by Anna Larranaga. @annalarranaga.
CINCINNATI - With a flourish of his hand, local actor and literary virtuoso Luke Marzen pressed send on one of his wittiest social media posts to date: a picture of the libretto for All Shook Up on a music stand with the caption “First day of School” followed by 40 hashtags.
“I consider myself to be a bit of wordsmith, in addition to an actor/singer/dancer/model. I’m a big fan of the bard,” said the intrepid Marzen, adjusting his fedora. “I obviously need to keep my base updated on what projects I’m doing, so I make sure to infuse each post with my signature repartee.”
Marzen’s humorous Instagram announcement of his role as Dean Hyde in Xavier University’s production of the jukebox musical is a contrast to the rest of his feed, which comprises largely of selfies and videos of him singing “Santa Fe”. Each post has approximately 14 likes and one effusive comment from his mother, who considers herself his most ardent supporter.
“He’s such a bright and talented boy,” says Marzen’s mother Cheryl, who never criticized or disciplined him during his childhood. “I’ve submitted his writings for a Pulitzer every year since he was six. He hasn’t won yet, but that’s because they don’t know good writing when they see it.”
While several of his 147 followers relish in his brilliant turn of phrase, others are not impressed.
“This is my third show working with Luke and he always does this,” says music director and jealous hack Alonzo Fitterer. “He makes such a big deal out of taking the photo and showing off the caption to the people next to him that it eats into our rehearsal time. He’s lucky he’s a tenor, otherwise I wouldn’t put up with it.”
Marzen’s other literary works include various poems written for ex girlfriends and a screenplay about a young man who is lost in life until he meets a quirky girl with bangs who teaches him to live in the moment. He expects to win the MacArthur Genius Grant later this year.