Listen to his latest single and learn about the projects he has in the works
College of Charleston graduate Manny Houston is working on a project that includes the single “Go Me!” The singer, dancer, and classical piano player made his Broadway debut in Illinoise this summer.
Manny Houston doesn’t have a Wikipedia page yet, but he will soon, and it will be lengthy. The singer, rapper, and dancer made his Broadway debut this summer in the Tony Award-winning Illinoise and is on tour this month with Rockapella (most famous for its theme song to Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?). In between, Houston returned to Charleston for November to co-lead (with singer Heather Rice) Pure Theatre’s production of The Last Five Years.
Before landing the role in Illinoise, Houston rapped with Lin Manuel-Miranda as a cast member for the Las Vegas production of Freestyle Love Supreme and played a lead role in the off-Broadway farce, Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation. It’s an extensive resume for the 30-year-old from Greenville who landed at the College of Charleston in the classical piano program. He moved from concert halls to the stage when singer Quiana Parler invited him to back her up as a rapper and dancer at wedding gigs.
In early 2024, Houston released his second EP, young black peter pan (the battle), followed by the single, “Go Me!,” the first song from his upcoming project, “Manny’s House Party.” But this year, he also suffered the unexpected death of his father, who moved his family from Alabama to Ohio, Georgia, and finally Greenville, while pastoring various congregations, always working at Papa Johns on the side. That example fostered a work ethic in Houston and his four younger siblings that’s evident in the body of work he’s created in the first decade of his career.
Here, Houston shares how his experiences as a young Black man in South Carolina shape his art, from performing on Broadway to two in-the-works original musicals.
(Left to right) Most recently, he starred in Pure Theatre’s production of The Last Five Years with local singer Heather Rice; Houston is working on a project that includes the single “Go Me!”; In January, Houston performed at the Breaking Sound showcase of emerging artists at Adults Only in Los Angeles.
Childhood Influences: I was homeschooled, so my community consisted of older Black adults and the Mexican families in the trailer park next to where we lived. Bolero music came on at sunset and went all night. I grew up in poverty but then went to a basically all-white charter high school.
When Sunday Comes: The most segregated day in America is Sunday, and that legacy runs deep in Charleston. The week after the murders at Mother Emanuel AME, I was playing in church and a white guy in a baggy jacket came in. Everybody tensed up. You could have heard a pin drop. Two older ladies started praying out loud. The man was sitting in the back, and people couldn’t see him. Nobody wanted to be sitting in front of him. It was so visceral. The play [When Sunday Comes] explores everybody’s thoughts that morning.
Young Black Peter Pan: It’s an Afro-surrealist, satirical story where the cops are pirates and the activists are the Lost Boys. I put out a four-song EP and a short film, but it’s a larger project that I’m turning into a musical.
Performing on Broadway: I was the understudy for the character of the piano player and singer who sort of carries the story of the show [Illinoise]. It was like being the backup quarterback. I performed 13 times—a good bit for a lead role—including shows during Tony Award-voting season.
Life on Stage: “There’s No Business Like Show Business” is one of the realest songs ever. You can get a call that your grandma died, and you still have to take a bow and smile. I went through a heartbreak during Illinoise, and then my boy Quentin Ravenel [a prominent Charleston drummer] was killed, and then our stage manager got hit by a train and died during the show’s run. You still have to get up there and make a positive impact on the audience.
On Losing His Father: It’s changed everything: who I am, my personality, my beliefs, how I spend my time. He believed that ministry was his calling, and he was so focused on church that he missed a lot of my life. I forgive him for that.
Raising Vibrations: We live in a very dark world. Whether I’m in a bar or on a Broadway stage, my job is to use the vibrations coming out of my body to shift other people’s vibrations and lift them up. In that way, I do feel like I’m carrying on my father’s legacy.
Listen Up: Hear Manny Houston’s single “Go Me!” from his upcoming “Manny’s House Project”
