Audra McDonald to perform at Benedict Music Tent on Thursday

News News | Aug 1, 2023

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There was a time when celebrated singer, actor and Broadway trailblazer Audra McDonald was reluctant to sing Broadway’s greatest tunes. Fans will be pleased to hear those days are behind her.

“We’re going for the classic Great American ‘musical theater’ Songbook,” said McDonald. “These are songs that I stayed away from for years. I’d been a little bit afraid of them or just thought that’s too iconic for me to touch. And now that I’m in my 50s, I feel like I’m old enough to try and put my spin on them. These are songs that I’ve grown up loving and admiring the people who sang and wrote them.”

McDonald will take the stage at the Benedict Music Tent on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. with the Aspen Music Festival and School for a one-night-only performance of classics from the Great American Songbook and tunes from Broadway favorites like “My Fair Lady,” “West Side Story,” “Porgy and Bess,” “Cabaret,” “Funny Girl,” and more.

“Some of these songs like ‘Before the Parade Passes By’, or ‘Summertime’ tell incredible stories,” she said. “Think about the first time everybody heard the song ‘Cabaret.’ There was there no song like it before and it just became burned in your brain as a result. The narrative with which some of these songs are written is also indelible and universal — universal being a singular way of telling the story or exploring a universal theme. I think that’s what makes a song iconic.”

McDonald, 53, was just nominated for her tenth Tony Award. She has won six Tony Awards for her work on Broadway, more than any other performer. And she is also the only person to win in all four acting categories, including four featured actress wins for her roles in “Carousel” (1994), “Master Class” (1996), “Ragtime” (1998) and “A Raisin in the Sun” (2004).

She won leading actress Tonys for her performance as Bess in the musical “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess” in 2012 and her performance as jazz singer Billie Holiday in “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill” in 2014.

McDonald’s love of the stage runs back to her school days. She said many of her classmates from The Juilliard School would spend at least part of their summers in Aspen to perform in the Aspen Music Festival and School. But she decided to go another route, because she knew she wanted to do more than classical singing.

Instead, she would participate in summer stock theater, which are smaller-scale, frequently outdoor productions put on in the summer, and take the scolding when she got back to school.

For Thursday’s performance she will be joined on stage by Jeremy Jordan (piano), Mark Vanderpoel (bass), and Gene Lewin (drums) alongside a full orchestra conducted by longtime collaborator Andy Einhorn.

“I really encourage people to come out because I think it’s going to be one of the most entertaining evenings of the summer, but I also think she’s a legendary entertainer. And we don’t necessarily live in a world filled with many of those anymore,” said Einhorn.

Einhorn, who has known McDonald over 20 years and worked with her for over a decade, said that seeing her perform is life changing.

“I think sometimes (it) surprises people when they come to our concerts and end up describing it as a cathartic, soul cleansing experience. Because even though we’re doing great material and she’s won more Tonys than anyone in history, she’s a humanitarian first,” he said. “She’s an incredible entertainer but also a beautiful person who cares passionately about the arts and about the world today. She can communicate with each person on an individual level and make them feel like it is very much a one-on-one personal experience.”

In addition to performing, McDonald and Einhorn will be holding a master class with current Aspen Music Festival and School students while in town. Education is something they both feel passionately about and are both committed to sharing their knowledge with the next generation.

“I’m excited for us to be working with the students in the orchestra and for them to be having this experience to play on stage with somebody like Audra, because it’s really unique,” said Einhorn. “To be in an environment whose mission is to find a healthy blend between professional and teaching is a great dose of paying it forward in many ways.”

McDonald agreed, noting that empowering the next generation is crucial to their industry’s future.

“It’s important because the knowledge that I have and a lot of the things that I’ve learned that have stayed with me as I evolved as an artist I was taught by mentors,” she said. “I want to be able to pass that on the way it was passed on to me. I don’t believe in gatekeeping and holding on to your information and your knowledge and your experience.”

What: Aspen Music Festival and School presents: Audra McDonald with orchestra

When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.

Where:Benedict Music Tent, Aspen

More info and Tickets: aspenmusicfestival.com/events/calendar/special-event-broadway-star-audra-mcdonald-with-orchestra-2

Aug 1, 2023

Thursday, McDonald will take the stage at the Benedict Music Tent for a one-night-only performance of classics from the Great American Songbook and tunes from Broadway favorites like “My Fair Lady,” “West Side Story,” “Porgy and Bess,” “Cabaret,” “Funny Girl,” and more.

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