Interview: The BROADWAY BELTRESS POWER HOUR Returns to The Green Room 42

Christopher Metzger-Timson's iconic series, the Broadway Beltress Power Hour, makes its grand return to The Green Room 42 on Friday April 4 at 7 pm, with a special pride edition in the works for June 7th. “It's as if we never said goodbye!” The classic college drinking game comes to life in this show, as NYC’s fiercest divas get one minute to belt into the rafters! When the time is up, the divas switch, and we drink! The show will feature 60 Broadway tunes in 60 minutes sung by Natalie Joy Johnson (Lempicka, Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde), Zoe Jensen (SIX, Heart of Rock and Roll, Dear Evan Hansen), Holli’ Conway (Lempicka, SIX, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical), Anne Fraser Thomas (Titanique), Mia Gentile (Kinky Boots, Forbidden Broadway) and Alyssa Wray (American Idol Season 19).

The Green Room 42 will be serving up beer specials all night so you can pregame “like you used to in college, raise your ya ya yas and “let us be your STAAAAR!”

We spoke with Metzger-Timson about the origins of the show and what’s coming up next for him.

What are you most looking forward to about your upcoming Green Room 42 show?

Honestly, my favorite part is that I get to sit on the side and watch the audience watch these insane performances by some of my favorite singers in the city. As the night progresses, the songs get sillier, the belting gets higher, the audience gets more tipsy, and it really feels like a party. I feel like "The Hostess with the Mostes' on the Ball!" 

Where did the idea for Beltress Power Hour come from?

I was on my very first bus-and-truck national tour in 2011- The Music Man- and had hours and hours to kill on a bus. So, my friend Graham and I decided to make a "Beltress Power Hour Playlist" to play with the cast after the show one night. We put together our favorite 60 belty Broadway songs, cut them to a minute in GarageBand, and added a sound effect cue to drink- our castmate Katie belting "or a Double Boiler!" from "The Wells Fargo Wagon." It was so stupid fun, and many of the songs from that original playlist are still in the show today! Eight years later, in 2019, we debuted "The Beltress Power Hour" at The Green Room 42 and had a successful run that whole year playing five shows including a Christmas Spectacular! It feels so cathartic to finally bring it back to NYC audiences this year!

How do you choose which 60 tunes you'll be sampling in the show?

I like to draw from my performers' repertoires as much as possible, while making sure we are hitting all the belty Broadway staples my audiences are waiting for: "I Will Never Leave You," "Defying Gravity," and "Let Me Be Your Star," etc.  I ask each woman to send me a list of 20 songs and then I assign them each 10-12 from there. My favorite part is then putting them in "playlist order" to make sure the night ebbs, flows, and grows in a nice way. It's like a game of Gay Tetris!  We also always have a section towards the end of the show- when the audience is nice and toasty- where we take traditionally soprano songs and belt them to the rafters. It's so stupid.

Who do you think would enjoy the Beltress Power Hour?

Well, as Megan Hilty sings in Broadway's Death Becomes Her, "Everything I do is for...THE GAYS." But really, any musical theatre lover will have a great time. There's nothing obscure about our repertoire- it's the best of Broadway. Songs everyone knows, loves, and will most likely sing along to. It also helps if you like to drink, but I won't judge if you want to play with a mocktail! [laughs]

Do you have any future plans for this series?

We already have another show on the books for Saturday, June 7 at 7 pm to celebrate PRIDE month! Ben Rimalower, who runs programming at The Green Room 42, is a dear friend and mentor of mine, and we hope to make it a recurring series there- maybe three to four times a year. I always love our Christmas shows as those are extra festive and silly. So, definitely keep an eye out for us around the holidays!

Aside from this show, what's coming up next for you or what else have you been working on?

I host a monthly Broadway trivia show at Vers in Hell's Kitchen called "MT Trivia" (like my last name "Metzger-Timson" but also "Musical Theatre"...get it?). Each month features performances from a cast member from a current Broadway show, and the winning trivia team wins a pair of tickets to that show. There are three rounds: "A Simple Choice," "Name That Diva," and "Sing Out, Lousie!" I'm told my questions are hard, but it gets very competitive, so I have to keep my audiences guessing! It's free to play and you can follow me (@cmt.nyc) or Vers (@versnyc) for updates on our upcoming dates. Our next show is Monday April 21 from 7-9 featuring the cast of Real Women Have Curves.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

We are also livestreaming! So, if you're not in NYC, you can buy a livestream ticket for $21 and play along with us at home! My Mom is thrilled she can watch from Ohio- although I doubt she'll be drinking with us every minute. [laughs]

Follow Christopher Metzger-Timson on Instagram here.