We talk to Ryan Davis and Jeffery Self, the conceivers of the benefit Mr. Broadway.
Mr. Broadway is a "beauty pageant" where one male cast member from each Broadway show competes in the areas of talent, interview, and, of course, swim suit. The contestants are evaluated by a panel of celebrity judges, but the final vote is up to the audience. Also on our show, Contestants Kenway Hon Wai K Kua from "Wicked", Paul McGill from "A Chorus Line" and Franlere Grande from "Mama Mia" answer questions to help you judge the winner!
The money raised from the Mr. Broadway goes to the Ali Forney Center, which is a homeless shelter for LGBT youth.
Mr. Broadway will be held April 30th at 8pm. For tickets and more info click here.
You can listen to the Theme for Mr. Broadway in Broadway Bullet Vol. 111
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You can listen to this interview and many other great features for free on Broadway Bullet vol. 111. Subscribe for free so you don't miss an episode.
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Broadway Bullet Interview: Mr. Broadway
Broadway Bullet: Ryan J Davis, why are you back here? We're getting sick of you.
Ryan Davis: (laughing) You keep having me Michael. I keep coming back.
BB: So you've got a very special event going on here.
RD: I am directing Mr. Broadway which is an event created by Jeffery Self who's with me as well. And it is a beauty pageant for Broadway actors, kind of like Miss USA or Miss America but it's Mr. Broadway.
Jeffery Self: Ryan and I were sitting around one day, during the Miss USA scandal and all of that ordeal with Mr. Trump and Miss Conner . And we're loving the idea of doing a beauty pageant with guys from different Broadway shows because there's so many beautiful people in all theses shows.
RD: And we thought like, "How come someone hasn't done this before?"
JS: And it's such a great format to play with. It's different than just a concert of these 10 guys singing songs. Cause you are getting something like that. But you're getting sort of a structure in some way.
RD: And there's definitely a competitive aspect to it. I know some of the guys have really gone out of their way to win Mr. Broadway. Some of the guys they pretend to be friends but deep down they're thinking, "Who's gonna take my crown?" They're ready to fight for it.
BB: Now how's the voting going to go?
JS: We have a panel of 3 judges who will select a final 5 out of 10 contestants. Then the audience votes on the final 5. So it's up to the audience, a la American Idol.
RD: You got to have democracy somewhere in America.
JS: You use that quote in every interview we have about Mr. Broadway.
RD: I've never used that quote before.
BB: Now this is on April 30th?
JS: April 30th at New World Stages.
BB: So along with this, I assume this is for some sort of benefit.
JS: Yes.
BB: You can't have a special one night show without benefiting something.
JS: You better believe it. It is for the wonderful Ali Forney Center, which is this organization based here in New York that provides housing and support for homeless LGBT youth in the New York City area.
BB: For some of our listeners, most of our listeners may be kind of hip to this, but maybe for some of our listeners, what does that stand for?
JS: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual.
