Broadway Babies, singing show tunes for seniors
“Oh baby, give me one more chance,” sang Corey J, a former Little Michael in the Broadway musical “MJ.” Dressed in a black-brimmed hat and a black turtleneck, jacket and pants, he slipped through the explosion of joy that is the chord progression of the Jackson 5 song “I Want You Back.”
He had performed the song hundreds of times in the Broadway show, a biographical jukebox musical of Michael Jackson, at the Neil Simon Theater. But on this particular afternoon, he was on a much smaller stage: a senior center on the Upper East Side, where about fifty residents, sitting in floral chairs, clapped along to the beat.
It was the latest in a monthly series of Broadway-related events hosted in the dining room of the senior living community, Inspir Carnegie Hill, by Evan Rossi, the senior director of resident experience, in partnership with the events company Broadway Plus. Although Inspir has hosted numerous events with Broadway actors including Julie Benko (“Harmony,” “Funny Girl”), Charl Brown (“Motown: The Musical”) and comedian Alex Edelman (“Just for Us”) – this was the first to feature child actors.
Last Thursday, Corey J, 12, was accompanied on piano by Nate Patten, performing alongside Aria Kane, 9, a recent Young Anna in the North American tour of “Frozen”; Benjamin Pajak, 12, who played Winthrop Paroo in “The Music Man”; and Jillian Paige Platero, 12, one of two actresses who play Young Nala in “The Lion King.”
“I can’t explain the reaction,” Rossi, 26, who previously worked the box office at Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theater, said in an interview. “The residents are more excited about this concert than anything we have ever done publicly in the past three years.”
The event started with a group song – “Broadway Baby” from “Follies” – and then each artist performed a song from a show they had performed in (“Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” from “Frozen” for Kane, “I Want You Back” from “MJ” for Corey J, “Shadowland” from “The Lion King” for Platero, and a medley of “Gary, Indiana” from “The Music Man” and “Where Is Love?” from “Oliver! ” for Pajak).
The children also answered questions from comedian Christopher Metzger-Timson, who emceed the event. Kane was asked about her favorite part of her “Lion King” costume (“the corset, because it’s beautiful architecture from South Africa”). Pajak swore that his “Music Man” co-star Hugh Jackman Real so nice in person and Corey J even demonstrated his Michael Jackson moonwalk.
After half an hour of performances, they answered questions from residents who were curious about how they got started in the business and about their dream roles. (Kane said Elphaba in “Wicked” and Catherine Howard in “Six”; Corey J’s was the teenage Michael and adult Michael Jackson in “MJ” and Scar in “The Lion King”; Platero also chose Elphaba and Nala in “The Lion King ”; and Pajak said Sweeney Todd.)
Each child then sang a second song: “Dead Mom” (from “Beetlejuice”) for Kane, “This Christmas” for Corey J, “Where Are You Christmas?” (“How the Grinch Stole Christmas”) for Platero, and “Red Ryder Carbine Action BB Gun” (“A Christmas Story”) for Pajak – and later took the stage together for a rendition of “When I Grow Up” from “Matilda .”
After the concert, they stuck around for a meet and greet with residents, many of whom are Broadway aficionados. (Hill also organizes trips to Broadway and Off Broadway shows, as well as operas, concerts and dance performances — recent favorites include “The Great Gatsby” at Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. Next: “Harmony.”)
Marilyn Snyder, 87, a retired Broadway actress who performed in Neil Simon’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs” under the stage name Maggie Burke, said the concert brought back memories of the camaraderie of performing with other actors.
“It was such a joy to feel their optimism, their hope and their cheerfulness,” she said.
For Adele Hartman, 83, whose 23-year-old grandson is an aspiring actor, seeing the talent of the young performers was a reminder that success is possible in the industry.
“You have to audition and audition and audition until you get a role,” she said. “So it was good for me to see all these young kids who were lucky enough to get to star when they were so young.”
For the children, the concert was an opportunity to connect with an older generation through a shared passion.
“I expected to have the best show ever and that happened,” said Corey J, who added that his own grandmother saw him perform in “MJ.”
Kane, whose favorite part of the “Frozen” tour was “performing in front of 3,000 people,” said she never knew so many residents would attend the show. “But more people makes it much better for me!” she said.
After taking a break from the stage to film “The Life of Chuck,” an adaptation of a Stephen King novella, Pajak said he was simply grateful to perform in front of a live audience.
“I definitely got a kick out of being here today and singing for them,” he said.