{"id":1,"date":"2021-05-27T03:02:53","date_gmt":"2021-05-27T03:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prodacehotel.wpengine.com\/new-york\/?p=1"},"modified":"2021-06-03T20:16:07","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T00:16:07","slug":"hello-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acehotel.com\/new-york\/hello-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Broadway from a Hotel Window"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been almost a year since the lights went out on Broadway. It goes without saying that New York City\u2019s arts and culture sector has been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic \u2014 but this past fall, we glimpsed a welcomed glimmer of the Theatre District\u2019s greatness when Ace Hotel New York hosted a socially distanced dinner series called Broadway @ Breslin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The weekly, sold out evenings involved diners in a make-shift courtyard watching the best in musical theater perform from an open window above. Emceed by yours truly, the shows featured star-class talent like Tony-nominee Max von Essen (Broadway\u2019s An American in Paris<\/em> and Evita<\/em>), belter Alysha Umphress (Broadway\u2019s On The Town<\/em>, American Idiot<\/em> and On A Clear Day\u2026<\/em> with Harry Connick, Jr.) and more.<\/p>\n

When I\u2019m not moonlighting as an outdoor dinner theater host, you can find me weekly on New York\u2019s Spectrum News NY1 \u2014 where I host the station\u2019s entertainment\/theater-based news magazine program, ON STAGE<\/em>.\u00a0 It was truly a pleasure to get to call up some of my most talented pals and invite them to be a part of this inaugural performance experience. I recently re-connected with Max and Alysha to reflect on participating in Broadway @ Breslin<\/strong> at Ace Hotel, and to talk about how they\u2019re staying creative and optimistic during this extended intermission.<\/p>\n

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FRANK DiLELLA: <\/strong>Theaters have been dark in New York City for almost a year now \u2014 as a New York based performer, how do you even process that?<\/p>\n

ALYSHA UMPHRESS: <\/strong>I think every week, month, day is different. There are sometimes where I\u2019m just kind of like, this is what it is and, you know, I\u2019ve had a lot to keep me busy during the pandemic. But sometimes \u2014 this week for instance \u2013 I get a bit frustrated.\u00a0It\u2019s frustrating when you see Australia and you see parts of Asia with shows and tours that are up and running as if nothing happened, and we\u2019re just still flailing.<\/p>\n

FD: <\/strong>Aside from performing at the Ace, how else have you been staying creative during this time?<\/p>\n

MAX VON ESSEN: <\/strong>It\u2019s a little tough for me to kind of get a fire under my butt and do my own things. But I have managed. I did my own solo show at Birdland with no audience, just me and Billy Stritch. I\u2019ve done Cameos for people to raise money for The Actors Fund. I took part in a digital, streaming version of the musical Meet Me in St. Louis<\/em>\u201d for [The New York based not-for-profit theater] The Irish Rep that we all filmed alone in our homes.<\/p>\n

AU: <\/strong>Since June, I\u2019ve been lucky to be performing pretty steadily. I did a couple of musicals that we filmed and produced on Zoom; also Zoom benefits and concert work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Max von Essen singing from Ace Hotel window<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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And in the moment you don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen. The sounds of the city, people just stopping along the sidewalk.<\/p>\n

I was never a part of a theatrical experience quite like that.<\/p>\n

Max von Essen<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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FD: <\/strong>What was it like getting to perform for a New York City audience for the first time in a long time when you did Broadway @ Breslin?<\/p>\n

MVE: <\/strong>It was definitely a highlight of this very strange and difficult time. I would put it in probably the top five memories of this whole pandemic, just because it was so unique. And to have a live audience for the first time in so long \u2014 I will never forget it. It was amazing.<\/p>\n

AU: <\/strong>It didn\u2019t really hit me until I was leaning out the window at Ace that I was like \u201cWOW! I haven\u2019t performed in New York City since January of 2020.\u201d It all sort of hit me like a ton of bricks. It was really special. It was so much cooler than I had anticipated.<\/p>\n

FD: <\/strong>Let\u2019s talk about the set-up: you were both singing to a crowd from a window above, to respect the rules of social distancing.<\/p>\n

MVE: <\/strong>Aside from it being unique, the takeaway was just how much I miss the connection with an audience. Like, there\u2019s nothing that replicates that feeling, that relationship between a live audience and you. And in the moment you don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen. The sounds of the city, people just stopping along the sidewalk. I was never a part of a theatrical experience quite like that. It was so unique and so exciting. And it\u2019s the kind of thing that I want more of.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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FD: <\/strong>Talk about the process of performing for diners.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

AU:\u00a0 <\/strong>Well, you go upstairs to one of the hotel rooms, it\u2019s on the second floor of Ace Hotel and it overlooks the street, which is where they have all the tables.\u00a0 And I was hooked to a rope \u2014 just in case. I think if I ever did it again, I probably wouldn\u2019t need the rope, but it was good just for safety.\u00a0The rope was anchored to a coat rack that was in the wall. They had sound set up in the room. I had my piano player, Trevor, who was just to the left of me playing \u2014 and then the room next door is the green room. So for all intents and purposes, it worked!<\/p>\n

FD:<\/strong> Max \u2013 was it emotional singing from the window?<\/p>\n

MVE: <\/strong>There were a couple of times where I really got lost in the music. There is one song that I sing a lot \u2014 I do a kind of more romantic version of the song \u201cOn This Night of a Thousand Stars\u201d from Evita<\/em>. And I was just sitting on the ledge of a window, looking up at the sky and the city lights and the stars.\u00a0It had been raining and then suddenly the whole sky cleared up and there was no more rain and it was just so surreal. And at that moment, with my mom there in the audience \u2014 who I have not gotten a chance to perform for in a very long time \u2014 it did move me.<\/p>\n

FD: <\/strong>What\u2019s been the most challenging thing you\u2019ve experienced as an artist during the shutdown?<\/p>\n

MVE: <\/strong>I\u2019m such a born and bred New Yorker and I love my city. I live right in the theater district. I see the theaters closed. I see the businesses closing because they rely on Broadway and tourists. For me, as an artist, seeing people around me suffer and seeing my city suffer, you know\u2026 it\u2019s hard to see that day in and day out.<\/p>\n

AU: <\/strong>I think on a personal level, artists take in so much from people around us and connections with other people. And I think not having that has been really frustrating. We\u2019ve been so isolated, and I think that\u2019s why singing at Broadway @ Breslin was so special.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It didn\u2019t really hit me until I was leaning out the window . . . I haven\u2019t performed in New York City since January of 2020. It all sort of hit me like a ton of bricks. It was really special.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Alysha Umphress<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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FD: <\/strong>Dr. Fauci recently went on the record saying Broadway may be able to come back in the fall. what\u2019s the one thing you\u2019re looking forward to the most once Broadway is back up and running?<\/p>\n

MVE: <\/strong>Just thinking of that first note of the overture, or the first lyric or the first entrance of a performer. I mean \u2014 the thrill that I\u2019m going to feel \u2014 I\u2019m going to be emotional. I know I\u2019m going to be crying. I mean I\u2019m crying just thinking about it because it\u2019s that important to us.<\/p>\n

AU: <\/strong>That first moment when we\u2019re in the theater and the orchestra starts playing, when the lights go to half and just\u2026 I can\u2019t imagine what the reaction and the applause and just the energy will be like in the theater! I mean, I\u2019m just counting down the seconds. Whether it\u2019s a straight play or a musical \u2014\u00a0I\u2019ll see anything. Honestly, I can\u2019t wait.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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NY1\u2019s Frank DiLella hosting Broadway at Breslin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Like Alysha and Max, I cannot wait to be back in a theater.\u00a0I keep thinking about what I\u2019m <\/em>looking forward to the most \u2013 is it the orchestra warming up? Or the house lights going to half? My answer changes daily.\u00a0All I know is that I am going to be a blubbering mess once it actually happens. Broadway is my passion \u2013 I moved to the city nearly 20 years ago for the theater, and I\u2019ve dedicated my life to covering the incredible artists who make up the city\u2019s theater community.<\/p>\n

Broadway is the beating heart of NYC, and I\u2019m eager to see it alive and thriving again. Until then, I\u2019m grateful for small things \u2014\u00a0like songs from the second story window.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been almost a year since the lights went out on Broadway. It goes without saying that New York City\u2019s arts and culture sector has been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic \u2014 but this past fall, we glimpsed a welcomed glimmer of the Theatre District\u2019s greatness when Ace Hotel New York hosted a socially distanced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"blog-category":[],"class_list":["post-1","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":{"navigation_styling_options":[]},"yoast_head":"\nBroadway from a Hotel Window - New York<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/acehotel.com\/new-york\/hello-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Broadway from a Hotel Window - New York\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s been almost a year since the lights went out on Broadway. 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