Interview: LaKisha Jones, Morgan James, & Hugh Panaro of North Carolina Symphony's BRAVO BROADWAY

On February 13th & 14th, the North Carolina Symphony will be presenting BRAVO BROADWAY. Three guest vocalists are coming down to the Triangle area to perform showstoppers from beloved Broadway musicals such as WICKED, RENT, HAMILTON, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and more. I recently got to speak with each of them.

LaKisha Jones first came in fourth place on the sixth season of AMERICAN IDOL way back in 2007 and went on to do a stint in the original Broadway production of THE COLOR PURPLE.

Morgan James is a Juilliard trained singer, actress, songwriter, and recording artist in New York City. On Broadway, she has appeared in four back-to-back original companies such as THE ADDAMS FAMILY, WONDERLAND, GODSPELL, and MOTOWN: THE MUSICAL. She was also a guest at Kristin Chenoweth’s FOR THE GIRLS.

Hugh Panaro has appeared in the original Broadway casts of THE RED SHOES, SIDE SHOW, and LESTAT in addition to doing stints in LES MISÉRABLES, SHOW BOAT, and THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.

To start things off, how excited are each of you to be performing with the North Carolina Symphony?
LJ: I'm very excited because it's always a joy when you get to sing these songs or any music with a full orchestra. It brings a different sound to the songs that you may know in another way. So it's always good. And I love singing with these two beautiful, talented humans.

HP: When you get to make music with people you love, I mean, what's better than that?

MJ: I just love singing with these people. Hugh and LaKisha are two of my very favorite people to sing and make music with. Like Lakeisha said, it never gets old to stand in front of a full symphony orchestra. It brings a lot of gratitude bubbles up. 

What songs can audiences expect to hear from each of you?
LJ: I mean, a lot of different songs. It's Valentine's Day weekend, so of course we're gonna pour a lot of love into the songs that mean so much to a lot of different people who enjoy Broadway music as well. Not to give too much away, but one song I'm singing in particular is “Proud Mary.”

MJ: I'm doing a couple duets with Hugh. We're doing “There Once was a Man” (from The Pajama Game), “Suddenly Seymour” (from Little Shop of Horrors), and “The Phantom of the Opera.” So I get a lot of stage time with him, which is wonderful. 

HP: These gigs are fun, Jeffrey. We've all done gigs on Broadway and you get to sing certain things like I've sung Phantom a lot, which is always fun, especially with Morgan. But I also get to sing “Proud Mary” as Ike opposite my gorgeous LaKisha. One of my dream roles was always to play King George in Hamilton. That dream has not come true yet, but I get to do it in Raleigh. You get to live out your fantasies and play all these characters in front of a gorgeous orchestra too. 

Going back to the beginning, how did each of you first get started in the theatre?
HP: Everybody knows this, so I'll give you some quick cliff notes. I wanted to be a veterinarian more than anything 'cause I'm an animal freak like Morgan. That's the other reason I love working with her 'cause usually her dogs are always with us. I wanted to be a veterinarian until my mom and dad took me to see my very first Broadway show, which was Annie. Andrea McCardle was from my neighborhood in Philadelphia. We went to support the local girl and it changed my life. I didn't wanna be a veterinarian anymore. I think that's the power of theater and you never know whose heart you're gonna touch and change the direction, perhaps, of a child's life. That's what happened to me.

MJ: I went to Julliard right out of high school. I studied classically and I wanted to be on Broadway. I wanted to go to Julliard because Audra McDonald had gone there. After I graduated, I started auditioning and kind of doing every single odd job possible and making connections and trying to make my way into musical theater. I got involved with a few workshops early on, like The Addam's Family, Godspell, Motown, and Wonderland. All the shows that I ended up doing, I did the workshops for as well. Then once I got my first one, the rest was history. But I always did musical theater and theater in high school and college and afterwards. So it was always a deep love of mine.

LJ: Growing up in Flint, Michigan, and I went to University of Michigan for a little while and then I kind of stopped. But when I was a student there, I was in a musical theater class, and I went to see Ragtime, which was my very first show that I ever saw. I was like, “oh my God! I love this character Sarah,” and I always want to be her. Then life happened. I became a mom and things like that. Then fast forward, I've always sung. I've been singing since I was five years old. I started singing in church. And I went and auditioned for this little show called American Idol. Then I got a call from Idol about coming to audition for The Color Purple on tour when I was doing that. And then got the call and went in for the audition and got the role.

Throughout each of your respective careers, what are some of your favorite roles you’ve gotten to play?
LJ: I haven't done a whole lot of theater acting. Only with The Color Purple, and there's some stuff in Rocktopia. But it had to be Sofia because that character and seeing that show and being in it was a really great learning experience. I would absolutely love to do it again actually. Something that I hold dear to my heart.

MJ: I loved getting to play Sarah Brown in Guys & Dolls, Sheila in Hair. Of my Broadway shows, Motown was probably my favorite experience because of the cast. The cast was like a real embarrassment of riches kind of cast. Even though I had the very least to do, I probably sang 16 bars in the entire show, it was my favorite experience, and I ended up getting a record deal from that. To Hugh's point, you never know who's in the audience or who's listening or who's watching what you're doing. With Motown for me, just getting to watch my colleagues be superstars was my favorite part.

HP: Well, speaking of superstars and Morgan James, Jesus Christ Superstar actually was probably the favorite role I've ever gotten to play in my life. It wasn't even on Broadway, that was at Casa Manana in Fort Worth, Texas when I was 21. I was way too young, but it was like, I just love that music. I love Morgan's album. That's just one of, to me, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterpieces. I always said, “I want to do it again when I’m the right age to play Jesus.” But it didn't matter. It was just such a glorious experience. I always tell kids it's like, “not everything you're gonna love is necessarily Broadway. You can do great things in regional theater and all over tour, so don't close yourself off to like, thinking it's only this or that because, um, some of the best roles I've ever played were not on Broadway.” I did a Joe Orton play called Loot, and it was probably the most self-esteem building moment of my life. To not have to sing and just to get to say beautiful words and work with beautiful actors. It's, you never, like we were saying, you never know. You never know, some of the experiences you have kind of sneak up on you and surprise you. 

Looking ahead into the future, what are some dream roles each of you would love to pursue?
HP: Well, when I talk to students, it's like, “sometimes your dream rolls don't come true. And that's part of show business.” When I was younger, I wanted to play Tony in West Side Story and Pippin, but I've aged out of those. But I did a really fun concert version of The Music Man with Kelli O'Hara and the great Shirley Jones. I would love to do a full on production as Harold Hill. So that would probably be at the top of my list 'cause it's light and it's fun. It's not like singing scary songs in a tuxedo.

MJ: I would say my mine would be Dot in Sunday in the Park with George. I would also love to do The Most Happy Fella, but nobody really does that show. But if they did, if they're listening, I’ll do it.

LJ: I would love to go back to The Color of Purple, but this time I would wanna be Celie. I also would love to be Sarah in Ragtime, and Elphaba in Wicked as well. 

For those who’d like to pursue a career in the theatre, where do each of you think would be a good place to start?
MJ: You know, it's a different path for each person. Some people go the conservatory route, and that really works for them. Some people move to New York right out of high school. Some people put together their own programs with the lessons they take. I'm a big proponent of education. I still take lessons every week, and I'm still a big fan of constantly keeping your craft and your voice in shape and learning as much music as possible. It's all about listening and learning and staying curious. Some kids really do well in the college atmosphere and some don't. But I think it really depends on the person. As long as you just keep honing in your skills and your craft, I think that that's the key.

HP: I could not agree more. It's making me think of Jane Fonda because one of her famous quotes is, “it's far better to be interested than interesting when that desire to keep getting better and learning and actually listening.” What a skill that’s kind of a lost art. I don't know if y'all agree with this, but nowadays, you kind of have to do everything. These kids I'm working with right now, they're quadruple threats. They can sing, they can dance, they can act. They're gorgeous. They ride horses. Anything that will help you just again, be interested. You know, don't ever think, “I always think if you think, oh, I've arrived, I've gotten there,” then you're in trouble.

LJ: I agree with both of them. You have to soak it up. You gotta be willing to be a jack of all trades, be willing to learn more, do more, be present and just go for what you want. Never give up. For me, you know, my path was Idol and just believing in myself. Even right now, there are a lot of things that I strive to want to do. I have children, so I'm a mother, and so a lot of times I'm kind of restricted on a lot of things I can do. But even after all of that, I still have hopes and dreams. So for those people who aspire to be actors, singers, you know, whatever it is that you wanna do, what Hugh and Morgan said, actually, they hit it right on the nail.

HP: The thing I wanna add to that is what LaKisha, Morgan, and I get to do when we get together is joy. The music is great, all of it, but you've gotta find joy in your work. I always tell young people, “if you're not finding joy, I'm not saying you'll be performing with strep throat, you'll be tired, you'll be in tech. Yes, that's hard, but you've gotta find the joy in the work or, or why do it.” I love these gigs because I know I'm going to get to sing with two of the most phenomenal singers on the planet, but also some of the most phenomenal human beings. You gotta find your wolf pack, your tribe. 

Before we go, do either of you have any other upcoming projects you’d like to share with us?
LJ: I would just say, you know, go to my website, www.iamlakishajones.com. It has all of my upcoming performances and things that I do. We're doing this Bravo Broadway. We have this Tina Turner thing that I do as well. I also do a tribute to Whitney Houston and the Queens of Rock and Soul. I just love singing songs and paying homage to those who have inspired me along the way. I just love being able to share my gift, something that God gave me with the world. Anytime I get to do it, and like Hugh said with him and Morgan, it's just an honor for me and it's a blessing and I love them so much. So for all the people out there, the last thing that I would say with this is that if you don't have your tickets, what are you waiting for? Go get them. We're waiting for you.

HP: I’ve been doing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Masquerade in New York for nine months. My run just came to an end because I've got concerts with these lovely people. I'm looking forward to taking a little bit of a break from eight shows a week, which we all know is exhausting. These concerts are a perfect way to keep the music flowing and deliver our joy to different parts of the country and the world. New York is great and lovely, but it's nice when we get to bring Broadway to everybody else like Lauren Kennedy is doing right around your block.

I thank you all very much for devoting your time to this conversation. For those who’d like to keep up with either of your careers, where can people find you on the internet?
LJ: My website is www.iamlakishajones.com and my Instagram is @lakishajonesmusic. 

HP: I'm trying to get better with my social media and posting things on my Instagram. So go to @realhughpanaro as opposed to @fakehughpanaro.

MJ: I’m on Instagram @morganjames.