Constantine Maroulis at The Green Room 42. (Photo provided by The Green Room 42.)
Looking for entertainment options beyond Broadway? The Green Room 42 is the Theater District’s latest entertainment venue, offering a 140-seat intimate space outfitted with state-of-the-art lighting and sound system and a Yamaha grand piano. Grafitti-tagged leather banquettes offer cozy gathering spots for larger parties, while center tables put audiences members up close and personal with some of the industry’s best talent. This month’s programming includes two standout performances, which should make it onto your calendar:
AUGUST 6, 8 P.M.
The Cast of Miss Saigon Benefitting the NAAP
Founded in 2002, the National Asian Artists’ Project is a New York-based non-profit organization dedicated to showcasing the work of Asian-American theatre artists through performance, outreach, and educational programming. In their professional careers, NAAP founders Baayork Lee, Steven Eng, and Nina Zoie Lam saw that with the few well-paid jobs that existed for any theater artist, prospects were even more dismal for an artist of Asian descent. Lee is a director, choreographer, and dancer on Broadway; Eng is an actor and singer on the West
Lee is a director, choreographer, and dancer on Broadway; Eng is an actor and singer on the West End; and Lam is an actor and dancer on Broadway. Through NAAP, they seek to provide professional opportunities and training to Asian artists, to bridge diverse communities with the outstanding work of professional artists of Asian descent, and to inspire children and adults to bring the arts into their lives. Their programmatic activities include Discover – a series presenting one-act musicals; Rediscover – a series producing classic musicals; Broadway Community Chorus – offering musical training; and Theatre Club – offering professional theatre training.
Current Miss Saigon cast members slated to perform are Paul HeeSang Miller, Nkrumah Gatling, Viveca Chow, Emily Bautista, Antoine L. Smith, Robert Pendilla, Billy Bustamante, Lina Lee, Julian DeGuzman, Anna-Lee Wright, Carol Angeli, Travis Ward-Osborne and Casey Garvin. Other special guests will be announced.
AUGUST 13, 8 P.M.
Russ Kaplan’s Broadway Jazz Sessions
The composer of Broadway’s In Transit Russ Kaplan returns with special guests and a performance packed with jazzy renditions of showtunes from Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, In Transit, Hello Dolly and more.
As a theatre composer, Kaplan was a recent finalist for the 2014 Fred Ebb Award, and has created music for a diverse array of projects: the modern a cappella pop of the Off-Broadway hit In Transit, the retro 50s rock of family musical Dear Albert Einstein, and the eclectic musical comedy of Shortstack, to name just a few. He has also composed instrumental music for the Bessie award-winning dance company Third Rail Projects, and The Ulysses Cycle, a modern jazz suite which he plans to adapt into a full-length dance-theatre piece. He is currently creating a new full-length musical with In Transit co-author Sara Wordsworth and playwright Daniel John Kelley.
