Interview: Vivian Reed Introduces a New Generation of Singers at Green Room 42

Vivian Reed, who recently received the MAC Award for lifetime achievement, is bringing a showcase of talented singers to the Green Room 42 on April 27th at 7 pm. In Don’t Just Stand There, PERFORM!, these young artists "demonstrate that there is much more to selling a song than just standing there, staring straight ahead. They have found the joy in digging deep into the lyrics, telling the story and delivering the message of the song, thus, performing. You can be a great singer, but that alone, does not make you a great performer." The show will consist of mostly theater and jazz standards with the occasional pop song. Tickets are available here.

Read our conversation with Reed about the upcoming show below.

What made you decide to put together this “Stars of Tomorrow” series?  

My lungs were attacked and I ended up not being able to continue with my career, so I decided to put all of my time and energy into young people.  

What was the casting process like? How did you choose singers for this show? 

Most have studied with me but eventually, I would like to hold auditions and open this show up to people I have not trained, but who are talented. Having said that, they must have performance skills. I will not allow any singer to stand on the stage and stare straight ahead with no thought to the lyrics and delivering the message. That would go against the title of the show.

Was there anyone who helped you get a leg up in the music and theater industry when you were starting out?

I had two great managers early on, when I was about 18 or 19. Bobby Schiffman, who owned the Apollo Theater, and Honi Coles, who would eventually win a Tony for My One and Only. They got me ready for showbiz. As far as musical theater, I did that own my own. [It was a] lot of hard work.

Who, or what, have you been listening to lately?

To tell you the truth, I am constantly looking for videos of great performers to show to my students or people I am coaching. People like Patti LuPone, Norm Lewis, Jeremy Jordan, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, and several others. 

Do you have any other upcoming shows or anything else you’re working on? 

I just received The Lifetime Achievement MAC Award on April 15th at Symphony Space.

Also, I would love to continue discovering talented young people to be a part of Don’t Just Stand There, PERFORM! Giving them a platform for their talent. That is my goal!

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