Jon Viktor Corpuz on Going From Cats Living Room Performances to The King and I on Broadway

Age: 18

Hometown: Tampa, FL

Current Role: A Broadway debut as Prince Chulalongkorn, the haughty heir to the throne of Siam whose life is turned upside-down by strong-willed schoolteacher Anna (played by Kelli O'Hara) in the Tony-winning revival of The King and I.

Stage Cred: After his unofficial Broadway debut as a young Telly Leung in the Godspell cast of 2032, Corpuz appeared in The Radio City Christmas Spectacular and Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Theatre For a New Audience.

“I’ve been to Universal Studios at least 100 times. The theme parks are the best thing about living in Florida. The Mummy is my favorite ride—we had yearly passes when I was a kid, so I was one of the first people to get to ride it.”

“Cats is the first musical I ever saw, when I was six. Afterwards I got the DVD and replayed it over and over, memorizing all of the cats' line intonations and learning the steps. My sister and were always doing the ‘Macavity’ dance for our parents.”

“Kelli O’Hara winning Best Actress was the happiest moment of the Tony Awards for me. I’ve learned so much from her, both as an artist and as a person. She’s so giving and kind and amazing. All is right in the universe.”

“I just graduated high school, and I’m going to NYU’s Clive Davis Institute For Recorded Music because I want to expand my skill set and be a creative entrepreneur and a producer. Especially since I’m already getting my acting training watching Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe every night.”

“Hearing myself on a cast album is the coolest thing. It’s surreal—as a young Filipino boy I never really saw myself represented in theater, so hopefully I could be that inspiration for someone. I was that musical theater nerd. Still am. I keep it more on the down low, but I still geek out.”

“It’s funny that I’m making my Broadway debut as Prince Chulalongkorn, because I’ve played him twice before. Once in Florida when I was 12, and once in regional theater in Staten Island when I was 15. So this just feels right. Third time’s the charm!”