Chatting w/ Brian Stokes Mitchell About His Solo Carnegie Hall Debut on Oct.15

With apologies to all, especially Stokes, I sat with him at Carnegie Hall for what was to be a video feature, but due to technology and sound issues, we've been forced to serve it up in print. It's still great and it's all Brian Stokes Mitchell.

So, it's literally now just a matter of days, as we sit here in Carnegie Hall. What are you feeling sitting here inside the building knowing that on October 15th, the world's most famous stage, will be yours - all yours - as you make your solo debut?

Pretty exciting! It's very neat walking up 7^th Avenue and seeing my (huge) poster on the street. It makes it all feel very exciting....and very terrifying actually!

I'm sure that you're rehearsing heavily at the moment for the big night.  How are rehearsals going?

Very well and very intense. Richard Jay-Alexander, who directed Barbra Streisand's tour is directing. Paul Gemignani, who I've worked with four or five times before, is musical director and conducting the concert. We're having the most fun of our lives…it's just been a blast. Harolyn Blackwell came into rehearsal today and Reba McEntire is coming in on Sunday to rehearse. It's so much fun and I think that it's going to be a really special night.

And, Harolyn  Blackwell and Reba McEntire are just a couple of the night's big guest appearances, correct?

Yes, and I've asked Heather Headley and Phylicia Rashad to join me as well. It's good to be surrounded by friends and these are all people that I've worked with before and getting to see them and to sing with them, I just can't wait.

Also the Broadway Inspirational Voices will be joining you as well?

Yes! We have Michael McElroy and the Broadway Inspirational Voices, yes. They'll be adding a little "something-something" special to the show.

I read that you have a 42-piece orchestra. How excited are you about that?

Yes, 42 pieces! Someone has mentioned that it's possibly the largest orchestra that a solo singer has had with them here, which if it's true, is really exciting. Paul Gemignani is leading them and they're a great group of players and, most importantly, are very versatile, which is necessary because we're going to "mix it up" a lot. We're doing musical theatre, some duets, jazz, standards, some comedy tunes as well. It's going to be a real fun night.

The concert benefits The Actors Fund, which of course you're President of... What can you tell us about this essential organization?

It's our 125^th Anniversary this year and all of us wanted to do something very special to honor the organization. We all talked and I said – why don't I do a big concert? And then Richard Jay-Alexander and Philip Birsh (from Playbill) came up with the idea of my playing Carnegie Hall and it all really started the journey forward that got us here. It seemed like a good thing to do and it was to benefit The Actors' Fund. As you probably know, The Actors' Fund isn't just for actors. That's what it's called, but it's a Fund that's there to help entertainment professionals of all types. It could be ticket takers, it could be ushers, grips, circus performers, writers, agents, anybody. That's what The Actors Fund is there for and Joe Benincasa who is Executive Director, decided that this could be a great fundraising event as they don't usually do something in the Fall and so this is a first on many levels. And, as you know, certainly a first for me!

We know that you've performed on this stage before as part of other shows, most notably South Pacific. What makes this stage different than other venues?

This is my favorite stage ever to perform on. There's something magical about this place. It's got such an aura about it and such history that you almost feel there are spirits floating around. When you go backstage, there are all these pictures of people who've performed here and even out in the lobby, you see all the greats from Tuscanini, Itzhak Perlman, Mark Twain forward.

The one thing that I've always have said about performing here, because I think it's about my 10^th time on the stage, I noticed that as soon as I opened my mouth, that almost somehow the Hall takes your voice and puts an extra little spin on it. I've discussed this and heard it from almost everyone I know that's performed here, musicians even.

They say the same thing. It's something about how this place was designed and it wasn't even designed with computer technology. It was designed by somebody who really knew what they were doing and just has a great acoustic, so there's not a bad seat in the house.

In addition to your Broadway career and your work on concert stages, film, television and recordings, you are a family man as well. Everyone knows that you're married to the beautiful Allyson Tucker and that you have a charming little son. How do you find the balance?

It's one of the reasons that I've kind of taken it easy from Broadway for a while. My son is 3 years old now and I decided that I didn't want to do 8 shows a week right now, because your life becomes about those 8 shows and about taking care of your voice. Doing concerts has made my life a lot easier, because it pays relatively well and it's about a tenth of the work. I can kind of have my cake and eat it too, because I can perform in front of a live audience and still have time with my family. The only tough part is the traveling, as it can be quite fatiguing, but reaching audiences across the country has been a great experience and I'm always happy to come home.

Anything else you'd like to add?

Come see the show, it's going to be a lot of fun. I think that there might be some tickets left, although I'm told not too many, but it's a very exciting thing to know that the people who have bought tickets are actually coming to see me and that makes it both daunting and thrilling. I'll see you there!

Tickets for Brian Stokes Mitchell at Carnegie Hall can be purchased by calling the Carnegie Hall Box Office at 212-247-7800 or online at www.carnegiehall.org. For more information, please visit www.actorsfund.org and www.Brianstokes.com. If you want to support the Actors' Fund, there are premium tickets available which include the VIP Party at the Russian Tea Room.