Musical theater fans inside South Orange, NJ's SOPAC auditorium this Sunday, December 8, 2024 evening ready themselves for a Home for the Holidays performance by Broadway star and South Orange resident, Mandy Gonzalez.
Born and raised in California’s Santa Clarita Valley, Gonzalez briefly attended the California Institute of the Arts before becoming a background singer for Bette Midler on Midler’s Millennium Tour. Moving to New York City, she worked as a coat check attendant while auditioning for various shows.
As a cast member of the Off-Broadway production of Eli’s Comin’ — an innovative jukebox musical based on the work of songwriter Laura Nyro — Gonzalez won an Obie Award. She made her Broadway debut in Aida as the standby for Idina Menzel before being offered a part in Jim Steinman’s Broadway musical, Dance of the Vampires.
Gonzalez went on to create the character of Nina Rosario in the Off-Broadway production of In the Heights where she received a Drama Desk Award. She additionally starred in the show on Broadway and appeared on the original cast album. Following her stint in In the Heights, Gonzalez continued her run on Broadway playing Elphaba in Wicked and Angelica Schuyler Church in Hamilton. She can currently be seen in Broadway’s Sunset Boulevard.
No stranger to television and movies, Gonzalez’s TV appearances include roles on The Good Wife, Madam Secretary, and Only Murders in the Building, in addition to performances in films including Across the Universe and voice work on Mulan II. In 2017, Gonzalez released her solo album, Fearless, a recording which features a title number written especially for her by In the Heights and Hamilton composer Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Inside the modern SOPAC auditorium, co-sponsors of tonight’s show — SOPAC’s Lara Rogachevskaya and SOMA’s Dana Spialter— welcome the crowd and introduce Mandy Gonzalez.
Pianist Dan Lipton, guitarist Mike Bono, bassist Alex Eckhardt, and drummer Spencer Cohen take their places on stage and begin to play as Gonzalez enters and opens tonight’s performance with her interpretation of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.”
Singing with style in her clear, powerful voice, “I don’t want a lot for Christmas/There is just one thing I need,” Gonzalez makes the song her own as she smiles and moves about the stage accompanied by the rockin’ band.
The crowd cheers and Gonzalez jokes, “Look at all of us out on a school night!” After revealing how happy she is to be back home in South Orange for her final holiday show tour stop, she asks, “Who’s ready for the holidays?” Concertgoers applaud and Gonzalez launches into a swinging arrangement of Kay Starr’s “(Everybody’s Waitin’ for) The Man with the Bag,” and follows up with a slow and jazzy Latin-inspired rendition of Jose Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad.”
The crowd chuckles during Gonzelez’s breezy performance of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings “8 Days (of Hanukah),” an R&B/funk tune where she cries, “Day 3: Fry a bunch of latkes with applesauce, sour cream, and all/Day 4: We’re cooking up the brisket the kosher butcher sold my Uncle Saul.”
After Gonzalez confesses, “This next song is one of my favorite holiday songs from Barbra Streisand, which may have helped me learn to rap!” she presents Streisand’s mixed meter arrangement of “Jingle Bells” where she rapidly sings the lyrics with power and agility, inspiring avid cheers at the end.
Gonzalez jokes, “Let me catch my breath!” before sailing into Bing Crosby’s “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Singing with emotion, Gonzalez’s voice floats out over the audience and Dan Lipton renders a piano solo where he plays the melody with his left hand and the accompaniment with his right.
After reminiscing about her Broadway debut in Dance of the Vampires, Gonzalez performs a stunning version of a song from that show, “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” On this compelling arrangement, Gonzalez invites the audience to sing the famous “Turn around/Turn around bright eyes” counterpoint to this number which was a 1983 pop hit by Bonnie Tyler.
Gonzalez follows up with her signature song, “Breathe,” from In the Heights, where she cries, “I got every scholarship/Saved every dollar/The first to go to college/How do I tell them why I’m coming back home?” After talking about performing as Elphaba in Broadway’s Wicked, she flies into a show-stopping version of Wicked’s “Defying Gravity” which leaves the audience spellbound.
The crowd hoots and hollers and Gonzalez recalls, “After the pandemic, I worked this song into my show, never knowing I would be performing it on Broadway.” Shifting into “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from Sunset Boulevard, Gonzalez belts out, “I’ve come home at last/This time will be bigger!” eliciting vigorous applause from the crowd.
Gonzalez invites tonight’s special guest stars — young singer Adalyn Campione and the Columbia High School Choir — onto the stage for a sparkling rendition of “We Need a Little Christmas.”
Continuing with Hamilton’s “Satisfied,” Gonzalez raps with expert rhythm and vocalizes with runs as she’s accompanied by the choir directed by Nick Diaz along with the members of her talented band.
Gonzalez and Co. follow up with “Fearless.” As the choir gives a dynamic performance singing the song’s “Walls come down!” lyric, Gonzalez performs from the bottom of her heart, telling her story with emotion and power.
At the conclusion, Mandy explains that “Fearless” is a song that was written especially for her by Lin-Manuel Miranda which tells the story about her Mexican father and Jewish mother who were pen pals during the Vietnam war and fearlessly fell in love and married.
Gonzalez and the Columbia singers wrap up this segment of the show with a stellar world music rendition of “Do You Hear What I Hear” which inspires hoots, hollers, and enthusiastic applause.
After the choir and band members depart the stage, Gonzalez and Dan Lipton perform a piano and vocal duet of David Foster’s “Grown Up Christmas List.” Then, accompanied by Lipton, Gonzalez’s voice cries out on a compelling arrangement of “Mary, Did You Know.”
The crowd cheers and Gonzalez declares, “This has been the best holiday — I will never forget it!” The band returns and Mandy and Co. rocket into “Let It Go” from Frozen. Singing both in English and Spanish, Gonzalez warms the hearts of listeners who react to her flawless performance with fervent cheers and applause.
“Thank you so much! This has been an incredible night, and I’m wishing you all a happy holiday!” exclaims Gonzalez before wrapping up tonight’s performance with a gospel rendition of “O Holy Night” which generates a well-deserved standing ovation.
Music lovers continue to cheer while Gonzalez blows kisses to the crowd, bows, waves goodnight, and exits the stage.
As concertgoers make their way out of the SOPAC auditorium, several comment on tonight’s performance by Mandy Gonzalez. Asserts Matildelis from Belleville, “This show was extraordinary! It was way beyond anything I ever expected, and it brought back a lot of memories of growing up within the theater community. It was awesome to see Mandy live and in person!”
Contends her friend, Arleen from Newark, “I thought Mandy was absolutely amazing! I’ve been a fan of hers since she was in In the Heights. Matildelis and I both went to Newark’s Arts High School, and seeing Mandy live has been such a great experience. She has such a lovely personality and seeing her work with the choir reminded me of being a teenager again.”
Remarks Adalyn Campione, who sang “We Need a Little Christmas” with Gonzalez tonight, “Mandy is a beautiful singer who is just amazing on stage — she’s fantastic!” Adalyn’s dad, Mark, agrees, adding, “It was very generous of Mandy to have Adalyn perform with her tonight and we look forward to seeing her on Broadway in Sunset Boulevard.”
Declares Ruth from Orange, “Mandy Gonzalez was absolutely amazing! I enjoyed every song she sang, and her performance was spot-on. Her work with the kids was absolutely brilliant, too, but what really did it for me was her mix of holiday songs and Broadway songs which was really special.”
Insists Jennifer from Maplewood, “I was moved by Mandy’s performance tonight, which was great! Her voice just vibrates through you — her nickname is ‘The Beast of Broadway,’ and it’s no wonder she’s called that after seeing and hearing her perform live!”
Lastly, Allison from South Orange, exclaims, “I thought Mandy was mind-blowingly wonderful! She not only has a beautiful voice, but she’s a great stage actor, too — I had no idea she was a part of so many popular shows! She did a really good combination of holiday songs and Broadway tunes tonight and with that voice and with that presentation, for me, she’s just the whole package!”
To learn more about Mandy Gonzalez, please go to mandygonzalez.com. For information on future performances at SOPAC — including The Stray Cats’ Lee Rocker on January 19, Lisa Fischer and Grand Baton on February 15, Kurt Elling Celebrates Weather Report on April 3, and The Glenn Miller Orchestra on May 25 — please go to sopacnow.org.
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