On June 12, the world was shocked to learn that a gunman opened fire in the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, FLA. By sunrise that Sunday morning, 49 people were dead and dozens injured in what was the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history.
Broadway producer James Wesley was thinking about the massacre during a mind clearing bike ride and wondered if there was anything he could do to help when he had an idea. Wesley, along with his husband Music Director/Radio Host Seth Rudetsky and Van Dean, President of Broadway Records, organized the star-studded charity initiative ”From Broadway for Orlando”. Pulling together 60 Broadway stars, they recorded a cover of Hal David and Burt Bacharach’s iconic 1965 classic, “What the World Needs Now” at Avatar Studios. The all-star charity cast included Lin-Manual Miranda, Kristen Bell, Idina Menzell, Sara Bareilles, Audra McDonald, Jesse Mueller, Wayne Brady, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Bernadette Peters, Whoopi Goldberg, Carol King, and others. Rudetsky conducted the 22 piece orchestra during the recording.
"The Broadway community was so terribly shaken and devastated by the horrific tragedy in Orlando. Everyone wanted to do something as quickly as possible that would truly make a difference,” Rudetsky said in a statement. “On Monday, my husband James woke me up at 7:30 AM and suggested we rally our friends and colleagues to do a ‘We Are the World’ type recording and raise money for the victims and their families. We started making calls and suddenly we had tons of theatre actors along with an orchestra and the services of a fully-staffed recording studio, all willing to donating their time and talent. Our community of artists has banded together as we always do to show we can end this cycle of violence and intolerance. Love WILL prevail!”
“From Broadway to Orlando” was released on June 20 and quickly rose to #1 on iTunes. In addition, the song debuted at #86 on the Billboard Hot 100 listing. A video documenting the making of the project was also released on social media. The organizers announced that 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the song will benefit the LGBT Community Center of Central Florida. After the remade "What the World Needs Now Is Love" topped the charts on iTunes, its songwriter, Bacharach, provided some perspective to what they accomplished. The 88-year old composer, who was on tour in the United Kingdom, called them up, told them the new version made him tear up and said: "I want to thank you person to person."
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| "Broadway for Orlando" All-Star Charity Cast |
The success of the “From Broadway to Orlando” project has led to the announcement of a benefit concert at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando on July 25. “From Broadway with Love: A Benefit Concert for Orlando” will feature many of the stars from the recent recording. All proceeds from the benefit concert will be divided equally among the LGBT Center of Central Florida, Hope and Help Center of Central Florida, and the Zebra Coalition.
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| Music Director/Radio Personality Seth Rudestky |
You can purchase “From Broadway to Orlando” for $1.99 from iTunes or at www.broadwayrecords.com.
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