Songs from DO YOU NOMI? Musical Will Premiere at The Green Room 42
Performers will include Emma Sofia, Rob Evan, Joey Arias, and more.
More than four decades after Klaus Nomi's singular voice transformed the downtown music scene, a new stage musical inspired by his life will receive its first public presentation on Sunday, August 30 (1pm) at the Green Room 42, in a benefit concert for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Conceived by award-winning playwright and composer Peter Danish and Director Gil Mehmert, Do You Nomi? explores the meteoric rise of the genre-defying performer whose fusion of opera, new wave, performance art, and cabaret reshaped the possibilities of popular music. Nomi's unforgettable 1979 appearance with David Bowie on Saturday Night Live propelled him to international acclaim, but his career was cut tragically short when he became the first major recording artist to die of AIDS in 1983.
The concert will feature selections from the musical's score, combining Nomi's most celebrated songs with newly written material by Kristian Hoffman, Nomi's longtime songwriter and collaborator, and Mr. Danish. The performance also marks a rare reunion of members of Klaus Nomi's original band, appearing together for the first time in more than forty years.
The concert will be hosted by Metropolitan Opera Radio host Will Berger and features: opera legend Aprile Millo, the current breakout star of CATS The Jellicle Ball, Emma Sofia, Broadway stars Rob Evan (Jekyll & Hyde), Eric Buckley (Addams Family), David Sabella (Chicago), Rita Harvey (Phantom of the Opera), Tony d’Alileo (Gypsy), Jordan Rutter-Covatto (The Tempest), downtown legends Snooky and Tish, and legendary cabaret artist and drag icon, Joey Arias.
Rather than a conventional jukebox musical, Do You Nomi? seeks to place Nomi's artistry within the broader cultural landscape of late-1970s New York—a period when the worlds of punk, opera, fashion, and avant-garde performance collided to redefine American popular culture. His influence continues to resonate through the work of artists ranging from Madonna and Lady Gaga to designers Thierry Mugler and Jean Paul Gaultier.
The August 30 performance offers audiences an early glimpse of a work in development while celebrating the enduring artistic legacy of one of the most original voices of the late twentieth century—and raising funds for a cause deeply intertwined with his story.
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