Ending on a High Note: Performing on Broadway- Antonio

The Charmin restrooms provided me with one of the most thrilling days of my life. I am a musical theatre performer. I’ve done regional theater productions and tours and am working my way onto Broadway. Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights Aids joined with Charmin to present Bathrooms Over Broadway, a 15 minute musical performed by Broadway stars and giving us, The Go Team, a chance to be their ensemble.

I mean, we were backing up Broadway heavy-hitters: Christopher Sieber, two time Tony Award nominee and currently in Shrek the Musical, starred. Maya Days (Aida, Rent, JCS), Joy Hermalyn (Fiddler on the Roof), Bernard Dotson (Finian’s Rainbow, JCS), and Marya Grandy (Damn Yankees) completed the cast. Michael Lee Scott, creative director for the Rosie Family Cruises, directed and choreographed. They were all incredibly nice.

Now here’s the deal. We learned our parts separately and when we came together to rehearse as a group, IT WAS MAGICAL! It really felt like we were in a Broadway show. The voices blending in perfect harmony and the choreography as a final product had the rousing feeling of a musical’s finale. Leah was visibly excited so I asked, “you’re about to explode, aren’t you?” Her eyes welled up with tears as she nodded. I kept my cool (I think) but was just as excited as her. A couple run-throughs and we were ready for the next day. The show was a hit. The audience loved it and we all had a blast doing it. I learned a lot by watching the actors rehearse and perform. The way they command the stage and tell a story through song was a fantastic lesson.

Bathrooms Over Broadway was the perfect ending to this fantastic experience. In these past six weeks, we’ve made dear friends, met a plethora of interesting people, and shared stories with all of you. Like the end of camp, it’s inevitable to get a little sentimental as we wrap thing up and my moment came during Marya Grandy’s rendition of “Squeeze Me, Mr. Whipple”. The emotional melody of the torch song, the hope of one last moment, the thrill of performing- it all caught up with me and made me choke up a little bit.

For now, I leave the Charmin Restrooms and continue to tread my way to the Broadway. Until then—KEEP THE FAITH.