Diana D. dans "Brooklyn, the musical"

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Citation :Never sitting ÔIdol'
by W. Fred Crow




American Musical Theatre's ÔBrooklyn' stars singer Diana DeGarmo

Hitting on all cylinders and arriving with a packet of positive reviews, "Brooklyn, The Musical" comes to town for a foray into the Silicon Valley entertainment parlor. The Broadway show on tour is bringing plenty of expectation.

A group of street-corner dreamers, singers and storytellers, world-wise and wanting, meld in voice and song to tell the story of a young girl seeking fame and her unknown father. Following a single clue, she enters the brick jungle of the city that bears her name, Brooklyn. We follow her journey through music and stories. The saga may be set in Brooklyn, and experienced at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, but the street-corner fairytale is all about the girl of the same name.

The American Musical Theatre's cast is small but talented. The musical is designed to allow the vocals to take center stage. In the cast are Tony Award-winning Cleavant Derricks, reprising his Broadway role of Streetsinger, and Tony Award-winning and Grammy-nominated Melba Moore in the role of Paradice, Brooklyn's soft nemesis. Also in the cast is singer-songwriter and Broadway denizen Lee Morgan, reprising his Broadway role of Taylor, and Julie Reiber, who played both Brooklyn and Faith in the original run on Broadway.

"Brooklyn, the Musical" comes with a delightful uppercut. Singing the title role is the 2004 "American Idol" first runner-up, Diana DeGarmo. DeGarmo, 19, may be young and teamed with some great and experienced talent, but according to press from across the country, she's holding her own and more.

DeGarmo is on a whirlwind journey that almost supersedes time and space. Since leaving "American Idol," DeGarmo has released her debut album, "Blue Skies," with RCA; had her single release, "Dreams," premiere at No. 2 on the pop charts b efore going to No. 1; toured with the USO; done voiceovers for television; appeared on Broadway in "Hairspray" and on the San Jose stage at the Center for the Performing Arts in "West Side Story" as Maria. She writes her own music and is planning another album, with a product out by the end of the year. All this from a gal who went to an "American Idol" audition, "...hoping to simply add TV to my resume."

In a recent telephone interview, DeGarmo demonstrated not only her youthful charm and bubbly personality but also a growing maturity. She recognizes that celebrity status may have opened the doors, but it's her talent and drive that is keeping them open.

Speaking of working with musical theater, DeGarmo said, "I'm gaining more experience... gaining more respect. I'm slowly building my own career. Broadway is helping to legitimize my career, give me a solid base so I can be performing, (she adds with a laugh) singing when I'm 95 years old and you have to wheel me out on a wheel chair... singing my own songs at 95. That's what I want to keep doing with the rest of my life."

DeGarmo has performed in "West Side Story" (San Jose), "Hairspray" (Broadway), and now "Brooklyn." Each has a strong character for DeGarmo to play.

"ÔBrooklyn' is very much like my own self. She has a naive sense of who she is and what America is all about... and is trying to find out who she really is," she said.

DeGarmo continued, "There is a Ôcity-weed' character. No name, just a face, voice with a story... I enjoy ÔBrooklyn' a lot because I get to choose whole different characters in one show."

We chatted about the differences and similarities between musical performance and acting.

"Acting is singing without the music... When you sing a song you have to portray the emotions that go behind the song... behind every song is a story. There's more to a song than just the lyrics on a page," she said.

"Brooklyn, The Musical" is fun for DeGarmo on a number of levels. There is familiarity and ownership.

"This show is along the same kind of music I like to perform as an artist. And with Brooklyn we're given such freedom to make the music our own... to put our own thumb-print on the music, which is fantastic."

Sharing high praise for the cast of "Brooklyn," DeGarmo spoke of some of the benefits to live performance. "Live theater is so much fun because you never quite know what's going to happen on a night-to-night basis. Every show is different. Every crowd is different."

I asked DeGarmo about her early musical influences. She stated that the influences came from a common source family. "First of all, my mom. My mom listened to tons of different kinds of music. She is a music lover herself. I got my first love of music from her. I knew every song on Patsy Cline's greatest hits tape. I knew them backward and forward and inside out."

She added, "I love listening to Celine Dion, Wynonna Judd, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, very strong, big voice women... I've always been a big fan."

After "Brooklyn," DeGarmo will return to Broadway for a six-month hitch in the critically acclaimed production of "Hairspray." While there, she'll begin work on her next album.

"When I go back to ÔHairspray,' I plan on going back to the studio... Can't while on tour. We're not long enough in any one city." She hopes to have something by the end of the year, something in pop style with a rhythm and blues flair. At the moment DeGarmo isn't interested in expanding her energies into other fields such as television or film.

"I don't want to be the jack of all trades and master of none... recording music is my first love," she said.

DeGarmo is quite excited about the work the cast is doing in "Brooklyn, The Musical." As we ended our conversation, her parting words were, "Come see ÔBrooklyn.' We guarantee you're going to have a good time. It's a fast paced, fun loving, soulful 96 minutes of just pure fun. You're going to have a great time." She's probably right.

American Musical Theatre, San Jose is presenting "Brooklyn, The Musical" without intermission Aug. 9-13. Performances are at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, 255 Almaden Blvd., San Jose. For ticket information, call the box office at 453-7108.

source:
http://www.themilpitaspost.com/arts/ci_4127284

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SPECIAL TO THE STAR-TELEGRAM/BILL JANSCHA
American Idol runner-up Diana DeGarmo plays the title role in Brooklyn.

source:
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/entertainment/15125457.htm

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Diana DeGarmo, Cleavant Derricks, Lee Morgan (kneeling), Julie Reiber (kneeling) and Melba Moore star in the Houston premiere of ‘Brooklyn’ presented by Theatre Under The Stars at Miller Outdoor Theatre.

source:
http://www.houstonvoice.com/2006/7-21/a ... ooklyn.cfm