Broadway On Broadway Celebrates New Season: Video

By Aziza Sullivan, Broadway Magazine

The air was filled with the noise of sharp, resounding cracks on Sunday afternoon. But it was not the sound of thunder that echoed through the gray skies over Times Square. It was the cast of Stomp opening the nineteenth annual 2010 Broadway on Broadway.

The two and a half hour concert opened the 2010-2011 Broadway season, as well as Back2Broadway Month (September 12-30), and was well attended, despite dreary weather conditions. Hosted by Kelsey Grammer, who currently stars in the 2010 Tony Award winner for Best Musical Revival, La Cage Aux Folles, Broadway on Broadway featured twenty performances from current and coming shows.

Grammer was a charming and witty host, opening the concert with a few words on his smash-hit revival.

"I have the pleasure of spending eight nights a week with some wonderful men, women, and men dressed as women," he said, taking the stage shortly after the cast of Stomp finished their explosive opener.

Following Stomp were several favorites, including Wicked, The Lion King, and Chicago. Newcomers such as Elf (to preview during the holiday season), The Addams Family, and Priscilla Queen of the Desert also turned out to promote their shows.

Attendance was admirable, despite less-than-admirable weather conditions. Much of the audience had been waiting for several hours, tourists, families, and passers-by alike joining together to celebrate the beginning of the 2010-2011 season. The earliest comers received matching black Fedora-style hats–later used in a special choreographed number during the La Cage Aux Folles performance. Attendees were encouraged to get up and dance with the performers for a video that would later be shown on YouTube.

Crowd favorites were easily noticeable–apart from Gonzalez's stunning rendition of 'The Wizard and I' (which pushed some fans to tears), audience members also joined in to sing 'Hey Jude' with the cast of Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles on Broadway. American Idiot had fans dancing where they stood, while Billy Elliot the Musical elicited several 'aws' of adoration. The Phantom of the Opera cast was joined by twenty youth members of the Camp Broadway chorus to sing 'All I Ask of You', and Marin Mazzie of Next to Normal drew cheers before she was even on stage.

There is no doubt, however, that the real crowd pleaser was the closing number of the concert: a very special rendition of 'Empire State of Mind' (originally performed by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys) sung by In The Heights original cast members Lin-Manuel Miranda and Karen Olivo, who finished the concert and exited the stage to a flood of confetti and tumultuous applause–which, given the festivities, were both pleasant and appropriate alternatives to real rain and thunder.

Watch the entire video coverage of Broadway on Broadway 19 right here on Broadway.tv. Also look for more stories and features on the new Broadway season in the pages of Broadway Magazine.