RYAN GONZÁLEZ

Ryan González (they/them) is a true triple threat non-binary performer with a career in cabaret, film and theatre. Currently performing as Fighting Prawn in Peter and the Starcatcher tour, after reprising their Sydney Theatre Award winning role of Usnavi in In The Heights for the Sydney Opera House. Recently, they originated the role of Dave in the world premiere of Zombie! The Musical and toured as Santiago in Moulin Rouge! The Musical Australia.

Ryan performed the role of Roy in Sydney Theatre Company’s Co-Production of Fun. Home, appeared as Gabriel in Melbourne Theatre Company’s Kiss of the Spider Woman and featured in To Barbra With Love Australian Tour with Make My Mark Productions & Live Nation Australia.

In 2018 Ryan starred as Frankie Valli in international blockbuster musical, Jersey Boys, receiving a Greenroom Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical.

They stunned as drag artiste Freddy in The View Upstairs Hayes Theatre Co, and took over the role of Charles Guiteau in Assassins for the Sydney Opera House. For Sydney Symphony Orcheastra they played Eddie Ryan in Funny Girl in Concert and featured as a soloist in the Bernstein Songbook Series. In 2015 Ryan birthed their debut cabaret show ¡Hispanic Attack! performing in most major cities across Australia.

Credits: Mike in Velvet Rewired (Adelaide Fringe), Angel in Kinky Boots (MCG), Wayne Burns/Ensemble, cover Scott Hastings in Strictly Ballroom the Musical (Global Creatures), King Kong Live on Stage (Global Creatures), the Australian tour of Legally Blonde (GFO), Virgil in Violet (Hayes Theatre) and Carmen (Opera Australia). Albums: Zombie! the Musical Original Cast Album, Australian concept album Dubbo Championship Wrestling. Film Credits: Happy Feet Two directed by George Miller, The Great Gatsby directed by Baz Luhrmann and Australian film Goddess. Creative Credits: Resident Choreographer for Gypsy (Hayes Theatre), Associate Choreographer for Young Frankenstein (Hayes Theatre) and Associate Choreographer American Psycho (Sydney Opera House). 

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER

Australian Tour 2024 - 2025
Catch Ryan in this Australian Premiere touring to Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

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STRICTLY BAZ LUHRMANN

Sydney Opera House 2025
See Ryan in concert celebrating the music of Baz Luhrmanns greatest films. Playing only in Sydney.

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IN THE HEIGHTS

Sydney Opera House 2024
Ryan reprised their Sydney Theatre Award winning role of Usnavi.

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VOGUE AUSTRALIA

The December Issue 2022
Moulin Rouge! The Musical Australia

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TO BARBRA WITH LOVE

Toured Australia with ‘To Barbra With Love’ celebrating Streisand’s legacy.

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MOULIN ROUGE! The Musical

Toured Australia as ‘Santiago’ in Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

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As Long As They Need Me

Watch Ryan’s Cover from “Rewired” a concert by Hayes Theatre Company 2021.

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IN THEIR OWN SKIN

Read Ryan’s feature in Limelight Magazine, July Edition 2024.

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DNA MAGAZINE

The January Issue 2023
On Babs, Being Non-Binary And Nude Beaches.

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The stand-out for me was Ryan Gonzalez. Covering several roles – as well as different versions of their primary character – Gonzalez demonstrated an impressively diverse range. Their combination of zombie physicality and oversexed R&B bravado in ‘Into Your Brains’ was disturbing and amusing in equal measure. And, whether they were a supporting player or the focal point of a scene, their ability to balance comedic outrageousness with subtle details was captivating. Although they already have plenty of theatre credits under their belt, this performer is certainly one to look out for in future.

World Premiere Zombie! The Musical 2024 - Siriol Dafydd
Also deeply impressive are Tim Omaji and Ryan Gonzalez, who as Toulouse-Lautrec and Santiago, deliver a valuable sense of emotional authenticity, for a tale that is essentially about the plight of struggling artists of the bohemian underground. Omaji’s quiet rendition of “Nature Boy” and Gonzalez’s blistering version of “Bad Romance” are frankly unforgettable and in their divergent ways, transcendent.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical 2022 - Suzy Wrong, Suzy Goes See
Strength, power and control are hallmarks of the slick backed, dark-haired, moustachioed Gonzalez.

To Barbra With Love 2022 - Alex First, The Blurb
Chief among them is Usvnavi , whose corner shop is a neighbourhood hub. Ryan Gonzalez is so compelling in the role that you doubt it could be done better. *They infuse* the character with likable warmth and a rare (for musicals) three-dimensionality, while carving up the singing, the dancing and especially the rapping.

In The Heights 2018 - John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald
Gonzalez is a bona-fide star as Frankie, with a supple voice that delivers all the falsetto you could want, and a sensitivity that sells the story beyond what’s written in the script.

Jersey Boys 2018 - Cassie Tongue, Time Out
Ryan Gonzalez may have a less flashy part than the almost caricatured one afforded to MacDonald, but *they* also shoulder most of the dramatic weight of the production, as Valli is the only member of the quartet into whose tumultuous personal story we significantly delve, outside of life on the road. *They do* not disappoint either, bringing a much-needed sensitivity to the potentially unsympathetic figure of a largely absentee father with failed relationships and some degree of culpability for the personal tragedies which ensue. One also cannot undersell the considerable musical requirements of a performer to actually approximate the real Frankie Valli’s vocal range, including making those famous falsetto refrains sound terrific as opposed to ear-bleedingly screechy. That’s to say nothing of also having the onstage charisma and sweet dance moves that all have to come together in one performative package. Gonzalez deserves every bit of the spontaneous applause *their* first entrance received on opening night.

Jersey Boys 2018 - Jack Teiwes, Australian Stage
In the role of Dave, Ryan Gonzalez presents the most endearing zombie one could ever meet, with a pizzazz that is, well, to die for.

World Premiere Zombie! The Musical 2024 - Suzy Wrong, Suzy Goes See
Ryan Gonzalez is the powerhouse leading *player*, impressive at all the facets required of a musical performer. *Their* Usnavi is a warm, charismatic and persuasive character, whose narrative moves us purely because of the talents displayed on stage by Gonzalez. Whether singing, rapping, dancing or acting, we devour all that *they offer* up so thoroughly flawlessly.

In The Heights 2018 - Suzy Wrong, Suzy Goes See
Depsite the equal sharing of narration, the structure of Jersey Boys allows Frankie Valli to naturally emerge as the star, as Frankie has the final “season,” when the singer goes on to become a legend in his own right. To say that Ryan Gonzalez fulfills this aspect of the role would be a massive understatement. Despite all the talent of *their* co-stars, Gonzalez somehow melts their memory away as the show tightens its focus on Frankie. Gonzalez gives a masterclass in understated acting, bringing the audience to *them* so strongly that you could have heard a pin drop when Frankie’s darling daughter Francine passed away. Gonzalez nails Frankie’s sky-high vocal range with seemingly effortless ease, also performing the choreography with debonair flair. This is a sensational star turn that is a key attraction of the current season.

Jersey Boys 2019 - Simon Parris, Man In Chair