PALM COAST, Fla. – What does it feel like to stand next to a real life Broadway star and sing? Students from across Central Florida are about to find out.
More than two dozen turned up to audition on Saturday for the chance, and from those a select few will have the opportunity to perform alongside Mandy Gonzalez on March 13th at the Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center.
Gonzalez is best known for her work in the Broadway smash hits Hamilton and Wicked.
Chatting with vocalist Lina Nasr about what the opportunity would mean for her, she was enthusiastic.
Nasr is a lead in the current show, “Six, The Musical” at Spruce Creek High School. She sees the opportunity to not only perform with Gonzalez but attend a private workshop with fellow singers from the show, as a once in a lifetime opportunity.
“I love performing. I’ve done theater my whole life,” said Lina. “This is going to be an amazing opportunity to perform with someone as talented as Mandy Gonzalez. She’s a very popular performer and her work has been very influential.”
“Lina has been in musical theater for a very, very long time and she enjoys being on stage,” added mom, Layla Nasr.
“I wanted her to try this process so that she can experience auditioning and a new experience of being with a Broadway star. With this opportunity comes a workshop that the children might enjoy and actually get into it, and see how much they can benefit from being one-on-one with a Broadway performer.”
Gonzalez’s body of work is award winning, from a Drama Desk Award in the Tony award-winning musical “In the Heights” to working alongside silver screen legends Martin Short and Steve Martin, and lending her vocal stylings to the voice of Mei in Disney’s Mulan 2.
Practicing briefly with Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center Director Amelia Fulmer on the piano before rejoining the rest of the group` under the tutelage of Ms. Ann Paris, Ethan Therrien knows it’s about more than just words and sheet music.
“I thought it would be a really eye-opening experience to sing with Mandy, and it would be fun too,” said the Buddy Taylor Middle School eighth grader.
A regular in the performing arts, Therrien doesn’t have to go far to find what works best for him.
“Just me using my own voice as my instrument. I’ve been looking for instruments, and I found my voice is my best instrument,” he said.
The students selected will perform Katy Perry’s “Firework” and a song written for Gonzalez “Fearless”.
“We’re excited because we have kids from St. Augustine, kids from Flagler County, and students all the way from Port Orange that came in for the auditions,” shared Fulmer.
“We worked really hard this year to be a regional theater so we’re including some of the opportunities to perform with the stars. It’s a big part of our mission but it’s exciting because by having auditions, we’re getting a lot of students that are really into Broadway and really want the chance to meet a Broadway star.”
Tickets for the show on March 13 at 7 PM featuring Mandy Gonzalez are on sale now at www.FlaglerEntertainment.com.
