Ben Cameron - Page 9

WICKED!!!! You tingled didn't you? It's hard not to. No modern musical has had quite the impact that this mega musical has had all over the world. And I won't lie to ya, Wicked hold's a very special place in my heart (listen to track #2 of your cast album, you may hear a familiar voice asking 'Glinda, is it true you were her friend?') But humble bragging aside, Wicked is nothing short of a phenomenon. So this week we've compiled some of our favorite Broadway Sessions performances from Stephen Schwartz's box office blockbuster! 'The Wizard and I,' 'Popular,' 'As Long As Your Mine,' 'No Good Deed,' 'Defying Gravity' and even a cliff notes version of ensembling in Wicked w/ myself and original caster Marcus Choi, it's just too good…or is it Wicked?

Broadway became just a little more Broadway this last week as CATS made it's return to the Great White Way. Whether or not you think Cats is a ground breaker or a punch line, one thing is certain, the man behind the music is a living legend. Andrew Lloyd Webber has been an ubiquitous part of any theatre fans experience for decades. From those first chilling organ chords in Phantom (which still gets me every time- then again I wore my Phantom T-shirt to have my 8th grade school photos taken); to the synth pop of Starlight Express; to the irresistible bubble gum goodness of Joseph; it's hard not to walk out of a Lloyd Webber show not humming the tunes. He's had hits (um, Cats is BACK), he's had misses (The Woman in White) he's blazed trails (JC Superstar is arguably the first and finest rock musical) and has written a masterpiece of a score or two along the way (Evita, and anyone remember Aspects of Love? Divine). We're celebrating the kitties' return with a Broadway Sessions stroll down memory lane with the Lord. Let the memories live again…

I remember the first time I heard Songs For a New World. Mind. Blown. Melodic like Andrew Lloyd Webber, cerebral like Sondheim. Perfect. Of course now, Jason Robert Brown is a living legend and one of the most prolific theatre composers in history.

To be honest, I've been feeling a little HOMEsick this week. Missing our Thursday nights together at our beautiful HOME, The Laurie Beechman Theatre. Well, who says you can't go HOME... let's bring it on HOME with some of our favorite friends singing one of our favorite musical theatre classics- HOME from The Wiz. (Are you getting a 'home' theme here?)

Broadway's biggest hit said goodbye to some of it's biggest hitters this week. Hamilton bid adieu to Tony-winning star and writer Lin Manuel Miranda, Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr, Tony nominee Phillipa Soo and 'The Bullet' herself, Ariana DeBose. That's a big change for the blockbuster and has, doubtless, left several Hamilton devotees heartbroken. We figured it'd be fitting to take a look back at some Sessions performances from the Tony-winning score that has wiggled its way into our heads and playlists and won't let go (nor do we want it to). Featuring The Color Purple's Akron Watson, Elf's Paul Ianiello, Avenue Q's Imari Hardon, country-fried acoustic trio Siren, new comer Ellis Dawson and Hamilton's own Angelia standby- Alysha Deslorieux.

Broadway Sessions turned up the heat this last week with our final All Open Mic Party of the summer. Performers came ready to rock with every thing from burlesque performances to introspective tear jerkers. Enjoy some of the performances below and make sure you're in the room when we get our open mic on in September.

8 was great this last Thursday at Broadway Sessions! Not only did we celebrate 8 years of weekly shows but we celebrated host Ben Cameron's (that's me) 38TH birthday. Some of Sessions' most memorable guests returned to share music, stories and surprise our host (once again, that's me). Performances ranged from sentimental to insane, just the way we like it! Check it out here.

The Tony Awards aired last night on CBS (yeah yeah yeah, we know you know). The show was lovely and came at just the right moment, given all the horrific things happening in our world. We, at Broadway Sessions, got to celebrating last Thursday night as we welcomed Tony Award winner Daisy Eagan. We also celebrated the show that were "snubbed" with fabulous performances from Disaster's Olivia Phillip and Bway vet and Tuck Everlasting cast member Heather Parcells. Lion King and Ragtime vet DeMone Seraphin was also on hand to the delight of the fun loving crowd. "Rising Stars" Erin Christine Walsh, Julia Rose Hines and Daniel Joseph Baker knocked it out of the park. Enjoy the insanity here.

Cast members from the Tony-nominated revival of The Color Purple made their way to The Laurie Beechman Theatre on Thursday evening for Broadway Sessions. It became clear pretty darn quick that we were no longer in a theater- we were at CHURCH! These cats can sing like nobody's business. And that's just what they did. They SANG!!! Cast members Rema Webb, Antoine L. Smith, J. Daughtry, Adrianna Hicks, Bre Jackson, Phoenix Best, Akron Watson and Carla R. Stewart were greeted with standing ovation after standing ovation. The cast also shared insights into their audition experiences, told us their favorite 'audience reactions', played a round of 'The Color Purple Pyramid' and joined their voices together for an unforgettable group performance of the show's 11 o'clock number, 'I'm Here.'

Someone once said: 'It's May, it's May, the Lusty Month of May!' Another wise woman has also said 'And you, and you, and you... you're gonna love MAAAAAAAY!' Who really said what? Hard to say, but it seems clear that May has a profound affect on folks in musical theatre.

The score to Bright Star is a delicious blend of Americana, blue grass and gospel, and it's great. This last Thursday I started my day by whetting my appetite for things to come (I was seeing Bright Star on Broadway that evening before welcoming the cast to Sessions). I spent my morning listening to the cast album. I was immediately taken with it's signature sound and sweeping melodies. Steve and Edie know what they are doing. Bluegrass on Broadway… it works. How? Who cares! It works.

Things got real big and real ORANGE on Thursday night at Broadway Sessions, as '16 Drama grads and alums for Syracuse University took the stage at Broadway Sessions. Syracuse Alums Chris Dwan (Elliot in Finding Neverland), Catherine Charlebois (long time Nessarose in Wicked) and Stephen Carrasco (Fiddler, Kinky Boots and a zillion other  shows) were on point (as the kids say). Syracuse grad heavy vocal sensation RANGE a cappella took a break from their Nickelodeon duties and racking up Hamilton YouTube views to serenade the new comers. The grads did not dissapoint as they made it clear why Syracuse is a top 5 ranked theater school.  Check out the fantastic performances here. #GOORANGE

Sure, we all know by now that Broadway Sessions is the place to be to get up close and personal with Broadway's brightest, but did you know that once a month we throw caution to the wind and open the mic up to the room in our ALL OPEN MIC PARTY? Well we do...

Broadway Sessions celebrated Baldwin Wallace University on Thursday night April 14th. 2016 grads joined forces with celebrated alums for a magical night of story and song and shenanigans. BW alums included Aladdin star Steel Burkhardt, Wicked alum Libby Srvais, Kinky Boots' Kyle Post and Broadway star turned television superhero Ciara Renee (Big Fish, Pippin, Hunchback of Notre Dame, CW' Legends of Tomorrow). The '16 grads made a splash with performances from high art to high camp and back again.

Powerhouse theatre program CCM brought the legacy to Broadway Sessions last week. Let's face it, there's not a Broadway show running without a CCM alum up in there. The 2016 graduating class performed alongside starry alums- Jessica Hendy (Cats, Aida), Max Chernin (Bright Star) and Alysha Deslorieux (Hamilton, Beautiful, Sister Act). The future of Broadway look awfully bright from where we stand. Check out these incredible performances and get excited, real excited!

It was a wild and wacky night last Thursday as cast members from Disaster! on Broadway screamed their way into Broadway Sessions. Well, screamed may not be the right word, maybe: belted, tap danced and crooned. Any way you want to word it, it was a night to be remembered.

Broadway Sessions was thrilled to welcome Sheri Sanders' and friends on March 31 to celebrate the launch of RockthePerformance.com. Sanders, the world's premiere rock music coach, took a break from her demanding teaching schedule to party Broadway Sessions-style with some of her pals and students. After a killer opening number, Sanders invited students, turned Broadway stalwarts, Joey Taranto (Rock of Ages, Spider-Man, Kinky Boots), Hernando Umana (Kinky Boots) and Courtney Bassett (upcoming Natasha, Pierre...) to the stage to show the excited room just how it's done- Rock the Performance-style. Sessions also welcomed 'Rising Stars' Gaby Hornig, Sean Green and Toni Thompson. Check out these rocking performances below.

Cast members from Les Miserables headed over to Broadway Sessions at the 'End of the Day', Thursday, March 24th. Before the cast took the stage, audience members got to channel their inner revolutionaries with an ALL LES MIZ open mic pre show. After which Julian R. Decker started the night off right with a stirring rendition of 'Memphis Lives in Me.' Matt Rosell and Melissa Mitchell dueted 'All The Wasted Time' from Parade before being egg'ed into an impromptu 'Tonight' from West Side Story. Joshua Morgan and Beth Kirkpatrick bared their souls in 20 questions and diving into their 'Where were you when Broadway called?' stories while Andrew Love brought the country, nailing Garth Brook's 'Baton Rouge' AND 'Friends in Low Places,' alongside host/country music fan Ben Cameron. Wardrobe staffer, Maggie Glass, delighted the audience with a duet of 'The Prayer' with cast member J. Michael Finley. The evening ended with gorge performance by up and comers Jennifer Brady (14 years old no less) and Mary Grace McGiveny. And what night at Broadway Sessions would be complete without a 'Shloppy' Plot Shynopsis' wherein the Les Miz cast members attempted to narrate the show's plot in under 3 minutes will downing shots... you know, sophisticated.

Cast members from the hit revival of Fiddler on the Roof joined Broadway's favorite Thursday night 'tradition' (see what I did there?) on March 10th for an evening of music, mayhem and much Mazel Tov!