About Tonoccus
Tonoccus McClain could be seen hosting television shows like FOX Family’s California Summer Countdown, reporting and anchoring Channel One News, performing in Beauty and the Beast live at the Hollywood Bowl, Game of Thrones live at the LA Forum, multiple shows at the Disneyland resort, and multiple performances at the Academy Awards. He also traveled North America touring in over 2400 performances of The Lion King (Banzai u/s) for six years. He’s crossed the globe singing in countries like South Korea, Taiwan, Spain, Germany, Mexico, the Czech Republic, Argentina, China, Canada, Australia, Finland and across the Caribbean and back.
Tonoccus is the creator and star of ‘Political Hyjinx” on YouTube and his critically acclaimed one-man show “Living a Why Not Life”. He was featured in LA Opera’s Porgy and Bess at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and in the LA Master Chorale, performing at Walt Disney Concert Hall for almost a decade. He could also be heard singing on almost 50 television and film soundtracks and commercials including The Lion Guard theme song, Glee, The Good Wife, Once Upon A Time, King Kong, Avatar, A Wrinkle in Time, Smallfoot and featured in 2019’s reimagined The Lion King. And he does a mean Ms. Piggy impression.
MTG Show Credits
Fun Facts
I'm proud to be an MTG member because
Theater is important. There’s nothing like it and weep for the society that tries to manage without it. Theater is a salve for the human soul and I feel as an artist that it’s my duty to make the audience feel something. This is a guild of my brothers and sisters.
Dream Role
Coalhouse Walker in Ragtime
Favorite Role I Have Played
Banzai was a revelation. When I joined the Lion King tour, I didn’t think I could do it. I thought there was no way I could do it. It was so physical and technical and insane, I was terrified. But it became something to overcome…and I did. I learned that if I could do that thing that I never imagined possible, what else am I capable of that I never considered before? It was a beautiful discovery on so many levels for me.
My Favorite Musical
Little Shop of Horrors
Favorite MTG Show I Have Been In
Mame
Funniest / Most Memorable Thing That's Happened to Me on Stage
Waiting until the performance to get a finalized set, in a production of ‘David and Lisa’, I played David’s therapist. In a tense scene, David erupts and throws a pot of flowers at the clock on my wall. The flowers were plastic and the clock appeared for the first performance. It was made of cardboard and fashioned with wires to seemingly float in the air. (It was a very “artistic” production. Ha!) So on opening night, the actor playing David launches the plastic flower at the floating clock face for the first time….and it hits the clock like a dart thrown at a dartboard and stays rigidly put in the clock face. We both erupted into laughter with the audience. How could we not?? Funnily enough, for the second performance, it happened AGAIN and David lost it again but I was proud of myself for keeping it together. But what an experience! Could it have been sabotage?? Lol!
Languages Spoken
English
Pronouns ?Click here to learn more about personal gender pronouns and why they're important.
he/him/his
Special Skills
Singing, Jump Rope, Producing, Dialects, Character Voices, Teaching Voice, Some Dialects, Roller Skating, Studio Session Vocalist, Sight Reads Music, Southern Us, Vocal Coach, Flute, Piccolo, Various Accents, Stage Combat, Play Piano, Drums, Swimming, Bicycling, Musician, Director, Music Director, Arranger, Audition Coach