Kenny D'Aquila
KENNY D’AQUILA (ACTOR/PLAYWRIGHT, LIBRETTIST, LYRICIST) Originally from Old Saybrook, Connecticut, Kenny D'Aquila made his mark as Grantaire in the critically acclaimed production of Les Misérables directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird at the Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles. Later, D'Aquila was featured as Grantaire in the International Cast Album of Les Misérables with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. D'Aquila has appeared in plays both on the New York and Los Angeles stage, including Found a Peanut, Unorganized Crime, Uptown, Broadway Scandals of 1928, and the rock opera Mozez. As a playwright, D'Aquila's first play, Uptown, opened to rave reviews in Los Angeles under the direction of Jeff Seymour. The play was nominated for the Best New Play by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and won eight Drama-Logue Awards, including Best New Play. D'Aquila also drew acting raves, winning a Drama-Logue Award for Best Actor. D'Aquila's screenplay, Not Before Me, based on his play Uptown, was purchased by Concord/New Horizons with D'Aquila attached to star. D’Aquila's next play, Unorganized Crime, caught the eye of Oscar nominee Chazz Palminteri, who went on to star in the play opposite D’Aquila and Tony nominee, Elizabeth Rodriguez, at the Elephant Theatre in Los Angeles. The world premiere won critical acclaim and played to standing-room-only crowds. D’Aquila partnered with Palminteri to create and write a new version of Unorganized Crime for television. The pilot episode, directed by two-time Academy Award winner Nick Vallelonga (Green Book), has won over thirty-five film festival awards and is presently streaming on Amazon Prime. D’Aquila’s latest play, In the Key of Dee, is a story about love, loss and music. This hauntingly universal piece of theatre utilizes Joel Spineti’s original music in a way not seen since Peter Shaffer's Amadeus. Keith David is currently attached. D’Aquila and Spineti recently put the finishing touches on Bats on the Moon, a new musical. The story follows the trials and tribulations of Richard Locke, a writer and journalist who created the great moon hoax of 1835. Bats on the Moon was recently one of six new musicals chosen to be presented at the 2023 Florida Festival of New Musicals, June 22-25 at the Winter Park Playhouse in Winter Park, FL.
D’Aquila and Spineti recently put the finishing touches on Bats on the Moon, a new musical. The story follows the trials and tribulations of Richard Locke, a writer and journalist who created the great moon hoax of 1835. Bats on the Moon was recently one of six new musicals chosen to be presented at the 2023 Florida Festival of New Musicals, June 22-25 at the Winter Park Playhouse in Winter Park, FL.