Lea Salonga | Contributed picture
NEW YORK — Lea Salonga stepped onto a Manhattan stage final spring and sang one thing uncommon for her — “Edelweiss” from the musical “The Sound of Music,” a track often carried out by the paternal Captain von Trapp.
It was a part of MCC Theater’s annual “Miscast” gala that’s celebrating 25 years with an album of high musical theater stars performing songs from roles during which they’d not historically be solid. It drops March 28.
Along with Salonga, the album has performances by an A-list of Broadway: Eva Noblezada, Jonathan Groff, Jeremy Jordan, Ben Platt, Kelli O’Hara, Katrina Lenk, Stephanie J. Block, Rachel Zegler, Raúl Esparza, Heather Headley, Aaron Tveit and Gavin Creel.
Zegler, star of the brand new “Snow White” film, channeled her inside inexperienced ogre for “Who I’d Be” from “Shrek,” and Lenk borrowed Tevye’s “If I Had been a Wealthy Man” from “Fiddler on the Roof.” Headley, who originated the function of Nala in “The Lion King,” as a substitute sang Simba’s transferring ballad “Limitless Night time.”
“We’ve got some which can be simply humorous and foolish. We’ve got some that really change the which means of a track when somebody sings it. We’ve got some that’s only a phenomenal particular person singing an exceptional track and that’s sufficient,” says Scott Galina, supervisor of musical programming and improvement at MCC. “So it actually feels prefer it captures the breadth of the best way a ‘Miscast’ efficiency can land.”
Different highlights embrace a stay model of “Take Me or Depart Me” from “Lease” by Tveit and Creel, a seize made extra particular due to the demise of Creel final yr. And Groff and Jordan sing the 2 divas’ anthem “Let Me Be Your Star” from “Smash.”
Noblezada will get muscular singing “Go the Distance” from “Hercules,” and Platt will get in a inexperienced temper to sing Elphaba’s “The Wizard and I” from “Depraved.” O’Hara submits a young “Lovely Metropolis” from “Godspell,” whereas married couple Leslie Odom Jr. and Nicolette Robinson sing “The Human Coronary heart” from “As soon as on This Island.”
Platt, 26, is the youngest recipient within the 54-year historical past of the award, handed out yearly by the appearing troupe that dates to the late 18th century. Picture: AP/Mark Von Holden/Invision
“There’s not a monitor on the album that you simply get to and also you’re like, ‘Oh, it is a skip,’” says Will Van Dyke, musical director for ”Miscast” for the previous six years. “That’s like my objective in every little thing — you by no means wish to have a skip monitor on there.”
MCC Theater is a nonprofit, off-Broadway firm that delights with its spring gala “Miscast” surprises, which began in 2001 and went on-line for a number of years through the pandemic. To make the brand new album, the performers have been requested to recreate their stay songs within the studio, giving engineers a cleaner sound.
Whittling down the varied performances over the a long time to suit on a 12-album assortment — referred to as “MCC Theater’s Miscast: The Studio Classes” — wasn’t straightforward however some songs popped out for having made a long-lasting impression.
“Katrina Lenk remains to be listening to about individuals who speak about her singing ‘If I Had been a Wealthy Man,’” says Galina. “These are moments which have grow to be larger for these individuals than we definitely ever may have supposed.”
MCC Theater will rejoice its newest “Miscast” on April 7 on the Hammerstein Ballroom. It would honor Sheryl Lee Ralph and MCC Youth Firm alum and artist Travis Raeburn.
The “Miscast25” lineup will characteristic performances by Tituss Burgess, Cole Escola, Jordan Fisher, Steven Pasquale, Nicole Scherzinger, Britton Smith, Phillipa Soo, Ephraim Sykes, Jordan Tyson, Michael Urie and Tveit. Funds raised by the gala and the album return to MCC Theater.
Through the years, “Miscast” has seen the panorama of Broadway change with extra unconventional decisions in race, gender and age. Galina factors to a current gender-swapped model of Stephen Sondheim’s “Firm” that reworked the male lead Bobbie into a girl.
Your subscription couldn’t be saved. Please strive once more.
Your subscription has been profitable.
“Loads of years earlier than my time at ‘Miscast,’ you’ll have girls singing ‘Being Alive’ from ‘Firm’ or ‘Mary Me a Little’ from ‘Firm,’” he says. “And now there’s been a manufacturing on Broadway with a girl enjoying Bobbie. So, there are not any guidelines round that anymore, which is wonderful.”
