The BroadwayCon cabaret, hosted by Broadway Sessions’ Ben Cameron, opened with composer Tom Kitt performing “Laura, Laura” from High Fidelity. Kitt, who can also count turns as a musical director, conductor, and orchestrator among his many Broadway credits, closed his set with “Hey, Kid,” a song from his most recent Broadway composing credit: If/Then.
Original Rent star Anthony Rapp, the co-founder of BroadwayCon, performed next. As a way of saying “thank you” to Kitt, he performed “You Don’t Have to Love Me” from If/Then.
Lesli Margherita, who starred as Mrs. Wormwood in Matilda, performed one of her favorite Judy Garland ballads: “The Man That Got Away.” She joked that she was #stooling the entire performance as she stayed seated (on a stool) for her performance.
Composer Laurence O’Keefe performed a comedic original song about cell-phone addiction. The song was complete with a Patti LuPone joke (Shows for Days, anybody?) and became an impromptu sing-along during which audience members waved their cell phones over their heads.
Bring it On lyricist Amanda Green performed an original song from her new musical An American Boy, which tells the story of a French boy who, while fleeing the country, steals the identity of a missing American boy…only to realize that they look nothing alike.
Next to perform was Fredi Walker-Browne, who originated the role of Joanne Jefferson in Rent. Walker-Browne sang Pauline Walker’s “Follow Your Road,” which was not the song she had originally planned on singing. Walker-Browne explained that she had recently been in a very bad car accident and felt lucky to have survived. The song’s lyrics reflected her mood.
To close the show, Carolee Carmello, who will be starring as Mrs. Lovett in Barrow Street Theatre’s immersive production of Sweeney Todd, brought down the house with her rendition of “Don’t Rain on My Parade.”
Check out photos from the event below:
