On Sun., Feb. 12, at 4 p.m., tenor singing group The Broadway Boys are holding a concert at Staples to benefit both Staples Players and the Northeast Children’s Theater Company (NCTC), an organization founded by Staples alum Tyler Paul ’07.
“This group is unbelievably talented and their concerts are more or less like a rock concert, with the same level of energy and excitement,” said David Roth, Director of Players. “Although their songs are mostly hits from musical theater productions, they are arranged vocally and musically in ways that you might never expect to hear them.”
The Broadway Boys are a group of tenors who have performed in musicals on Broadway and sing genres such as gospel, soul, jazz and pop. Three members of the band are Staples alum who were all heavily involved in the music department while students here. Justin Paul ’03 is the musical director, and Dan Asher and Drew McKeon play various instruments.
“Children’s Theater is a genre that is not well known but has a long history in America. The impact that this art form has on children and education is also absolutely incredible,” said Tyler Paul. “NCTC is the only year-round professional theater for young audiences and families, a distinction I’m very proud of.”
NCTC is a not-for-profit organization that provides theatrical programming and educational outreach to youth in the Connecticut region. It was founded in 2010 and is planning on presenting its first musical in March.
“Once costs have been covered, we’ll be sharing the proceeds with our co-beneficiary for this event, the NCTC,” said Roth. “We were lucky to be the recipients of a generous donation from Melissa and Doug Bernstein of Melissa and Doug Educational Toys so when all is done we’ll be in a much better position than we might have been in.”
The Broadway Boys have performed multiple times in Westport already. Justin Paul used his alum connection as a way to introduce them to the Westport community through performances. Since then, they have performed several times at the Westport Playhouse, even as recently as this past December.
However, this year’s performance is also a unique event: not only will The Broadway Boys be performing, but several juniors and seniors who are members of Players will be joining the men on stage and performing a number with them. From the rock concert feel to the community ties, The Broadway Boys’ performance will certainly be exciting.
