Video: Baayork Lee Talks A CHORUS LINE & More With Harvey Brownstone
Learn about her iconic roles, her work on "A Chorus Line," and her contributions to the National Asian Artists Project.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Dec. 01, 2023
Baayork Lee is a highly acclaimed actress, singer, dancer, choreographer, theatre director, and author, who made her Broadway debut at the age of 5 in the original production of "The King and I", starring Yul Brynner.
She's gone on to perform in a dozen Broadway shows including "Flower Drum Song", "Golden Boy", "A Joyful Noise", "Promises, Promises", "See Saw" - and she created the iconic role of "Connie" in "A Chorus Line". She was also Michael Bennett's assistant choreographer for the show, and she co-authored a book about the inception and evolution of the show entitled, "On the Line: The Creation of A Chorus Line" .
She's also directed many national and international companies of classic shows like "The King and I", "Bombay Dreams", "Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella", "Barnum", "Porgy and Bess", "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Gypsy ", and many others. Her choreography credits include "Mack and Mabel", "Camelot", "Damn Yankees", "South Pacific", "The Merry Widow" and so many more. She was in the movie "Jesus Christ Superstar", and 2 years ago she directed the television special, "Wicked In Concert", starring Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel. She's received 2 Helen Hayes Award nominations for Outstanding Choreography, for "Animal Crackers" and "South Pacific".
She co-founded the groundbreaking non-profit organization, the National Asian Artists Project, which showcases the work of Asian-American theatre artists through performance, outreach, and educational programming. Under her inspired leadership, this visionary group of artists, educators, administrators, community leaders, and professionals, is dedicated to building bridges between the work of artists of Asian descent, and the many communities who benefit from the work, from under-served primary school students to seasoned arts patrons. Through the many shows they've produced, this organization has demonstrated that iconic theatrical productions can speak to all audiences, and ethnicity is no longer a barrier.
Baayork Lee has received a whole slew of prestigious awards and accolades, including the 2003 Asian Woman Warrior Award for Lifetime Achievement from Columbia College, the Isabelle Stevens Tony Award, the Paul Robeson Award from Actors Equity, the Asian Pacific American Heritage Association Achievement In Arts Award, the Arena Stage American Artist Award, and an Award from the Actors Fund for Outstanding Contribution to the World of Dance - and this is only a FEW of the awards this extraordinary artist has won.
Harvey Brownstone is a retired judge of the Ontario Court of Justice and was the first openly gay judge in Canada. He is also the bestselling author of "Tug of War: A Judge's Verdict on Separation, Custody Battles and the Bitter Realities of Family Court" and hosted "Family Matters with Justice Harvey Brownstone," a television talk show on matters involving the family justice system.
After a distinguished legal career, Harvey was appointed a judge at the age of 38 in 1995. He has presided in family and criminal courts. He has been a trailblazer in several ways. He was the first openly gay judge in Canada. He was the first sitting judge in the world to write a national best seller and to host a TV talk show.
Harvey has been a role model and icon in the LGBTQ community. When same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada in 2003, he was the only judge to make himself publicly available to officiate at weddings for lesbian and gay couples travelling to Toronto from all over the world to get married. In 2007, he officiated at the wedding of Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer, the American couple whose marriage triggered the 2013 United States Supreme Court decision overturning the definition of "spouse" in the federal Defence of Marriage Act.
In February 2021, Harvey launched his online talk show "Harvey Brownstone Interviews" on his own YouTube channel. He saw this as an interesting hobby. Within several months, the show attracted hundreds of thousands - and then eventually, millions - of viewers. Because of the overwhelming success of the show, Harvey decided to retire from the judiciary on December 31, 2021 after having presided as a full-time judge for 26 1/2 years. Free from the constraints imposed upon judges regarding the expression of opinions and the endorsement of private enterprise, Harvey now happily devotes his full-time attention to hosting "Harvey Brownstone Interviews" as a regular member of the public - albeit one with a rather illustrious and unique career history.
Watch Baayork Lee on Harvey Brownstone Interviews on Youtube here:
The official website for Harvey Brownstone Interviews may be found at https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com
Get "The Talk Show Blend" - Coffee For The Modern Day Trailblazer! By Harvey Brownstone from Breakfast At Dominique's available at https://www.HollywoodBlends.com
For more information about Harvey Brownstone, here's his Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Brownstone
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