Interview: Marty Thomas of IT'S A STANDARD TO ME at The Legacy Theatre

We've all missed Broadway and look forward to its return. Meanwhile, Marty ("Mr. Broadway") Thomas is going to perform at The Legacy Theatre in Connecticut in It's a Standard to Me. This concert is comprised of show tunes and his experiences. There are so many stories in the concert, he says, which tell of his unusual journey in his lengthy career. The concert is based on the album he's been working on all through the pandemic.

Thomas grew up on a farm in Missouri. He sang in church and in community theatre. There were a lot of opportunities for him to perform, but one led to the eight thousand regional Starlight Theatre in Kansas City. There he met an actress who played the lead in Annie. She had an agent and generously shared information with him. His family wrote to her agent and sent demo tapes. They all went to New York City for a quick weekend vacation. Soon Thomas returned to New York and at the age of 11, he landed the role of Colin in The Secret Garden on Broadway. He appeared Off-Broadway in My Big Gay Italian Wedding, Pageant, and A Loss of Roses and on Broadway again in Wicked and Xanadu. He was featured in the film Big Gay Musical and in the television series Grace & Frankie and Two Broke Girls. In 1992, he beat Britney Spears in Ed McMahon's Junior Vocalist Star Search. Although performing was always his dream, he took a break and went to business school. But he came roaring back, embracing a lot of different styles of music, including gospel music. He also did an international tour with his Billboard magazine dance single "Resurrect Me (Lift Me Up)." He performed with luminaries such as Billy Porter, Grace Jones, Patti LaBelle, Jennifer Holliday, Stephanie Mills, Debbie Gibson, Martha Wash, Barry Manilow, Glen Campbell, and Johnny Cash.

For Thomas, performing in Wicked was "an unforgettable experience" because it was "the hot, hot show of the moment" and "fans were so ravenous." Xanadu was the most challenging show because it was "very physically demanding." He was the dance captain, swing, and featured skater and had to understudy the entire cast. There are still so many musicals he wants to perform in including Next to Normal and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Meanwhile, he has a lot of concerts coming up in fall and winter.

Thomas describes himself as "a classic New York hustler. I love the entertainment business so much, learning new skills [and] new ways to support myself in the arts." Years of dancing had taken a toll on his body, but he still wanted to work in theatre. While recovering from knee surgery, he learned to do hair and wigs and did the wigs for Aladdin and The Lion King and The King and I at Lincoln Center.

Fortunately for us, Thomas is still performing. Catch his concert, It's a Standard to Me at The Legacy Theatre in Stony Creek, Connecticut on Thursday, August 26, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. Musical direction is by Yasuhiko Fukuoka. For tickets, visit https://www.legacytheatrect.org/marty-thomas. Follow Thomas on Instagram @martythomaslovesyou, Twitter @martythomasbway, and www.martythomas.com.

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