Jennafer Newberry And Alexander Mendoza to Release 'Over The Beautiful City' To Benefit The Trevor Project And One Pulse Foundation

Jennafer Newberry (Wicked National Tour, Gretchen in Disney's Freaky Friday, Nemo in Finding Nemo the Musical at Walt Disney World, The Capulet Party at The Green Room, Bat Boy at The Abbey, The Light in the Piazza at MCT) and Alexander Mendoza (World Tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, 1st National Tour of Sister Act The Musical, North American Tour of Mamma Mia!, Disney's Beauty and the Beast at Alabama Shakespeare Festival) release "Over the Beautiful City," a duet of "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz and "Beautiful City" from Godspell, on Friday June 11, the proceeds from which are being donated to The Trevor Project and One Pulse Foundation.

Two of the most recognizable songs in the musical theatre canon, "Over the Rainbow" composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg and "Beautiful City" with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz were recorded by Newberry and Mendoza in New York City at Electric Lady Studios and in Los Angeles, respectively, and was produced by James Thompson of The Writing Room (Kaleena Zanders, Disney World, Showtime) and mastered by Latin Grammy winner Dale Becker of Becker Mastering (Chloe X Halle, Khalid, Adam Lambert).

Newberry said:

"I lived in Orlando and was a full-time cast member at Disney World for 5 years. I still remember when the news broke of the shooting at Pulse. I was in New York for a friend's wedding and was utterly devastated. I couldn't stop crying.

"When Alexander and I decided to release a song together, 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' came to mind because rainbows are associated with Pride, but they are also associated with hope. The idea of using 'Beautiful City' came from the fact that Orlando is known as 'The City Beautiful.' My friends at St. Luke's in Orlando did a beautiful tribute of this song last year and it stuck with me.

"We want to bring awareness (and hopefully generous donations) to these two organizations doing beautiful work for the LGBTQIA+ community. We knew we didn't want our faces on the album art so I reached out to my favorite artist, Fabio Napolioni, and he created a beautiful piece he titled '49 Souls.' It's 49 hearts configured into a rainbow representing one heart for each life lost in the Pulse tragedy.

"This collaboration was born out of love for the Orlando community, love for the LGBTQIA+ community, and love for all. We pray this song shines a bit of light into a day darkened by tragedy and that that light can be a ray of hope for the future."

"Over the Beautiful City" is available at midnight on June 11, 2021 on iTunes, YouTube and all streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, and TIDAL.

Cover art by Fabio Napolioni.