Review: VINCENT RODRIGUEZ III AND FRIENDS Sing For Maui at The Green Room 42

Last Tuesday night at the Green Room 42, LA TI DO Productions put on an enormous show of talent to benefit victims of the fires in Maui. The night included Broadway stars Diane Phelan, Heather Parcells, Ali Ewold, headliner Vincent Rodriguez III, the affable star of the CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and more friends of LA TI DO. Izzy Bartolotta (managing director) and Don Mike Mendoza (co-founder and executive producer) served as charming co-hosts for the evening, trading witty banter, introducing the acts, and even singing a song or two themselves. The theme of the night was songs of joy and inspiration.

The guests represented a wide range of firsts. Vincent Rodriguez III played the first Asian male lead on a primetime TV sitcom. Ali Ewoldt was the first Asian-American woman to play Christine in Phantom, Diane Phelan was the first Filipino-American in a major production of Into the Woods, Regie Cabico was the first openly queer and Asian American poet to win the Grand Slam at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. As a whole, the show highlighted the incredible diversity and amazing talent of a mostly Filipino cast (the co-hosts dubbed Heather Parcells an “honorary Filipina” for the night). Some highlights of the night include Ali Ewoldt’s upbeat, light-hearted rendition of Kurt Weill’s haunting “My Ship” from Lady in the Dark. She also did a show-stopping “Think of Me” from Phantom that showcased the truly astonishing vocal range, power and acting chops to hit those high notes and convey the song’s frantic, anxious energy. Diane Phelan and Heather Parcells sang a touching duet on “For Good” from Wicked, a tribute to their friendship. LA TI DO staff members Julianna Austin and DV Cortez (who also played guitar in the show’s band) sang Joey Contreras’s “Love Me, Love Me Not,” a tender, sweet love song. Regie Cabico, poet and co-founder of LA TI DO, did a darkly funny spoken word act about his upbringing and the racism he encountered as a queer Filipino man trying to get work as an actor – too Asian, but not Asian enough.

Rodriguez closed out the show with a string of numbers, including “God Draws Straight” from Here Lies Love, which he acted in (and which LA TI DO helped to produce). Rodriguez is so incredibly charismatic on stage. Towards the close, he whispered conspiratorially into the mic, “OK guys, we’re going to do a thing. I’m going to get off stage and you guys are going to applaud like crazy and I’ll do one more song. OK?” Someone called something out from the back, and Rodriguez, smirking, said, “Quiet! I’m trying to do a bit here, OK?” When he finished the song and got rapturous calls for an encore, he deadpanned, “Wow, I had no idea that was going to happen.” He closed out the night with a wonderful performance of Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing.”

All in all, the evening was a great show for a great cause. If you want to donate money towards Maui, visit this website. You can find more information about LA TI DO Productions at their website.

There are wonderful shows to be seen at The Green Room 42.  HERE is the website.

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