Connect with us

Concert Night

We Were There: Mykal Kilgore Sells Out 54 Below

Published

on

There are some voices that resonate so loud in your spirit it causes your insides to jump up and down like you’re on a trampoline; It sends a tingling down your spine and up your legs that for just a moment you believe you’ve been touched by God himself. Or at the very least, God set you up to witness this because it seems nothing short of miraculous. This is the place I found myself last night as I listened to Mykal Kilgore croon over a packed SOLD OUT house at 54Below.

Walking into the dining room of 54Below, I could hear the chatter of anticipation, and I thought to myself, “They must know what I know.” Having featured Mykal here on BroadwayBlack a couple of years ago, I knew the power of his gift and have had the pleasure of hearing him share that gift several more times since then. So, I took my seat on the far side of stage right and scanned the room for familiar faces. Within the blink of an eye, I spotted 4 Tony winners, and Broadway leads everywhere. Nikki M. James, Adriane Lenox, Billy Porter, & Lillias White, just to name a few. It was like everyone knew that Mykal had a show within him not to be missed.

Those lights went down, the band, led by Michael Mitchell, begin to play a smooth groove, the background vocals eased their way in gently directing us all to come along with them, and it began. Donning a classic shiny plum-colored suit, Kilgore took the stage and from that moment on gently began to pull at the roots of our wigs with The Supremes’ Up The Ladder To The Roof. However, little did we know, he wasn’t just about to sing our faces off like we all knew he could. As soon as he started the classical piece Romance by Claude Debussy I knew that he was about to delve inside himself and show more than he ever had before.

Mykal gave us some classics like Stevie Wonder’s My Cherie Amour &  Killing Me Softly by The Fugees  but they came with funny, touching, and inspiring anecdotes that helped us who know him and those who don’t to see where this light that shines so bright within him comes from. Singing in church, causing a middle school lunch room party when asked to sing by classmates, working cruise ships, and auditioning for his role model, Billy Porter were some of the memories he shared with us. Along the way he effortlessly made us laugh, sing with him, and shed a couple of tears.

Songs like Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying, CeeLo’s Fool For You, & Dionne Farris’ I Know were showcased extremely well with some uniquely beautiful arrangements. However, it was the story of losing his mother and the song You’re Never Alone dedicated to his family that brought every one to tears and on their feet. Closing with Des’ree’s You Gotta Be, we all stayed on our feet singing with Mykal, feeling empowered, renewed, and simply loved. Loved by his voice, his truth, his story, even his own family because we could feel it traveling over our heads from them to him on the stage.

Lots of times people ask you to go on a journey with them at the beginning of a show. We’ve all heard it before, but this was not just an ordinary journey. This was church. It was the prayer circle meeting before the service, the praise & worship, the scripture reading, the A&B selection on mass choir Sunday; It was the message, altar call and the benediction. Everything flowed in decency & in order and the spirit of God was definitely in the building because I don’t believe any of us left the same way we came in.

Mykal Kilgore @ 54Below

http://broadwayblack.com/mykal-kilgore-sells-54/ “Had the privilege of seeing Mykal Kilgore perform his own show at 54Below on August 4th, 2014. These are the only clips I had that I wasn’t laughing, singing, or crying in. Listen to his voice, hear his spirit, be blessed by the purity of it all.”

These are the only clips I had that I wasn’t laughing, singing, or crying in.

Listen to his voice, hear his spirit, be blessed by the purity of it all.

Directed by Will Nunziata

Musical Director/Piano – Michael Mitchell
Bass – Alex Eckhardt
Guitar – Ethan Pakchar
Drums – Giancarlo de Trizio
Vocals – Crystal JoyAnastacia McCleskey, Travaulya Wallace
 

 

 

 

Founder/Editor-In-Chief of BroadwayBlack.com | Actor | Artist | 1/3 of @OffBookPodcast | Theatre connoisseur | All Audra Everything | Caroline over Change | I'm Not Charl Brown | Norm Lewis is my play cousin | Producing an all-black production of Mame starring Jenifer Lewis in my head

Advertisement
5 Comments

5 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Concert Night

Once On This Island’s Hailey Kilgore Will Make Her Solo Concert Debut!

Published

on

Hailey Kilgore Photo via IBDB

Tony & Grammy Nominee Hailey Kilgore will make her solo concert debut at Feinstein’s/54 Below this month! The Once On This Island star makes her debut following the closing of the Tony-winning revival, and she’s clearly got more stories to tell!

The concert entitled Mirrors is a night of celebration including the music that has influenced her meteoric rise. On January 30th 9:30 pm she shares her personal life story as a young girl to a young woman on the Broadway stage.

The 19-year-old vocalist has a set list that ranges from Jason Robert Brown to Alicia Keys. One thing we can say is that this show will sell out! So, stop waiting for life to begin and mark your calendars.

Continue Reading

Concert Night

About Last Night: Montego Glover, Nicholas Christopher, Brandon Victor Dixon & More!

Published

on

Broadway may go dark on Mondays, but Broadway Black stars were still shining all over New York City last night.

First up was the New York POPS Underground performance.  Formerly known as “Cabaret Evening,” Underground is the intimate offering of New York Pops orchestra.  Hosted at the infamous Feinstein’s/54 Below the benefit supports NY Pops music education program, PopsEd.  Last night’s special guests were Tony Yazbeck and Tony Award nominee Montego Glover.  The ever joyful Glover performed a few musical favorites including “I Loves You Porgy,” “I Dreamed a Dream,” and a jazzy rendition of the Memphis delight, “Someday.”

Before recognizing Queens P.S. 175 Principal Patricia Cooper as the first honoree of the NY PopsEd initiative, Glover shared, ” I know from experience that music has the power to save, to guide, to inspire.  I am standing as living proof that music has done exactly that.”

Glover and Yazbeck closed the show with an exciting duet of “Feelin’ Good” featuring Tony’s incredible tapping skills and Montego effortlessly belting notes that only dogs can hear.  Hate that we couldn’t share it with you, but we were just too busy being entertained to capture it on film!

Next, it was down to the West Village to see Darling, a developmental piece by Ryan Scott Oliver.  Following the smooth Nicholas Christopher (Hamilton) as Peter and the vocally stunning Kerstin Anderson as Wendy “Darling,” this abstract musical is a contemporary telling of Peter Pan like you’ve never imagined it before.

Producers, Motown Choreographer Warren Adams and Hamilton star Brandon Victor Dixon, were on hand to introduce the show to an enthusiastic audience at the hip Le Poisson Rouge.  The brilliant musical arrangement told a captivating story while highlighting the young cast’s musical aptitude and artistry. Vocal standouts included leads Christopher and Anderson, singing for the GODS for the duration of the show, the Lost Boys, with their soulful, sassy musical quips, and Les Miserables vet Brennyn Lark, taking sexy to a WHOLE other level.  The recorded event concluded with a thunderous standing ovation from the audience, confirming this show is exactly what young theater lovers want.  Keep an eye out for this one.  It’s gonna be big!

Continue Reading

Twitter: @BroadwayBlack

Hot Topics