Recap of Rockers on Broadway
July 27th, 2006BroadwayWorld.com’s Nick Orlando provides a recap of the annual “Rockers On Broadway” concert, which took place on July 10th at The Cutting Room (19 West 24th Street) in New York City. “Rockers on Broadway raised a hefty $5,000 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids.
“Rockers” was inspired by Pete Townshend, who wanted to give musical theatre performers the opportunity to experience the feeling of singing with a rock band in a concert venue. This year’s benefit featured Jersey Boys’ cast members, including Christian Hoff, Donnie Kehr, J. Robert Spencer, and Daniel Reichard, as well as director Des McAnuff; Patrick Wilson; Kathy Brier; Eden Espinoza; Michael Cerveris; Micky Dolenz, Manfred Mann’s Chris Thompson; and a special reunion performance with original cast members of The Who’s Tommy.
Here’s a brief excerpt of the interview:
Nick Orlando: On Monday, July 10th, you were part of Rockers on Broadway. Why did you decide to become involved?
Kathy Brier: Yes! I love this event. It is one of my most favorite events to do. Anytime Donnie Kehr, the producer, asks me to do it, I am there. I did it the first time when I was playing Tracy, and he asked me to do it. I sang “Piece of My Heart†by Janis Joplin. I love this event because I started out singing rock-and-roll. This event is so much fun to do because it kind of gets me back to my roots and to the kind of music I started out singing. It also raises money for a great cause.
Patrick Wilson: I was backstage at Jersey Boys and I ran into Donnie Kehr who runs it and he asked me if I would be part of it.