Broadway and West End stars Sierra Boggess and Julian Ovenden have reunited with a new album of classic and contemporary Broadway duets. Sierra Boggess is best known for originating the role of Ariel in The Little Mermaid on Broadway, as well as for multiple appearances as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera. Other credits include West Side Story, The Pirates of Penzance, The Boy Friend, and Sweet Charity. Julian Ovenden has starred on Broadway and West End stages, as well as television series and films both in the U.K. and U.S. Theatre credits include Merrily We Roll Along, Grand Hotel, Annie Get Your Gun, Sunday in the Park with George, among others, while TV credits include Downton Abbey, Smash, Person of Interest, and Bridgerton. Recorded remotely during the pandemic, “Together At A Distance” features iconic musical theatre hits from legendary Broadway composers, including Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Loewe, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jason Robert Brown and more.
Sierra and Julian take us back to how they met while singing together at The Proms (short for promenade) at the Royal Albert Hall, a concert series founded in August 1895, and one which Julian calls “the biggest classical music festival in the world”. They speak about their love for classical singing, classic musical theatre, and how they share the same type of musical language. They dive into what sparked the idea to create their new album, noting a need for connection, healing, and making music during the pandemic, and also detail how they went about recording remotely and apart from one another.
In this episode, we talk about:
- The Proms concerts at Royal Albert Hall
- Creating improvised home studios to record their album
- Why and how they were drawn to particular duets
- How people responded once they began releasing tracks
- What this project has meant to them
Connect with Sierra and Julian:
- Listen to Together At A Distance: https://found.ee/TogetherAtADistance
- IG: @officialsierraboggess and @julianovenden
Connect with The Theatre Podcast:
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- TheTheatrePodcast.com
- Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales
- Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think.
Thank you to our friends Jukebox The Ghost for our intro and outro music. You can find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @jukeboxtheghost or via the web via jukeboxtheghost.com.