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Cedric Leiba Jr is an award-winning stage, film and television actor, singer, poet, dancer, writer, producer and advocate.
He is frequently invited to speak at conferences on the topics of inclusivity/diversity and is currently listed on the roster of experts for the U.S. Speaker Program at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Cultural Affairs.
He has toured the U.S. and Canada with theatrical productions of Rent and Miss Saigon as well as performed at the prestigious Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in a production of Carmen la Cubana.
His most recent engagement was at The Muny in the role of Chino in West Side Story. He was also engaged as the Dialect Coach for the production ensuring authenticity for the portrayal of the Puerto Rican characters. His relationship with the iconic musical also includes being featured on the film soundtrack of Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story.
Adding to his list of theater and TV credits, Cedric was the Associate Choreographer at Manhattan Class Company (MCC) Theatre’s production of Bees & Honey and he made his prime time episodic NBC debut in the final season of The Black List.
Cedric’s TV/Film credits include HBO’s High Maintenance, Fashion One Television’s The Switch and movies Millie and the Lord, Elliot Loves and the lead role of Manny in the 2020 Tribeca Nominated Best Narrative Short Gets Good Light. On September 30, 2022, Cedric was part of history by being included in Billy Eichner’s BROS released by Universal Pictures which became the first gay, rom-com, with an all LGBTQI cast, produced by a major studio.
In 2020, Cedric reached the milestones of releasing original music under his singer/songwriter name Ceddy and founding DominiRican Productions, a production company, with his fiancé Pierre Jean Gonzalez.
The Advocate selected Cedric and Pierre as “Champions of Pride” in recognition of their mission with DominiRican Productions to create opportunities for Afro-Latinx and Indigenous Latinx representation in TV and film in the rooms making the casting decisions, in the writers’ rooms, on-screen and in the director’s chair.
Good Morning America similarly included Cedric and Pierre in their “Inspiration List” of people making LGBTQ+ history. Nominated by Nicco Annan, who wrote, “They remain collaborative visionaries that continue to create for those who so often don’t see themselves on stage or the big screen. Their projects illuminate a part of our community that deserves more light. Two promising trailblazers bringing healing and much-needed conversations.”
DominiRican Productions was selected to feature “Rhythm Is Gonna Get Who?” in the Latino Film Market Festival, the BiteSize Film Festival and won Best LGBT Short Film at the Uruvatti International Film Festival. Along with “Rhythm Is Gonna Get Who?”, “release,” an experimental short inspired by Cedric’s poem of the same title, was selected for Queer 2 Queer Fest, BiteSize Film Festival, Cherry Groves Archive Collection Film Festival and received an Honorable Mention at the London Seasonal Short Film Festival. “release” won Best NYC Film at the NYC Downtown Film Festival, the Gold Award at the Hollywood Gold Awards, Best Experimental Short at the Fargo Moorhead LGBT Film Festival, Best Experimental Short at the Uruvatti International Film Festival and Best Experimental Film and Best LGBT Film at the Florence Film Awards.
Cedric has performed regionally and Off-Broadway in such houses as The Public and The Old Globe, and has been favorably reviewed by The New York Times in Goodspeed’s La Cage Aux Folles, New Haarlem Arts’ Sweet Charity and The Lucille Lortel’s Yellow Brick Road. A proud Afro-Boricua, Gay artist, Cedric is an ensemble member of Pregones/PRTT as well as Bombazo Dance Company where he showcases his Afro-Latinx roots as well as represent the LGBTQ+ community through his art.
A 2023, 2022 and 2021 Featured Poet in the Latino Book Review, Cedric received a Bachelor of Music from Stetson University and a MFA from The Boston Conservatory. Cedric was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico and currently resides in New York City.
@ceddynyc
Reviews
GETS GOOD LIGHT, Tribeca Film Festival and NAACP Nominated Short
“She gets great performances from her actors, Cedric Leiba Jr. especially stands out.”
“Cedric Leiba Jr. and Jessica Pimental, in particular, shine as the married couple who have faced down everything in their past to be the loving couple they are today.”
HBO’S HIGH MAINTENANCE, Season 3, Episode 7 “DONGLE”
“But seventh episode “Dongle” deserves special mention for its exquisitely understated performances and pacing as Oscar (Cedric Leiba Jr.), a newly emigrated construction worker, develops a crush on nearby bodega worker Angel (Juan Torres-Falcon). We’d gladly watch these two in a miniseries spin-off.”
“There are a lot of nice, subtle shades in the characterization of Oscar and his world here, and it’s done quite deftly while still maintaining the overall light tone of the episode.”
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, Jacob- Goodspeed Opera House
“Cedric Leiba, Jr. is funny as the butler-maid….he gets to register a real feeling in his drag-show debut.”
“Rarely have I seen an actor take charge in such a relatively small role, continually stopping the show with his hilarious line-readings and gloriously funny acting, and I must mention that, at the performance I was at, Cedric Leiba, Jr. got the biggest ovation at the curtain call.”
“Cedric Leiba, Jr. is terrific as Jacob, the butler/maid. Leiba and Ruggiero has made him utterly outrageous without letting him go so far over the top that he becomes annoying. It is controlled excellence.”
“Leiba is a comedy genius in this deliciously comic role, and plays it to the hilt.”
“Every time Leiba comes onstage, you can sense the crowd grinning, gearing up to laugh at his latest sassy comeback or waggish facial expression.”
CARMEN LA CUBANA, Tato- Theatre du Chatelet
“Managers,Tato ( Cedric Leiba ) and Rico (Tony Chiroldes)…pulled out of a Disney film..”
SWEET CHARITY, Vittorio Vidal- New Haarlem Arts Theatre
“…a charming, buff Cedric Leiba, Jr.”
“Cedric Leiba, Jr. strikes the right preening notes as Vittorio Vidal.”
YELLOW BRICK ROAD, Mountain Lion- Lucille Lortel
“Cedric Leiba, Jr. is a crowd favorite as a pint-sized lion….”