ABOUT GLENN SEVEN ALLEN
Banging his sippy cup and spoon in his highchair as a baby in Atlanta, Georgia, a young Glenn Seven Allen loved to bellow out one or two-vowel melodies. Singing was in his soul. Reared in an urban commune that his parents named “Home Inc.” to provide a shelter for lost and wayward souls, Glenn always had an audience.
Leaving the South at age three to move to his mother’s home state of Michigan, Glenn found himself nearby his grandfather for whom he was named. His grandfather--a judge and attorney-- gave Glenn a new suit and tie each Christmas (just what every little boy wants) and encouraged him to grow up to be a lawyer.
Michigan also brought Glenn close to his most cherished place on earth, his grandfather’s cottage on Mackinac Island. He has spent time there every summer since he was five months old, even producing a CD with several original songs about the island.
Like most teenagers, high school brought him joy and pain. Glenn deeply wanted to be a star basketball player, but at 6 feet he was just too short for the big leagues. He did find friendship and pleasure in performing in the high school choir and musicals, however.
When his grandfather encouraged Glenn to attend Interlochen International Arts Camp in his junior year of high school—Grandpa had attended there as a clarinet player many years earlier under John Phillip Sousa—Glenn was less than enthused. He thought he was just too cool for arts camp. He reluctantly attended, but soon discovered he loved both Interlochen and being a tenor!
His voice helped garner a small music scholarship to Miami University on Oxford, Ohio, although Glenn was certain he would minor in music and become a lawyer someday. To his surprise, his talent as a vocalist soon exceeded his interest in the law, and he transferred to the Musical Theater program at the University of Michigan the following year. His favorite role at Michigan was as the Baron in Grand Hotel. Before graduating from Michigan, Glenn picked up a cat at an Ann Arbor farm and took it to New York. A few years later, he met his future wife who dazzled him by sneaking his cat onto a plane to Washington, DC where Glenn was spending Christmas with family. They were married by his grandfather on the cottage porch at Mackinac.
Glenn went on to receive his Masters degree in Acting from the University of Washington in the Emerald City, Seattle. He now resides in New York City where he has a voice studio and performs at On-Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional theatres, and concerts. Although his son is much more interested in astronomy than theatre, Glenn's young daughter bangs her sippy cup and does a dazzling version of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” Could there be something in those genes?