By Melissa Griegel . . .
Casting Director Stephen DeAngelis is happy to be starting off the new year showcasing Broadway’s standbys, understudies, and alternates. DeAngelis has been highlighting talent with his show At This Performance since October 2003. The pandemic put the shows on hold, but now that Broadway is back, the role of the understudy is more important than ever. “It took 18 years for people to start talking about understudies,” DeAngelis said. “They have always been a huge part of every production and many have gone on to become leads. With COVID, more and more actors are having to miss shows and call in their standbys, understudies, or alternates, sometimes at the very last minute. In fact, two of the performers that were scheduled to perform tonight were called in to cover leads at Moulin Rouge and Assassins.”
With safety precautions in place such as giving each performer their own microphone, The Green Room 42 is once again the place to be to see rising talent. Logan Hart (Jagged Little Pill) started the show off with a tribute to the late Meat Loaf, who passed away last week, by singing “Crying Out Loud” from Bat Out of Hell. He got into the role, tearing open his shirt at the end of the song, to the delight of much of the audience. Hart covered the roles of Nick Healy and Phoenix in Jagged Little Pill. For his second song, Hart chose the show’s showstopper song “You Oughta Know”. “This wasn’t one of the songs I sang in the show, but I have always loved this song. This is a great opportunity for me to sing it.”
Kennedy Salters (Waitress) had the opportunity to play Becky in Waitress in the non-equity tour pre-pandemic. When the show re-opened on Broadway, Salters was asked to join the Broadway cast as the understudy for Becky. “I went on and got my Equity card on my first day on the job,” Salters explained with some amusement. “I flew in and was told I was going on that night. Got out of the cab, went to the dressing room, and just like that I was on Broadway!” She got to go on as Becky three times before the show closed. With her strong, powerful voice and her confident stage presence, Salters sang “I Didn’t Plan It” from Waitress and “Will He Like Me?” from She Loves Me. She put her own spin on the song to make it meaningful for her, changing the male pronouns to female pronouns in the song, wondering if “she likes me.”
Recently finishing his run at Ain’t Too Proud—The Life and Times of the Temptations, with the closing of the show a week ago, Jarvis B. Manning Jr. (Ain’t Too Proud) serenaded us with a mash-up of “My Girl” and “I’m Losing You” from the show. Manning Jr. chose to be on the safe side and keep his mask on during his performance. He showed off his smooth moves as he sang, gliding along the stage. For his second choice, he sang “There’s a Boat That’s Leavin’ Soon for New York”. “This is my go-to audition song,” Manning Jr. confided. “It works for a ballad, a jazz number, an up-beat 16 bar audition piece—I just love this song.” He surprised the Green Room guests when he pulled a scarf from his sleeve which he used as a prop to accompany the song.
Anisha Nagarajan (Company) sparkled on stage and raised a glass to sing “The Ladies Who Lunch”, the well-known song from Company. She got to sing that song four times so far this season, as she is currently Patty LuPone’s understudy for the role of Joanne. “I only had 90-minutes notice the first time I went on,” she told us. “Luckily I had one put-in during previews, so that made me feel more comfortable stepping into the role.” With her husband and mom in the audience, she chose to sing something “with a little Indian influence” for her second solo. “I met my husband at my first Broadway show Bombay Dreams, so I am going to sing “The Journey Home” from that show.
The fifth performer of the evening, Ben Magnusson (Assassins) covers all 5 male roles in Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins, currently on Broadway. “The first time I went on, it was the day after Sondheim had passed. It was a sad day for the theater community. Sondheim had been with us at Opening Night and at the cast party.” To honor Sondheim, Magnusson chose Sondheim’s song “What Can You Lose” that was featured in the film Dick Tracy.
Aveena Sawyer (Little Shop of Horrors) was originally scheduled to perform at At This Performance 21 months ago. “I told her she would be my first phone call after the pandemic,” DeAngelis said as he brought her up to the stage. Prior to the pandemic, Sawyer was covering swing for the three urchins. She is now happily playing the role of Crystal in the show and covering the voice of Audrey. “When I sing the part of Audrey, there is a puppeteer in the plant, and I am backstage in a vocal booth watching the action on stage on a monitor.” She belted out a powerful rendition of “Suppertime” from the show and chose the Terri Klausner rendition of “Hit Me With a Hot Note” from Sophisticated Ladies.
The breadth of talent on stage was phenomenal. “This is my 1117th showcase,” DeAngelis said, “and the great pianist and musical director Eugene Gworzdz has been with me for about 1000 of them. Tonight, he only got the final list of songs at 4:30 for a 7 pm performance. He’s incredible.”
The show will be on hiatus for February to accommodate another event at The Green Room 42, but usually runs the third Monday of every month. Come visit The Green Room 42 on March 21st to see a wide range of performers who will be there that night. https://thegreenroom42.venuetix.com/
Photos by Melissa Griegel Photography
www.griegelphoto.zenfolio.com
