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The Lightning Thief on Broadway!
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When I was 12, I made it a professional goal to one day play on Broadway. That achievement has finally been unlocked! I was beyond excited to make my Broadway debut with the Lightning Thief at the Longacre Theatre over the weekend. It was a thrilling/terrifying/powerful/intoxicating experience that I will never forget.
Special thank to Jeff Fernandes for having me sit in on his absolutely gorgeous kit, and to Wiley DeWeese for being one of the sharpest and kindest MDs I’ve ever worked with. I am also deeply grateful to Jeremy Yaddaw for putting my name forward for this project and countless others.
I also had the best crew of friends and family at the shows. It meant the world to me to look out and see you all there. Thank you all so much for coming!
Finally, I would not be here if it weren’t for the many amazing music teachers I’ve had throughout my life. Have you thanked a music educator today?
On stage at the Longacre Theatre
Couldn’t not take this shot. It’s tradition!
Every reward to yourself should be a goblet of beer
Back on the Interstate!
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Melissa Li & Kit Yan’s Interstate was one of the eight featured presentations at this year’s NAMT Festival of New Works, held at New World Stages. I was delighted to hold down the drum chair again. I developed the drum book for this show, which is near and dear to my heart for a multitude of reasons. This was my first time playing a showcase at NAMT. They provided a nice drum set (with cymbals!) and everyone in the band had their own Aviom unit, which was a nice touch. Interstate is getting a full production in Minnesota next year. Hopefully one in NYC will follow!
That's a Wrap: The Lightning Thief
/I am so thankfully that I got to fill on twice for The Lightning Thief’s first national tour, first in Dallas and then in Boston this past weekend. Here are a few of my favorite drum moments. Enjoy!
The Lightning Thief
/Happy to be back at the Winspear Opera House with everyone's favorite retractable chandelier! I'm here subbing for the esteemed Jeff Fernandes on The Lightning Thief tour. Bring on the monsters!
Happy Opening, American Morning!
/Timothy Huang’s American Morning opened last night at ART/New York Theatres. The show runs for the next two weeks and is presented by Prospect Theater Company. It has been fun, challenging, and rewarding to develop this drum book. Special thanks to our fearless MD, Julianne Merrill, for her patience and guidance!
That's a Wrap: Hundred Days
/What a journey the last seven months have been. I’ve played Hundred Days 120+ times and I would be happy to double that number! This show and the people in it have changed my life in ways that I'm just beginning to process. Thank you especially to The Bengsons for embracing me and bringing me into their family. And thanks to the AMAZING all-female/POC crew at the Arsht Center for this spectacular chalk drawing!
143bpm
/Here’s a little clip of the drum part from the song “Hundred Days.” It cooks! It’s one of my favorite moments of the show to play.
100 Shows!
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Last night I played my 100th show of Hundred Days! It’s been a pleasure to work with such an awesome group of people on and off the stage. Special shoutouts to acupuncture, Zicam, Kick Ass, CBD, Biofreeze, and Advil for keeping me going. That said, I’m looking forward to not hitting drums for two weeks before we take our talents to South Beach.
Interlochen!
/I recently reunited with one of my cabin-mates at Interlochen from NINETEEN YEARS AGO! We haven’t seen each other since that amazing summer, but I still feel like we are and will continue to be lifelong friends. Here’s what Andrea — an outstanding horn player and music teacher — had to say:
This is a little late, but on Valentine’s, Ryan Vella and I went to see “Hamilton” at the Straz in Tampa. And if you know me, you know how much I love it, but that’s not why I’m writing this post. The best part of the night was when I first opened the playbill, and to my complete surprise, it flipped open to a photo of one of my cabin-mates from Interlochen Arts Camp ‘00, Ashley Baier who is performing in “Hundred Days,” which is running next door to “Hamilton.” So, after 19 years (seriously, how has it been that long!?) and yet again, thank you to Victoria Guyre, we got to see Ashley’s performance last Friday. Even though we could only chat for a little afterwards, it was wonderful and surreal to see you, and like you said, I hope we don’t wait another 2 decades until we see each other again! Congratulations on a beautiful performance - you all certainly give the Hamilton casts in Tampa (and NYC) a run for their money. If you’re reading this and in the Tampa Bay area, go see “Hundred Days!” They’ll be there until the end of March. ❤️
Here are some pics Andera shared as well:
I’d never seen this picture before! Me in the center with Erin to the left and Andrea to the right.
Our awesome cabin! So many amazing ladies in this group. Can you spot me?
Andrea and I outside of the Straz after the show. It was so nice to catch up and meet her husband.