Cabaret & Concert NewsEden Espinosa, Karen Olivo, and More Reunite for Benefit Concert of Brooklyn: The MusicalThe October 21 performance benefits the Covenant House Foundation.
By
Andrew Gans
October 21, 2019
Eden Espinosa (front), Ramona Keller (back, left), Kevin Anderson, Karen Olivo, and Cleavant Derricks in BrooklynJoan Marcus
A one-night-only reunion concert of Brooklyn: The Musical is presented on the 15th anniversary of the show’s Broadway opening night, October 21, at Brooklyn Steel (319 Frost Street, Brooklyn).
The 7:30 PM performance features members of the original Broadway company, including Drama League nominee Eden Espinosa (Rent, Wicked) asBrooklyn, Tony winner Karen Olivo (Moulin Rouge!, In the Heights) as Faith, and Ramona Keller (The Public Theater’s Hercules, City Center’s Little Shop of Horrors) as Paradice.
Will Swenson
Marc J. Franklin
Also part of the evening are Will Swenson (Hair, LesMisérables), who reprises his role as Taylor Collins, Grammy nominee Quentin Earl Darrington (Once On This Island, Cats), who plays the role of Streetsinger, and Broadway cast members Julie Reiber (Come From Away), Horace V. Rogers (Tarzan), and Caren Lyn Tackett (High Fidelity).
The concert benefits the Covenant House Foundation. Founded in 1972, Covenant House helps to transform and save the lives of more than a million homeless, runaway, and trafficked young people. The not-for-profit organization offers housing and support services to children and teens in need, impacting the lives of over 80,000 people each year.
The musical, originally directed by Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun, is written by Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson.
Brooklyn tells the story of the City Weeds, five homeless musicians who band together to transform their neighborhood beneath the Brooklyn Bridge. The City Weeds share the story of Brooklyn—a Parisian singer—in addition to their own stories. Orphaned after her mother’s death, Brooklyn travels to the United States in search of her father and the life she always dreamed of.
Espinosa, Bridget Elise Yingling, Scott Prisand, Doug Feurring, and Jana Shea produce the benefit.
Swenson has been a special guest performer on Playbill Travel’s Broadway on the High Seas cruises. Cabins are now on sale forBroadway in the Great Northwest, Playbill Travel’s first domestic cruise featuring Kate Baldwin, Tedd Firth, Christopher Fitzgerald, Aaron Lazar, and Faith Prince (April 26–May 4, 2020), and forBroadway on the Mediterranean (August 31–September 7, 2020), featuringAudra McDonald,Will Swenson,Gavin Creel, Caissie Levy andLindsay Mendez, and for Broadway on the Nile (December 27, 2020–January 7, 2021), with performers soon to be announced. To book a suite or stateroom, call Playbill Travel at 866-455-6789 or visit PlaybillTravel.com.
