Earth Day is coming, and that means the return of the “Broadway Recycled” concert. Presented by the nonprofit At Hand Theatre Company, the April 22 concert will showcase songs cut from a variety of past musicals — as described by the Theatre website, “songs that shouldn’t go to waste.”
This is the third annual such event by At Hand, with proceeds benefitting both the Theatre and the Broadway Green Alliance. As in its two previous years, the concert will be performed at Joe’s Pub in The Public Theatre.
Past “Broadway Recycled” concerts have featured popular stars such as Anthony Rapp (“Rent,” “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”) and actor/comedian Mario Cantone (“Assassins,” “Laugh Whore”), with discarded songs from productions like “Hair,” “Rent,” “Next to Normal,” “Chicago,” and “Spring Awakening”.
Last year’s outing featured Tony-award winning composer Jason Robert Brown singing “Being a Geek” from his musical, “13”.
This year’s concert will include such performers as Curt Hansen, who starred in the final cast of “Hairspray” and toured as Gabe in the national company of “Next to Normal.” Tony award winner Randy Graff, who starred with Alfred Molina in the Broadway revival of “Fiddler on the Roof,” will also sing.
Other scheduled artists include Alexis Field (“Angelina Ballerina,” 4th Wall’s “Spitfire Grill”), J. Michael Friedman (“Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” “Saved”), Annie Golden (“The Full Monty,” “Xanadu”), Randy Graff (“City of Angels,” “A Class Act”), Curt Hansen (“Next To Normal,” “Hairspray”), Jessica Kent (“The Joe Iconis Christmas Spectacular”), Kait Kerrigan (“The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown,” “Henry and Mudge”), Nikka Graff Lanzarone (“Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” “Chicago”), Jeremy Morse (“Bloodsong of Love,” Engeman’s “A Wonderful Life”), Jacey Powers (“Our Town,” “The Shanghai Gesture”), Krysta Rodriguez (“The Addams Family,” “In The Heights”), Jason Tam (“A Chorus Line,” “Lysistrata Jones”), Marty Thomas (“Xanadu,” “Wicked”), Kate Wetherhead (“Legally Blonde,” “Ordinary Days”), Jason SweetTooth Williams (“Bloodsong of Love,” “Things To Ruin”), and Alex Wyse (“Lysistrata Jones,” “Academy”).
The concert will be directed by Jennifer Ashley Tepper, with musical direction by Julie McBride.
Songs to be performed include those cut from productions of “Anyone Can Whistle,” “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” “Cabaret,” “Carrie,” “Elegies: A Song Cycle,” “Follies,” “The Full Monty,” “Hair,” “The Last 5 Years,” “Legally Blonde,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown,” “Vanities,” and “Working”.
Formed in 2007, At Hand Theater seeks to produce original works in environmentally conscious ways, attempting to diminish the carbon footprint of its productions by being eco-friendly and reducing waste.
The Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) began in 2008 as Broadway Goes Green, an ad hoc committee of The Broadway League. The Alliance, in partnership with the Natural resources Defense Council, works with various players in the theater world, including venues, producers, actors, directors, and theater unions to spread more environmentally friendly practices throughout the industry. The group also works to reach theater fans in order to increase their awareness of the need for environmentally sound practices.
