A University of Oklahoma alumnus is returning to the Sooner State this month as part of the national tour for the musical “Fiddler on the Roof.” This is the second national tour for Gray Randolph since graduating from OU.
Randolph plays in the ensemble and also has a role as the bookseller Avram. Randolph said working as a professional actor in musical theatre can be challenging, but that his time at OU helped pave the way.
“There’s so many different things that I learned at OU that I’ve come to attribute my success to currently,” Randolph said.
Randolph praised his dance and ballet teachers for giving him a foundation that has served him well as a professional.
“When I moved to New York, going into dance auditions, I felt confident in myself as a trained dancer,” he said.
He also praised the rigor and preparedness demanded for acting roles at OU.
After graduating in 2017, Randolph performed in productions in New Orleans and his hometown of Austin, Texas, before moving to New York City in 2018. The skilled performer landed a role in the national touring production of “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” in 2018; he followed it up this year by landing a role in “Fiddler on the Roof.”
“They gave me the space to work as a serious actor within the musical theatre world,” Randolph said. “The sense of hard work, going through a four-year program at OU, prepared me to make it in New York.”
While he’s in Oklahoma, Randolph will return to campus to teach a class at OU. For students hoping to make their way in musical theatre, Randolph offered some advice.
“The best advice is to know yourself the best you possibly can,” Randolph said.
OKC Broadway will present the Tony-award nominated Broadway revival of “Fiddler on the Roof” from Sept. 24 to 29 at the Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker, Oklahoma City.