Taylor Hunt Trensch (born May 3, 1989) is an American stage and film actor.

Early life and education

Trensch was born in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. He began his education at

Howard W. Blake High School Howard W. Blake High School is a public magnet high school, with an emphasis on the arts, in Tampa, Florida, United States. It is operated by the School District of Hillsborough County. Originally opened in 1956 as a school for African-Americans, ...

in Tampa, Florida. He was an acting major and studied under Eric Davis. During his senior year, Trensch, representing Blake's Troupe 5742, was awarded the "Most Outstanding Performer" award from the Florida State Thespian Society. Trensch graduated in 2007. He then was accepted to Elon University's musical theatre program and attended for two years.

Career

In the summer of 2008, Trensch was in the summer repertory company at the Lake Dillon Theatre in

Dillon, Colorado The Town of Dillon is a home rule municipality located in Summit County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,064 at the 2020 United States Census, a +17.70% increase since the 2010 United States Census. Dillon is a part of the Bre ...

, performing in '' The Rocky Horror Show'', '' Little Shop of Horrors'', ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story ...

'', ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

'', and '' Rabbit Hole''. In 2009 during his sophomore year, Trensch was cast as Moritz Steifel in the national tour of '' Spring Awakening'' and took an academic leave from 2009 to 2010. For his portrayal of Moritz, Trensch won the 2009 ''

Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...

'' Ovation Award for Best Supporting Actor in a National Touring Production. Trensch then appeared as "Dwayne Hoover" in William Finn and James Lapine's new musical comedy ''

Little Miss Sunshine ''Little Miss Sunshine'' is a 2006 American tragicomedy road film and the feature film directorial debut of the husband–wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by first-time writer Michael Arndt. The film sta ...

'', at the La Jolla Playhouse

Mandell Weiss Theatre The Mandell Weiss Theatre is located on the campus of the University of California San Diego in La Jolla, California. The Center houses La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the Univ ...

in early 2011. Trensch made his Broadway debut as Boq in the Broadway production of ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * ''Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' ser ...

'' from January 24, 2012 through April 22, 2012, replacing Etai BenShlomo. Trensch also performed in the role of "Peter" in the off Broadway production of '' Bare'' from November 19, 2012 through February 3, 2013 at New World Stages. In early October 2012, Trensch was cast as "Gordon & Others" in the off Broadway production 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 ...

'' at New World Stages from May 2012 through the September 9, 2012 closing. On April 11, 2013, he opened as Michael Wormwood in the original Broadway production of ''

Matilda the Musical ''Roald Dahl's Matilda'', simply known as ''Matilda'' or ''Matilda the Musical'', is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin and a book by Dennis Kelly, based on the 1988 novel ''Matilda'' by Roald Dahl. The musical's narrative c ...

'' (previews began on March 4, 2013) and remained in the role through June 8. 2014. Trensch played the lead role of Christopher Boone in select performances, sharing the role with

Alex Sharp Alexander Ian Sharp (born 2 February 1989) is an English actor. He is known for originating the role of Christopher Boone in the Broadway production of ''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time''. After graduating from the Juilliard ...

, in the original Broadway production of ''

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time ''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'' is a 2003 mystery novel by British writer Mark Haddon. Its title refers to an observation by the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes (created by Arthur Conan Doyle) in the 1892 short story ...

'' opening at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on October 5, 2014 and remained in the role until September 12, 2015. In 2015, the show won 5 Tony Awards, including the award for "Best Play" and "Best Actor in a Play." In January 2016, Trensch was featured in the world premiere of Samuel D. Hunter's ''Clarkson'' at the Dallas Theatre Center. Later that same year in July, he played the role of Tyler Clementi in the world premiere of Craig Carnelia and Joe Tracz's ''Poster Boy'' at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Trensch read the role of "Jack" in the reading of the screenplay for the movie version of ''

''. Trensch was cast as Barnaby Tucker in the Broadway revival of '' Hello, Dolly!'' that began previews March 15, 2017, and opened on April 20 at the Shubert Theatre. He left the show on January 14, 2018, along with fellow co-stars,

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

David Hyde Pierce David Hyde Pierce (born April 3, 1959) is an American actor and director of stage, film and television. He starred as psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, and won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Screen ...

, and Beanie Feldstein. On February 6, 2018, Trensch took over the titular role of Evan Hansen in ''

Dear Evan Hansen ''Dear Evan Hansen'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Steven Levenson. The musical follows Evan Hansen, a high school senior with social anxiety, "who invents an important role for himself in a t ...

'' at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway. He played 2 performances in the show prior to officially taking over the role. He left the production on January 27, 2019 and was replaced by

Andrew Barth Feldman Andrew Barth Feldman (born May 7, 2002) is an American actor and singer. He began his acting career in musical theater by participating in local productions as a child. After winning the award for Best Actor at the National High School Musical T ...

. Beginning November 5, 2019, Trensch has been appearing opposite Ed Harris in ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

'' as Dill Harris. He currently holds the record for most Broadway shows at the Shubert Theatre. Trensch also appeared on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

's Nella the Princess Knight. Trensch appeared as Sweet William in ''Bleeding Love'', a musical podcast, which premiered its first episode on April 23, 2020.

Personal life

Trensch is openly gay. He has been in a relationship with his former ''Dear Evan Hansen'' costar,

Ben Levi Ross Benjamin Levi Ross (born January 15, 1998) is an American stage actor and singer. He is best known for his work in the Tony Award winning musical ''Dear Evan Hansen,'' where he played Evan, Connor and Jared (understudy) on Broadway and Evan in t ...

, since December 2017.

Theatre credits

•

Television/Film credits

Discography

Cast recordings

* ''

'' – Original Broadway Cast Recording (2013) * '' Hello, Dolly!'' – 2017 Broadway Cast of ''Hello Dolly!'' (2017) * ''

'' eluxe Album– Original Broadway Cast Recording (2018)

Singles

* "Disappear (Acoustic)" (2018) * "Obvious" (2018)

As featured artist

* ''Drafts: The Music and Lyrics of Alexander Sage Oyen, Vol. 1'' (2012) * ''Bare Naked'' by Lynne Shankel (2017) * ''ALBUM'' by Joe Iconis (2022)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trensch, Taylor 1989 births 21st-century American male actors American male musical theatre actors American male stage actors American people of German descent Elon University alumni American gay actors American gay musicians American LGBT singers LGBT people from Florida Living people Male actors from Florida Male actors from Tampa, Florida 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people