Will Reynolds: Theatre as an Act of Service

To Will Reynolds, the Broadway actor and composer sharing his time as the music director for Millbrook’s upcoming winter musical, storytelling is more than just entertainment—it’s an act of service to his audiences.

Reynolds experienced the profound impact of storytelling as a service for himself early in life. As a child growing up in Chicago, he suffered from a speech impediment that made even saying his own name a challenge.

“I was raised as Billy and I changed my name to Will because Bs were too hard,” he explained. “I would get stuck.” Fortunately, Reynolds discovered acting was a way to get unstuck.

“We found that when I played pretend and played characters, my stutter went away,” he said. “There are a lot of cases like that, because it’s actually a different brain, like we’re actually slipping into a different identity. I would do these tricks in class where I would pretend to be the version of me that didn’t stutter, and I would just step into that version of me.”

That discovery and support from his parents led him to develop a professional acting career as a child.

“It was theatre that got me through that speech impediment. It was a major part of my personal development. My parents just kept looking for opportunities, and I wound up auditioning for some professional things and booking those professional things and getting an agent and then doing national commercials and voiceovers.”

Reynolds’ passion for performing never waned as he grew up. After graduating from high school, he headed to Pittsburgh, PA, enrolling in Carnegie Mellon University’s musical theater program, one of the top BFA programs in the country, where he trained alongside artists like Josh Gad, Leslie Odom Jr., and Megan Hilty. From there, he moved to New York City to pursue a theatre career, traveling the U.S. as part of the Broadway National Tour cast of “Mamma Mia!,” landing roles in movies like “Emma” and “The Good Shepherd,” and performing in a long list of theater productions, including “Passion” (directed by John Doyle), “The Illusion” (directed by Michael Mayer), and Daddy Long Legs.

In addition to performing, Reynolds is a writer and composer. His musical “The Violet Hour” (starring Jeremy Jordan and Santino Fontana), created with Eric Price and streamed over 2 million times, won a prestigious Fred Ebb Award, and he’s written songs for six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald and the Apple TV+ show “Central Park.”  Most recently, Reynolds traveled to Budapest to record new music with a 62-piece symphony.

Leaning into the belief that his art is an act of service, Reynolds also teaches theatre at Marymount Manhattan (and previously at a long list of prestigious schools, including Pace University and Molloy College/CAP 21) and runs a successful acting coaching business called Audition Breakthrough, working with aspiring performers from around the world. Somehow, he also finds time to host a monthly open mic in the Hudson Valley called Broadway in Beacon.

It was at his open mic that he met Millbrook Theater Director Elaine Lifter through mutual friend and Millbrook Dance Instructor Zoe Thomas. One thing led to another, and Reynolds fit Millbrook into his busy schedule, taking on the role of music director for Millbrook’s Winter Musical, “Matilda,” which is no small task.

“It's a big show—a lot of moving parts, a lot of big numbers,” he said. “It’s Roald Dhal so it’s dark and complex, as well as whimsical and silly, so walking that line is the fun challenge of it, for sure.”

Putting on a musical is also challenging for students. They take time out of their jam-packed academic lives to memorize dance moves, lyrics, and lines. They build full sets and learn how to run the audio and lighting. But as Reynolds noted, engaging in performing arts is valuable for every participant’s personal development, whether they’re looking to pursue acting as a career or not.

“They’ll look back on this and say, ‘A big part of growing my confidence at school was doing the musical.’ It leaves an impact, for sure. If it leaves the right impact, that’s the goal.”

Reynolds’ positive impact on Millbrook students has already transcended the theater classroom. In January, several of our young thespians stepped out of their campus comfort zone and into the bright lights of Broadway in Beacon to perform musical numbers they learned for past Millbrook productions.

Reynolds praised them for being courageous enough to share their talent with a room full of strangers. He also pointed out parallels between his popular open mic performances—during which he’s handed unfamiliar music to sight-read—and his expectations for Millbrook students’ production of "Matilda."

 “Part of the artistic journey is being willing to just push forward to the next draft of the thing and let go of the mistakes. If I keep holding onto them, that’s not helping anybody. It’s better that it happened at all than if it didn’t happen perfectly. And it’s the same thing with this. It’s better that they put on a show, whether or not it is like, ‘Broadway’s Matilda.’ It’s 'Millbrook’s Matilda,’ and that’s what we’re going to celebrate. It’s an educational experience. Theatre for young people isn’t just about putting on a show. It’s about so many other things.”

Those “other things” are a big reason Millbrook emphasizes its unique arts program. Even if a student doesn’t pursue an arts career after high school, they benefit immensely from studying art in all its mediums. And while Reynolds is guiding the cast of Millbrook’s “Matilda” to maximize their talents and put on the most entertaining show possible, he is more concerned with influencing them to do their best for the right reasons.

“I have zero expectations that anyone in the room is going to go on and do this, but working together as a team, learning how to collaborate, learning how to speak up and use your voice and be confident and just dive in and say, ‘Yes’—these are life skills. Really, it’s all about confidence. I’m hoping that is getting passed on, as well as an understanding of why theatre and storytelling matters and how it’s an act of service to the people who will be in this audience.”

That view of performing arts folds neatly into Millbrook’s overarching mission of producing consequential members of society who adhere to the school motto of Non Sibi Sed Cunctis—not for oneself but for all. Reynolds embodies Millbrook values, and we’re thrilled he found time to share his talents with our community.

“Stories are a way to safely simulate experiences so we can learn and grow from them,” concluded Reynolds. “So telling the story of ‘Matilda’ is an act of service for the students on stage as much as it is for their audience. It’s why we tell stories.”

You can enjoy the musical numbers Reynolds has been hard at work directing for Millbrook’s performances of “Matilda” on February 27 and 28, and March 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the Chelsea Morrison Theater.

Catch more of Will Reynolds here:

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