Levi Kreis (born November 4, 1981) is an American actor and singer from

Oliver Springs, Tennessee Oliver Springs is a town in Anderson, Morgan, and Roane counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its population was 3,231 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Harriman, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Roane Coun ...

. In 2010, he won a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

for playing

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

in ''

Million Dollar Quartet "Million Dollar Quartet" is a recording of an impromptu jam session involving Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash made on December 4, 1956, at the Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. An article about the session ...

''.

Career

Music

Kreis's debut album, ''One of the Ones'', was released on November 17, 2005 and was accompanied by an appearance on a special

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

's edition of ''

The Apprentice ''The Apprentice'' is a Reality competition, reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States. Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with variou ...

''. Four hopefuls were chosen from thousands of submissions. The two teams had a challenge to write, record, produce and package an artist for ''XM Cafe''; Kreis and his team won the challenge. He followed his debut album with ''The Gospel According to Levi'', confronting religion and its unhealthy views on sexuality, specifically as it relates to the LGBT community and conversion therapy (Kreis did six years with

Exodus International Exodus International was a non-profit organization, non-profit, interdenominational ex-gay Christianity, Christian umbrella organization connecting organizations that sought to "help people who wished to limit their homosexual desires". Founded ...

). In 2009, Kreis won the OutMusic Award for his song "Stained Glass Window", a song inspired by the

Del Shores Delferd Lynn Shores (born December 3, 1957) is an American film director and producer, television writer and producer, playwright and actor. Biography The first play Shores wrote was ''Cheatin which premiered in 1984 in Los Angeles at The MainS ...

play '' Southern Baptist Sissies''. In addition to Kreis's early musical activism, his compositions have been featured on ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'', '' Young and the Restless'', ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...

'', ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ope ...

'', ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

'', ''

Mob Wives ''Mob Wives'' is an American reality television series that premiered on VH1 on April 17, 2011. The show focuses on the lives of several women residing in the New York City borough of Staten Island, whose family members and husbands have been arr ...

'', and films ''

The War Room ''The War Room'' is a 1993 American documentary film about Bill Clinton's campaign for President of the United States during the 1992 United States presidential election. Directed by Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker, the film was released on D ...

'' and '' Kiss the Bride''. Kreis has settled into the southern soul genre and released an EP, "Bad Habit", on March 20, 2020.

Acting

Kreis was cast in the role of Roger in the national tour of ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

''. He next starred in '' Don't Let Go'' starring

Katharine Ross Katharine Juliet Ross (born January 29, 1940) is an American film, stage, and television actress. Her accolades include one Academy Award nomination, one BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. A native of Los Angeles, Ross spent most of he ...

and Scott Wilson. He also played opposite

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...

with the role of Adam Meiks in

Bill Paxton William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and filmmaker. He appeared in films such as '' Weird Science'' (1985), ''Aliens'' (1986), ''Near Dark'' (1987), '' Tombstone'' (1993), ''True Lies'' (1994), '' Apollo 13 ...

's directorial debut '' Frailty''. Kreis was part of the original cast of '' One Red Flower: Letters from 'Nam'', a musical based on the book '' Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam''. The musical was written and directed by

Paris Barclay Paris K. C. Barclay (born June 30, 1956) is an American television director, producer, and writer. He is a two-time Emmy Award winner and is among the busiest single-camera television directors, having directed nearly 200 episodes of television ...

. The producers of ''One Red Flower: Letters from 'Nam'' later sought Kreis to portray

in the

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

''. On June 13, 2010, he received the

for "Best Featured Actor in a Musical" for the role. He also won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, along with a Drama League nomination. Kreis left the show in March 2011 following an injury. Other notable stage credits include the Tony-nominated Broadway revival of ''

Violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Viol ...

'', ''

Smokey Joe's Cafe Smokey Joe, Smokey Joe's or Smoky Joe's may refer to: Nickname * Joe Barton, Texan Congressman, nicknamed "Smokey Joe" for defending industries against pollution controls * Smokey Joe Baugh (1932–1999), American rockabilly musician * Happy Finne ...

'' at

Arena Stage Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest, Washington, D.C. Established in 1950, it was the first racially integrated theater in Washington, D.C. and its founders helped start the U.S. regional theater movement. It is ...

, and ''

Pump Boys and Dinettes ''Pump Boys and Dinettes'' is a musical written by a performance group of the same name. The group, Pump Boys and Dinettes, consists of John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel and Jim Wann. The members directed and star ...

'' at The

Village Theater A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

. Kreis was involved in the development of the musicals ''

Mozart, l'opéra rock ''Mozart, l'opéra rock'' ("Mozart, the rock opera") is a French musical with music by Dove Attia, Jean-Pierre Pilot, Olivier Schultheis, William Rousseau, Nicolas Luciani, Rodrigue Janois and François Castello, lyrics by Vincent Baguian and Pa ...

'' and '' Get Jack''. He starred as Pastor Jimmy Ray Brewton in the film '' A Very Sordid Wedding'' (2017) and as Tom Cutler in the film '' The Divide'' (2018). Beginning in October 2021, Kreis starred as narrator

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...

in the first US national tour of ''

Hadestown ''Hadestown'' is a musical with music, lyrics, and book by Anaïs Mitchell. It tells a version of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Eurydice, a young girl looking for something to eat, goes to work in a hellish industrial underworld ...

''.

Personal life

In the May 2010 edition of ''The Rage Monthly'', a

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

gay lifestyle magazine, Kreis answered questions from the author Bill Biss about

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

, saying:

I think it was the first of many moves toward me dispelling what I call the illusion of limitation. To think that opportunities become limited because of anything such as sexuality, age, race, etc, is to not have faith in the absolute support the universe has in our creative expression. It's like telling God that He is incapable! It's like telling me that there is something wrong with me. I can't subscribe to any of this anymore. I believe nature even teaches us that all life supports itself, and that very support is ours to the degree we believe it to be. I believe that God is all-supportative, all-good and there is no opposition to that. To live in this space, own whom you are and step into life with this level of authority and faith is how I hoped to live ever since I released that first CD and came out.

Kreis is a licensed spiritual practitioner through the

Centers for Spiritual Living The Centers for Spiritual Living, or CSL, is a spiritual philosophy promoting Religious Science that was founded by Ernest Holmes in 1926. Before 2011, it was two organizations known as United Centers for Spiritual Living (formally, United Church ...

and launched a podcast called ''The Church of Kreis'' in March 2020, focusing on the law of attraction and practical self-improvement. He is married to classical-crossover artist Jason Antone .

Discography

*"One of the Ones" (2005) *"The Gospel According To Levi" (2007) *"Bygones" (2008) *"Where I Belong" (2009) *"Live @ Joe's Pub" (2011) *"Imagine Paradise"(2013) *"Broadway at the Keys" (2017) *"Liberated" (2018) *"Home For The Holidays" (2018) *"Three Words" - Single (2019) *"Faith" - Single (2020) *"Bad Habit" (2020)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kreis, Levi American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American pop pianists American male pianists American male pop singers American male stage actors Singers from Tennessee American LGBT singers LGBT songwriters LGBT people from Tennessee American gay actors Living people 1973 births American gay musicians Male actors from Tennessee Songwriters from Tennessee People from Oliver Springs, Tennessee 21st-century American singers 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male singers 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people American male songwriters