Chris McCarrell

Chris McCarrell, born January 9, 1991, is an American actor and singer who grew up in Aurora, Ohio. His father, Bernie McCarrell, taught wood shop in Ravenna, Ohio, and his mother, DeAnna McCarrell, worked as a guidance counselor in Aurora City Schools. McCarrell attended University School, an all-boys private high school in Hunting Valley, Ohio. Shortly before his freshman year, he attended a party for the school's retiring headmaster at which alumni working in the performing arts performed. On the drive home that evening, he told his parents he wanted to pursue musical theatre, and he has identified that night as the moment he decided to become an actor.

McCarrell went on to study musical theatre at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music, where his university credits included roles such as Phil in Wild Party, Lewis in Pippin, Mark in Rent, J. Bruce Ismay in Titanic, Anthony in Sweeney Todd, and Gabe Goodman in Next to Normal. He graduated in 2013. Shortly after, he began working professionally in regional theatre, taking lead roles in Summer of '42 and the original production of Bubble Boy. Later that year, he was part of the cast for a concert of 35MM at 54 Below on October 7, 2013, alongside performers including Lauren Pritchard, Lesli Margherita, and Zachary Levi.

McCarrell's Broadway career began with the 2014 revival of Les Misérables. He initially auditioned for the role of Marius Pontmercy but was subsequently called back to read for the student role of Joly, which he was hired to play while also understudying Marius. On March 3, 2015, he officially replaced Andy Mientus in the role of Marius, performing at the Imperial Theatre until the production closed on September 4, 2016. Also in 2014, he appeared as Lost Boy Nibs in the NBC television special Peter Pan Live!, which aired on December 4 of that year.

Outside of his theatrical engagements during this period, McCarrell performed a sold-out solo concert at 54 Below on June 1, 2015, and returned to the same venue on December 7, 2015, for a show titled Christmas Carols with Chris McCarrell.

Following the close of Les Misérables, McCarrell originated the title role of Percy Jackson in The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, which ran at the Lucille Lortel Theatre from March 23 to May 6, 2017. He reprised the role at a sold-out concert at The Green Room 42 on August 28, 2017, and later performed Percy Jackson on a 2019 national tour before bringing the character to Broadway in the production's Broadway run in late 2019 and early 2020. His Broadway career thus spans from 2014 to 2019, encompassing his work in both Les Misérables and The Lightning Thief.