By day, he helps viewers members discover their seats. By night time, 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 Superstar,” 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 back to work and being on the other side of the stage,” Huntley stated, overhearing individuals discuss concerning the early August present days later. “They didn’t know who I was, so I was just listening and smiling and knowing that we certainly 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, middle, performs as Simon in “Jesus Christ Superstar” 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 trade 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 12 months. The result’s fewer auditions, shorter runs and a scramble for survival jobs — even for performers who’ve simply taken middle stage.
The U.Ok.-born actor is aware of each side. Skilled 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 authentic casts corresponding to “Memphis,” “Dreamgirls” and “The Book of Mormon.”
Coincidentally, his breakout position got here in 2016 when he landed the co-lead as Judas in “Jesus Christ Superstar” at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. The efficiency earned him an Night Customary Theatre Award and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination. “It gave me the confidence to think big,” 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 rebellion on the Capitol.
Huntley moved to Los Angeles in 2022 with an eye fixed on the silver display screen however discovered himself arriving in a metropolis nonetheless wobbling. “Artistically, it just feels like everyone is struggling,” he stated. For the final three years, Huntley’s flown forwards and backwards to London — most lately for an acclaimed “Hello, 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 Superstar.”
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Instances)
For actors like Huntley, the monetary backdrop is difficult to disregard. California practically scrapped its new Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund, which subsidizes nonprofit applications, this 12 months 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 Superstar” 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 “Wicked,” as Jesus, and Adam Lambert as Judas. The manufacturing was hailed as “the musical theater version of the Avengers,” with theater critic Charles McNulty praising the supernova of expertise that lit up the Bowl like a rock live performance.
A couple of months earlier than opening night time, 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 obtained day without work to fly again throughout the pond for a sequence common spot on Channel 4’s upcoming “A Woman 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 a lot of us are working actors, musicians, writers, so they’re very flexible 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 Instances)
On the Bowl, ushers carry out the invisible choreography that retains the night time in movement — steering picnic baskets and seat cushions towards the correct rows and soothing the occasional ticket snafus or crises. It’s widespread for the ushering job to be summer season gigs — and even first jobs. There are anyplace from 300 to 400 ushers for the season, with greater than 100 working per night time.
Huntley sees his twin roles as emblematic of the lifetime of an artist right here. “I have to support myself, that’s the case for most of us, especially in L.A.,” he stated. “Sometimes you can have a proper job and do the acting as well. It’s not all showbiz parties and award shows. Sometimes incredible opportunities come along, you do them, and then you get back to normal. You can do both — and the pressure isn’t always to be on the stage.”
