Broadway Blog: 15 minutes with Norm Lewis
Broadway Blog writes:
Broadway star Norm Lewis heads to New Jersey to perform with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, April 15-17. The program’s headliner has garnered critical and audience acclaim and made history as Broadway’s first African-American Phantom inThe Phantom of the Opera. Frequent NJSO guest conductor and audience favorite Thomas Wilkins conducts.
The New York Times praised Lewis’ history-making turn in The Phantom of the Opera, writing that Lewis’ “sonorous baritone has been among the most reliably impressive voices on Broadway for many years now. In his big solo ‘The Music of the Night,’ Mr. Lewis’s supple phrasing and power combined to gorgeous effect. His Phantom is imposing in his willfulness, as his lustrous voice comes booming down from the heavens, and touching in his energetic but unrequited love for Christine.”
The Hollywood Reporter hailed the actor’s “multidimensional” performance in the Broadway production of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess opposite Audra McDonald: “this is a man who literally grows in stature and strength before our eyes, as if nourished and emboldened by love. His ‘I Got Plenty of Nothing’ is an explosion of sheer joy that almost blows off the roof.”
In this NJSO POPS program, Lewis performs music from Phantom, Porgy and Bess, Les Misérables (he appeared as Javert in a West End production and in Les Misérables: The 25th Anniversary Concert, which aired on PBS) and other Broadway shows; he also performs songs from his debut album, This is The Life.
The Broadway Blog caught up with Lewis as he prepared for the three-concert weekend, titled Norm Lewis: Music of the Night with NJSO.
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What elements of concert performance do you enjoy that are different than appearing in a traditional book musical?
The last show I did on Broadway was Phantom—eight times a week is a commitment—you’re giving 100 percent (or as close to possible) every night, sometimes twice a day. The concert world is exciting because it’s just you. Each song has its character but you have to relate to the audience between those songs. I just want to make it fun… like you’re in my living room.
Read the full interview.
RELATED: Norm Lewis previews NJSO concerts with The Princeton Packet
MUSIC OF THE NIGHT: NORM LEWIS WITH THE NJSO
2015–16 POPS Series
You know him as Porgy from the recent Broadway smash production of Porgy and Bess, the first African-American Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera and as Javert in the popular PBS special Les Misérables: The 25th Anniversary Concert. Norm Lewis, the phenomenal star who brought these roles to life, takes center stage with the NJSO in a concert filled with favorites from Broadway and beyond.
NORM LEWIS vocalist (pictured)
THOMAS WILKINS conductor
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA