Whether tickling the ivories, playing a saucy siren or writing tales of soap opera love, loss and betrayal, Will Harrell shows off his knack for variety.

A native of Stone Mountain, Georgia, Will began writing songs at the age of ten. His first composition, “TV is the One For Me”, graced the stage of Hambrick Elementary School’s talent show in May, 1987. As Will focused on his songwriting, he began performing on local television, as a panel member and performer on the Atlanta cable program, Creative Options, a talk show geared towards the city’s young people.

Will’s love of television, especially that of soap opera, found its way into his compositions. His first musical, Suds (co-penned with fellow writer Lisa Gaddy), premiered in June, 1994. Later, in 1996, co-inciding with the Atlanta Summer Olympic Games, Will re-mounted a revised version of the show under his own production company, Word Up! Productions. Will found himself directing, producing and even designing this sold-out run!

Will began seeking out other performance outlets and soon began auditioning and performing in local community theatre productions. He attended Boston’s Emerson College where he earned a BFA in Acting, studying with Kristin Linklater, Andrew Borthwick-Leslie, Scott Wheeler and Marilyn Bulli.

While at Emerson, Will was selected to participate and write about his experiences in a collection of photographs and essays featuring young gay and lesbian youth, entitled The Shared Heart . The Shared Heart was commissioned by the Massachusetts Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth and toured (as a photo exhibit) high schools throughout Massachusetts as well as finding a home in all public school junior high and high school libraries in MA.

Upon graduation from Emerson, Will moved back to the southeast and began working steadily in Atlanta’s emerging theatre scene. Such memorable appearances including Neal Tilden in Theatre in the Square's production of The 1940s Radio Hour kept audiences in stitches, as well as his cameos with Atlanta Lyric Theatre’s Guys and Dolls and The Desert Song . In his spare time, he could be seen as the musical improviser for Dad’s Garage Theatre Company’s Thursday Night Micetro, accompanying many of Atlanta’s up-and-coming comedians.

In the fall of 2000, Will moved to the NYC. There, he found a new role, and one of his most popular, as drag queen Candy Samples. Performing songs such as Meatloaf’s “Two Out of Three Ain't Bad”, “I Go to Extremes” by Billy Joel or “My Strongest Suit” from Elton John’s Aida , Will, as his saucy alter-ego Candy, hosted Albatross Bar’s Friday Night Karaoke show, making it one of the most talked-about in the city, alongside fellow performer and friend, Chic. Candy was, and still is, one of Will’s most loved characters. The Diva’s Broadway-to-rock repertoire along with sharp tongue kept audiences coming back for more week after week.

Alongside writing partner, Michael Cavazos, Will penned his next musical entitled Oil! The Musical! , spoofing prime time soap opera with an eye on the Texas oil industry. TLC’s hit show, A Makeover Story featured Will and Michael, in their episode, “Beauty is a Drag”, where the dynamic duo receive makeovers in attempts to publicize and launch their opus.

2005 appears to be very promising for Will as his show, Oil! The Musical! is in consideration for the New York International Fringe Festival. He is currently at work on an EP and is preparing several cabarets to benefit Sweet Tea Productions, his production company and producer of Oil!.