Interview: THE RANDY ANDYS Spread Holiday Cheer at Green Room 42

Step back in time with The Randy Andys for a magical evening of nostalgic merriment. Singing holiday favorites with their signature postmodern twist, The Randy Andys will "sweep you away to a sassy, brassy wonderland" this holiday season!

Come see what Broadway World hails as "musically stunning and comedically brilliant."

Starring Alicia Charles (Aladdin), Alison Mahoney (The Singing Baker), and Heather Parcells (A Chorus Line) with special guest stars, Lana Love (The Voice), Jordan Fife Hunt (Moulin Rouge), Daniel Schwait (Love Life), and Davon Williams (The Receipts), with a special appearance by David Perlman (Fiddler on the Roof) and Natalie Weiss (Breaking Down the Riffs) with The Matt Everingham Trio and directed by Antoinette DiPietropolo (Cirque Musica).

We spoke to the group's founder Alison Mahoney about the 12/19 show

Do you want to tell me a bit about your upcoming holiday show at Green Room 42?

Yeah, it's going to be amazing. Our show is December 19th at 7 p.m. and the three Randy Andys are Alicia Charles from Aladdin and Heather Parcells from, I think most notably A Chorus Line but she's been in Millie and gosh, so many things. I can't even list how many shows she’s been in.

And myself, and I was in Evita and I'm known as the Singing Baker. I teach people how to sing and bake on television.

And then we have a whole host of special guests. Most notably, we have Natalie Weiss from "Breaking Down The Riffs," who will be doing a really special Natalie Weiss performance. That's all I can say because it's so amazing, you have to come see it, it's so cool.

And then we have Donna Lynne Champlin from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and most recently, Netflix’s The Perfect Couple. We have Jordan Fife Hunt from Moulin Rouge and Randall Holloway from Dreamgirls. Daniel Schwait, who's doing Love Life at Encores. And David Perlman from Fiddler on the Roof. So it's an action-packed, talent-filled night of nostalgic holiday songs. It'll feel like you stepped into a Bing Crosby holiday special.

Where did, the idea come from to take that Andrew Sisters / Bing Crosby style and modernize it?

Oh, that's a good question. I always describe myself as having a modern vintage vibe. And I was looking for a way to marry that with performing. I was hanging with a friend of mine, and we were just talking like, wouldn't it be so funny if we did Beyonce's “Single Ladies” like the Andrews Sisters?

And we were laughing about it, and we thought it was a really funny idea. And then I floated it to a couple of friends in the industry, and one of them was like, I think that's an amazing idea, and you should call yourself the Randy Andys. That was my friend Andrew Byrne.

And I was like, oh, maybe there is something here. And so, I started working with this arranger named Tim Rouse, and we chose three songs: Mariah Carey's “Fantasy,” “Love in an Elevator” by Aerosmith, and then a very random song called “Too Fresh” by DMC, and we made a little sizzle reel with a couple of my Broadway friends. And we were like, wow, this really works.

And so now we've been around for four years, and we do two shows a year at Green Room 42. We do our very nostalgic throwback holiday show in December, where we also do Mariah Carey. We say it’s “from Bing to Mariah.” And then in the spring, we do all of our contemporary stuff, which is, you know, Mariah again, because you can't not do Mariah... but it's like Mariah, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Taylor Swift, Beyonce.

So we really lean into that. And it's a really fun way to have a wink and a nod to a bygone era, but be in the contemporary world.

How did you put together the setlist for this upcoming December holiday show?

Oh, gosh. Well, I mean, I love the holidays, and I love old-fashioned musicals like White Christmas and Holiday Inn. Bing Crosby did a lot of collaborations with the Andrews Sisters back in the day. And so I listened to a lot of those songs, and we chose some of them, like “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” which is iconic. And then we wanted to incorporate some more modern tunes. My sister's favorite holiday song is Mariah's “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

And so we wanted to really try and span and feature some of the most popular holiday tunes. But we do have one really obscure Andrews Sisters song called “Jing-A-Ling, Jing-A-Ling,” and it's very funny because no one knows that. And then at the end of the show, when we do it, afterwards people are like, that was my favorite number. And I think it's because it's not very well-known and they don't hear it out while they're holiday shopping or listening while they're trimming their tree. And so they hear the song and they're like, oh my gosh, this is a new holiday song I never knew. And so, it's really fun to surprise the audience in that way.

And so we really try and incorporate some old-fashioned tunes that everyone knows and then surprise them with things they either know but haven't heard it like that before or something they've never heard before like “Jing-A-Ling, Jing-A-Ling.”

Is there anything else that you'd like to add about the show?

It's wholesome, it's fun. It's for all ages. It's going to be a powerhouse of a show this year. I mean, it's amazing every year, but this year is especially insane with the talent. It's a great way to get into high gear for your holiday celebrations.

It's joyful, it's fun. It's interactive. It's an awesome night and everyone leaves with a huge smile on their face. And so it's definitely worth it. One of the best things about Green Room 42 is that it's a ticket only [with no food or drink minimum], and you can just sit and enjoy. You don't have to worry about buying a drink or eating, although you can do that too. And it's just an amazing evening of joy and celebrating.

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Tickets to see the Randy Andys on December 19 are available on the Green Room 42’s website.

Header photo L to R: Alicia Charles, Alison Mahoney and Heather Parcells.

Photo credit: Phillip Ramsey

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