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Mauricio Martinez Is Getting On His Feet at Feinstein's/54 Below!
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Nov 2, 2022
FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Mauricio Martinez in De Mexico To Broadway on Sunday July 1, 7pm. Get On Your Feet for this multitalented Broadway star as he makes his sizzling 54 Below debut. Currently headlining the 1st National Tour of On Your Feet as Emilio Estefan after starring on Broadway last year, the Mexican star of theatre, music, and television presents his solo concert De Mexico To Broadway, where he takes audiences on a musical journey of his life and multifaceted career.
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0:00
Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World. We are once again back at the legendary Sardis
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and my guest is on the road touring the country as Emilio Estefan in the hit musical On Your Feet
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and he's about to make his solo debut at 54 Below on July 1st. Please welcome Maurizio Martinez
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How are you? Welcome to Sardis. Thank you. I'm excited to be here. So, how is touring life? Tell me
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Touring life is amazing. It's fun. It's hard, but it's fun. It's a lot of fun
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We get opening nights almost every week. We get new spaces, new theaters, new cities, new climates, new altitude, everything
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Everything's new. So that keeps you literally on your feet. Yeah. See what I did there
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I love that. No, but it must be really great, though, because you think you only have one opening night
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but you get one with every city you do with a whole new audience
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Yes, and there's new press, and you have to go to see all the TV stations, and you have to go to the radio stations and promote the show
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and opening nights, and opening night parties. So it's over and over and over
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besides the traveling. We are musical theater performers that tour our athletes
1:03
Oh, totally. Like doing the Olympics. But it's beautiful. If I didn't love the show as much as I do
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it'd be a different story. But this is such a great show to do, and I love it so much
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Okay, you made your Broadway debut playing Emilio Estefan on your feet
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What do you remember about that magical night, your Broadway debut? I'll never forget
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Emilio calling me, he couldn't make it because Gloria Fajardo, who's Gloria's mother, had just recently passed away
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So they were not coming to the show. It was still too soon for them. So he called me, and we had the best conversation
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And he said, you know, you got to remember to tell the people that this is the American dream
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And you got to tell them that this is possible. And it's your story. It's like mine. It's just like you
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And you got to think of the accent. And I'm like, yes. He was so humble, so loving, so caring
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and I knew then that we would become friends and that that connection
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would be special and I will never forget having my mom on fourth row center
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with my sister with my dearest friends at the end at the finale
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as we're singing the Megamix which is the only part where I can actually
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break the fourth wall and see my beautiful mom there and I made it to Broadway
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you know it's been quite a journey and I'll never forget that
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those two things so that magical July 11th, 2017. Wonderful. This was a role you wanted
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to do, wasn't it? Yes, it was a role that I wanted to do. I didn't even know it
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existed, but I came to do my Off-Crawadway debut with a musical
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for Nymph for the New York Musical Festival two years ago called Children of Salt, which
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is the first Mexican musical to make it to New York, and I was the lead
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And some critics and some casting directors came to see me, including
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the casting director for On Your Feet, and that's how they found me, and they emailed me, and they
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said, would you be interested in auditioning? And that's how it started. And here I am
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Okay. So how did you find out you were cast as a BLEO? I was, I was in Mexico city finishing El Vato, which is a TV show that I did for NBC Universo
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I had just wrapped it up literally two days ago, two days before. And I was in my apartment
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and my American manager calls me and he says, Mauricio, I have an early birthday present
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for you. And I said, what do you mean? Uh, it comes in two boxes. And I'm like, Steve
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what do you mean two boxes? And he says, well, they not only want you to lead
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um, the national tour of on your feet, but they also want you to close the show and come to Broadway and be the
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last actor to play Emilio on Broadway. I just lost it right there
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It was, you know, I, I wasn't expecting Broadway. I was just expecting the tour
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So Broadway was a beautiful beautiful gift that literally changed my life You know let talk about Gloria Estefan music Why is it so beloved around the world in every single language
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Well, I think it has to do with the fact that she opened people's minds
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She, both her and Emilio, brought this new sound that was never heard before here in the States
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with very, very good lyrics. And people related to that music, you know
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It was the first time a female crossed over from the Latin, from the Spanish world, into the American mainstream
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People love that because there are a lot of immigrants in this country
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It doesn't matter if you're Latino and you speak Spanish and you knew her before. If you're an immigrant and you're wanting to live the American dream, you listen to Gloria Estefan and you are related
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It's like holding up a mirror. So that's what her music does
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It's inspiring. It's also fun. Who didn't dance to conga? who didn't dance to get on your feet you know a rhythm is going to get you and of course there's
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the beautiful ballads i'll never for i'll never forget don't want to lose you now in spanish which
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is how i learned it i grew up listening to it and now i get to sing it in english uh so
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she's beloved. She still is, but a superstar, like a worldwide phenomenon. And she's famous
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all over the world. Yeah. You know, let's talk about the fans. I mean, you play city after city
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Yes. What's it like meeting the fans? Favorite fan moment? Favorite fan moment. New York, man. New
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York has definitely been, I mean, every city's special, but New York just has a different vibe
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people really are waiting for you in the stage door it was the summer last year so
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i was wearing shorts all the time and i was like very comfortable it was hot and uh people would bring me tequila bottles of tequila uh that uh flags of mexico um flags from
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cuba uh latinos were waiting for me and that recognized me maybe from a tv show in mexico or
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or um or telemundo and the people that knew them like people that grew up with gloria and emilio
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would come up to me and say, you did such a really good job
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You really do sound like him. I've got to say one of the best moments
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was meeting a lady called Jane Elisa who was waiting for me outside the theater
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And she said, don't freak out. I'm not a fan. I just saw the show
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but I have this foundation that works with leukemia and with Broadway Cares
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And I just saw your performance and I was so blown away that I would love for you to get
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an award and come sing for us. So she invited me to be honored
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as a Shining Star Award for her Jane and Lisa Foundation that works with leukemia and Broadway Cares
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That's great. And I returned, I was on tour. How can we make this happen, she said
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And we made it happen. I came back from tour on October 30th
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to perform none other than to the Marriott Marquis, where I made my Broadway debut
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And it was a very magical night. and I got to perform to an amazing group of people
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and was awarded and talked about cancer and talked about life and theater
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And yeah, but I met her there at the stage tour, you know? So you never know who you're going to meet
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Yeah, sure. You never know. Where did your love for performing begin
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Was it your mom? My mom, yes. You did your research? Oh, I did my research. You know I do
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That's what I do. Yeah, my mom. Who's your mom, right? Yeah. My mom. My mom is a painter
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My mom is a fan of music, of Hollywood musicals. I didn't know that when I was growing up she would play me movies like Singing in the Rain or Hello Dolly or Grease
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And most of these movies came from Broadway But I didn know that I had no clue It wasn until later when I was in my teens that I discovered that Broadway existed and it was in New York And I thought it was just fascinating And I fell in love with it so much that by the time I turned 19
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I was already studying with a scholarship here in New York at AMDA, the American Musical Dramatic
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Academy. And I was driven and I knew it was for me. And I came here 20 years ago and I haven't
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stopped because you created a lot of these famous musical theater roles in mexico and america right
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yes in mexico some of your favorite roles that you played what are they tony manero tony manero
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it was a dream role of mine because i remember being here as a student as a 19 year old on the
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subway reading backstage and i saw the guy his name was adam garcia who played tony manero at
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the west end yeah and i saw and he was coming to broadway and i was like i gotta get this role
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because I've always wanted to be Travolta. So it was rush hour, and of course somebody pushed me
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so I fell to the ground, and I didn't know what was more painful
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my pain in the ankle or the rejection that I got from the audition
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because I couldn't even do Shaney turns. But that was a disaster, so I thought
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Saturday Night Fever is not ever going to happen. Then life took me to cruise ships two years later
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and I met the original choreographer, and we became friends, and she said, why don't you try out for the German production
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so I did, and I booked it as the understudy, but the day I called my mom to say
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I'm moving to Germany, she said, your dad had been diagnosed with cancer
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so I had to say no to that, so I was like, two in a row, Saturday Night Fever's not for me
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fast forward to three years later, right after I did Mexican Idol
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don't ask, I received a phone call from the producer, the show's producer
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and he says, there's this very famous theater producer here waiting for you
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He saw you in the show. He really likes you, and he thinks you're perfect for the role that he's been waiting to cast, wanting to cast
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And he can't find a triple threat. We just have to dye your hair because I was blonde then
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And I said, what role are you talking about? And he said, Tony Manero, Saturday Night Fever
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So it made my dream come true, but it made my dream come true in my language, in my country
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So it's meant to be what it's meant to be, right? Exactly, exactly. I have many stories like that
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Another one is Beauty and the Beast. That was a very magical one because I used to sell merchandise here at the Palace Theater 20 years ago, 19 years ago
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And 10 years later, I was the beast in Mexico City. So, yeah, I have a lot of magical moments like that in my life, in my career
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What was that Tony Manero stance you just did? You got that down
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I'm rehearsing it for my 54 Below debut. Well, let's get into that right now
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You're about to make your solo debut at 54 Below. Yes, and it's very exciting
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Well, what's the name of the show? Well, it's called De Mexico to Broadway
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I love that. Fabulous. That's literally my life. You know, De Mexico to Broadway
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And that literally has been my life for the last 20 years. So I couldn't think of a better title
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It defines perfectly who I am, where I'm from, where I come from, and where I am now and where I always wanted to be
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And I feel so welcomed by this beautiful community. So it's a way of celebrating this wonderful year that has not stopped
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Yeah. with so many blessings. And it's a beautiful way to look back at my love affair
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that I've had with New York for the past 20 years, ever since I came to audition for that school 20 years ago
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And I've been coming back and forth to auditions and whatnot and all the roles that I played in musical theater
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first in Mexico and now in New York and in the States
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So, yeah, that's the journey that I'm going to take the audience through. Okay, so talk about some, can you tell us anything about the musical numbers Yes Okay Yeah my musical director is Jaime Lozano who the composer of Children of Salt He from my hometown He a beautiful beautiful composer from Monterrey Mexico And he did wonderful arrangements of songs like Night Fever How Deep Is Your Love
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and Mortality from, obviously, Saturday Night Fever. Then we do something from Beauty and the Beast, a little bit of Sweet Charity that I also played
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I played Vittorio Vitale in the Mexican production like 10, 9 years ago
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I did Jesus Christ Superstar. So I do a little bit of that, too. I do last five years that I also did the premier Spanish version like five years ago in Mexico
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And yeah, until I finally make it to first Children of Salt, then Evita that I did in Kansas City Repertory Theater
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And that was a dream role of mine. Che, right? Che. I always wanted to do that because I auditioned for the Ricky Martin revival
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And I was this close. It was down to like two or three of us. And I didn't get it
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But the time wasn't right. Yeah. You know, the time wasn't right. And when the time was right, I got to play it
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And actually, my co-star from that show, Marianne Torres, who's now in Wicked playing Elphaba, is one of my guests
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So we're celebrating. So you have a few guest stars. Can you tell our audience at Broadway World some of your guest stars
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Well, I was originally having my beautiful Bianca Marroquín, who's from Mexico. She was the first Mexican to cross over from Mexico to the States in Chicago
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But she can't make it. She's shooting a movie. So she literally called me a week ago, and she was like, oh, my God, I can't make it now
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But I'm like, don't worry. We'll find an excuse to work together. So Marianne, beautiful Marianne, is stepping in, and we're so excited because we haven't sung together in a year and a half
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And she's a wonderful singer. She's a wonderful performer. She did Entranstit before Wicked, and now she's in Wicked
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I just recently saw her as Elphaba, and she just blows people away
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and I have somebody very special that I have admired for so many years
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and now we've become friends and we have two things in common. Well, three things in common
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The love for theater. Yes. Saturday Night Fever because she did it. I think we know who this is
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On Broadway and I did it in Mexico. And we have Jerry Mitchell in common because she's been directed by him right now in Pretty Woman
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and I was just directed by him in On Your Feet. Yeah
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Orfei. Fabulous. Little voice. Small voice. Yeah. A small voice. No, I couldn't be happier
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She's the funniest, most talented, most generous, most loving. And I'm so excited to revisit our Saturday Night Fever days with her
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It's going to be exciting. You're going to need a dance floor that night. You realize that you're 54 Below with all these numbers, right
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There's a lot of ballads, though. There's a lot of ballads, too. I'm a romantic. I'm a hopeless romantic, and I love to sing ballads
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And 54 Below is intimate, you know? So I love the vibe that it has
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I have only been there once as an audience member. So I'm very excited to be in such an iconic place, you know, such a legendary space
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My final question is what are you looking forward to the most about July 1st, 54 Below
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Oh, I'm looking forward to just having a wonderful time and saying thanks to these beautiful fans that have joined me this past year of blessing after blessing after blessing ever since I debuted in On Your Feet
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And just to celebrate New York, have a good time. You know, I'm going to raise a glass and have a toast and literally say, I'm here to stay
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I feel welcome. I feel loved. thank you for this incredible year and may we have many more nights like this
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and just have fun. You're literally going to watch me age 20 years in an hour and 20 minutes
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I better make it fun, right? It's going to be hilarious. I'll see you on July 1st
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Yes, you will. A real pleasure, my friend
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