Broadway Star Andrea McArdle Shines in Streamed Holiday Concert
Broadway’s original Annie, Andrea McArdle, will perform a holiday concert of hope and joy
streamed from Kean University’s intimate Enlow Recital Hall in Hillside, NJ,
making her first concert appearance since the start of the pandemic.
WHEN: Performances will be streamed Thursday, December 17, at 7 p.m.; Friday, December 18, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, December 19, at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday, December 20, at 3 p.m. All performance times are Eastern Standard Time.
TICKETS: Tickets for the streamed concert are $30. Tickets can be purchased online at www.keanstage.com.
The show was recorded onstage at
Kean and will be streamed for five performances, from Thursday, December
17, through Sunday, December 20. McArdle performs seasonal favorites such as White Christmas and It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,
Broadway standards and her inspirational signature song, Tomorrow.
“I enjoy singing Tomorrow right now because
people really need it,” said McArdle, who since March has been at home in
Pennsylvania with her family. Her schedule of more than 30 concerts this year
was postponed due to the pandemic.
The woman who is one of Broadway’s
most recognizable stars said she looks forward to delivering the song’s message
of resilience.
“Talk about a song of hope and
inspiration. In every sense, that song says, ‘keep your chin up, it’ll be
better,’” she said, adding that she performs Tomorrow
in every concert — and can remember the first time she sang it
onstage.
The former child star was picked
from the chorus of Annie
to take the lead role in 1977, then made history as the youngest Tony Award
nominee for Best Lead Actress in a Musical. She is now an internationally known
vocalist, actress and performer.
“So many songs I’m singing feel
really special right now,” McArdle said. “It feels like the biggest Christmas
treat for me, to get back to the stage. I still love to sing every time I
sing.”
During her career, McArdle has
worked with legendary performers from Carol Channing to Frank Sinatra. She rode
atop the Big Apple float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and appeared in
an episode of the ’70s TV sitcom, Welcome
Back Kotter, as character Arnold Horshack’s little sister. She
starred on Broadway in Les
Misérables, Beauty and the Beast and other shows.
McArdle shares anecdotes from her
career during her performance.
“I tell stories between songs. All
of the songs have something that speaks to me,” she said.
McArdle said Enlow is the perfect
venue for the show, which she described as an intimate performance with her at
the microphone and her musical director, Steve Marzullo, at the baby grand
piano.
Recording at Enlow instead of in a studio or in front of a green screen will give it more warmth, she said. What is new for her is not having an audience.
“This is going to be different
because I don’t have people or applause to play off of,” she said. “But it will
be great. It will be a very professional production.”
The show is not her first at Kean.
McArdle appeared at Wilkins Theatre in a holiday-themed show she created about
15 years ago.
McArdle said the pandemic-imposed
hiatus is the longest she has gone without performing since she was 9 years old
and began acting in commercials and a TV soap opera.
She said her hope for the coming
year is that people “see a light at the end of the tunnel.”
“What we’re doing with this show,
even more than any other time, is so heartfelt and we’re so happy to be doing
it,” McArdle said.
“We forget that the gift of music or live performance is an escape and fills this void in our system. Listening to a streaming concert, you feel connected,” she added.