova of expertise that lit up the Bowl like a rock live performance.
Just a few months earlier than opening evening, Huntley picked up usher shifts on the similar venue. The Bowl granted him three weeks off for rehearsals in July, the place he additionally understudied as Erivo’s Jesus. He additionally acquired day off to fly again throughout the pond for a collection common spot on Channel 4’s upcoming “A Lady of Substance.” He described working on the Bowl as truthful, easygoing work that retains him near dwell efficiency, with the added perk of watching Bob Dylan, Earth, Wind & Fireplace, and the L.A. Phil. “They know loads of us are working actors, musicians, writers, so that they’re very versatile in giving us time to pursue our careers,” he stated.
One spotlight of working as an usher is that Tyler Huntley will get to see acts like Herbie Hancock carry out on the Hollywood Bowl.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Occasions)
On the Bowl, ushers carry out the invisible choreography that retains the evening in movement — steering picnic baskets and seat cushions towards the correct rows and soothing the occasional ticket snafus or crises. It’s frequent for the ushering job to be summer time gigs — and even first jobs. There are anyplace from 300 to 400 ushers for the season, with greater than 100 working per evening.
Huntley sees his twin roles as emblematic of the lifetime of an artist right here. “I’ve to assist myself, that’s the case for many of us, particularly in L.A.,” he stated. “Generally you may have a correct job and do the appearing as properly. It’s not all showbiz events and award exhibits. Generally unbelievable alternatives come alongside, you do them, and you then get again to regular. You are able to do each — and the stress isn’t at all times to be on the stage.”
