Inspiration

NEW YORK—Before continuing, allow me to apologize for not having written an article for last week’s issue. A sinus infection felled me for a few days, one of which happened to be my deadline for Backstory.

Feb. 25, Sunday, was Pinoy Night over at “Once on This Island.” Following the evening performance, there was a talkback, which gives select members of the audience a chance to interact with the actors.

Billy Bustamante, a cast member of the recent Broadway revival of “Miss Saigon” and a founding member of Broadway Barkada, was on hand to moderate. He asked questions at the start to get things going, then opened the floor to the audience to ask their own. One of them asked, “What inspires you?”

I gave a few stock answers: a good glass of wine, great food, people who create art.

However, once I got home and settled myself on my couch with the closing ceremonies of the just concluded 2018 Winter Olympics, I found my spirit stirred watching these athletes march back into the stadium.

Over the last couple of weeks, I watched events after work, and would feel a rush, watching different Olympic moments over and over again.

I won’t lie, my favorite event was figure skating, and it was such a thrill seeing Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu win back-to-back gold medals, Germany’s Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot win the gold in Savchenko’s fifth Olympics, Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir win two golds at these games for ice dancing, and a Russia vs Russia showdown in the ladies event, with Alina Zagitova taking the top spot on the podium.

Inspiration also came in the form of a concert at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 20 titled “Broadway Classics,” alongside some of my favorite artists: Michael Arden, Quentin Earl Darrington, Norm Lewis, Sierra Boggess, Nikki Renée Daniels, Laura Osnes, Ramin Karimloo, Carolee Carmello, Allan Corduner, Ryan Silverman and Tony Yazbeck.

Our conductor was old friend Kevin Stites, who was my musical director for my Carnegie Hall debut in 2005 and the first “Les Misérables” revival in 2006-2007, and we were backed by two choirs, each with 200 members.

Following one of our rehearsals, a question-and-answer session commenced with BroadwayWorld.com’s Richard Ridge moderating.

The students asked about how we got started as performers, our unique processes, and what we each had to do to get to where we are.

All the answers were different: “I got a degree in economics and didn’t start singing until many years later … my mom made sure I practiced tap dancing in the basement, and stomped on the floor above me to make sure I did … I never took a voice lesson in my life, and learned everything I know by watching other people,” and many more beautiful, humorous and enlightening stories.

It was great to sit among these performers, all of them musical-theater workhorses and listen to what they had to share. How all of these divergent paths led them to a craft that is difficult, at times frustrating but always fulfilling. I was inspired by all of them, and by all these young people daring to dream.

At our final sound check and run-through, I sat in the audience and watched number after number, marveling at the level of talent and skill each of my colleagues possessed, not to mention the humongous hearts housed in their chests.

They didn’t only sing, they also raised their entire beings to the heavens in song. They sang of love and music, of rising up, the hubris of man, societal mistreatment, and the hope that things will get better.

Inspiration comes from many places. Who knows where it’ll come from next?

Thank you

For all of your birthday greetings, allow me to say thank you. Forty-seven is looking really good!