2010s While in college, Powell began to accumulate professional acting credits, playing Nikos in the musical
Legally Blonde at the
Barn Dinner Theatres. After graduation, in the summer of 2017, he appeared in
Newsies and
Mamma Mia! with the
Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and originated the title role in
Nikola Tesla Drops the Beat at the
Adirondack Theatre Festival in
Glens Falls, New York. Powell played the role of Daniel in the 2017 Broadway revival of
Once on This Island, which began previews in November 2017 and opened officially in December. Jesse Green, writing in
The New York Times called Powell's solo, "Some Girls," a "quietly sensitive rendering." Robert Hofler, in
TheWrap, wrote that Powell makes the song "the most poignant moment in this revival." TheaterMania's review deemed Powell, "charismatic and silvery-voiced." He recorded his role on the revival's cast album. Powell competed in May 2018 on the live Broadway game show,
I Only Have Lies for You. In the spring of 2018, he signed on with the New Pandemics modeling agency and modeled for Palomo Spain's and NIHL's fall 2019 lines at
New York Fashion Week. In
W Magazine, Powell notes that "[M]odeling is a new thing ... I've been basically shooting all the gay publications, which is really, really great." He models in addition to acting, and was featured in the final issue of
Hello Mr. 2020s Powell played Tony in the 2020 Broadway revival of
West Side Story. The production, directed by
Ivo van Hove, began previews on December 10, 2019, and officially opened on February 20, 2020, at the
Broadway Theatre, but closed early on March 11, 2020, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, Powell was cast in
Universal Pictures and director
Stephen Chbosky's film adaptation of
Dear Evan Hansen as new character Rhys, a high school jock. On August 29, 2021, Powell was featured in the Public Broadcasting Service (
PBS) network's aired concert for the musical
Wicked which was hosted by
Kristin Chenoweth and
Idina Menzel. Other featured artists were
Rita Moreno,
Cynthia Erivo,
Ariana DeBose,
Ali Stroker,
Amber Riley,
Mario Cantone,
Jennifer Nettles,
Stephanie Hsu,
Alex Newell,
Gavin Creel and
Gabrielle Ruiz performing many of the musical's numbers. In the summer of 2024, he starred as
Jay Gatsby in the world premiere of
Florence Welch's
Gatsby: An American Myth at the
American Repertory Theatre. He is set to appear in upcoming film
The Moment. ==Personal life==