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“From Broadway with Love’ was an overarching highlight for sure, just a magical experience!”
Growing up in the Mississippi Delta, young Ezekiel Andrew watched “The Lion King” over and over again on his family’s VHS player, singing along with Simba, “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King.” Today, some 20 years later, his gratitude and his range run as deep as “Ol’ Man River,” proving what can happen when you dare to dream “The Impossible Dream.”
“From Broadway with Love’ was an overarching highlight for sure, just a magical experience!”
Andrew is now firmly planted on Broadway, a cast member in “The Lion King” since 2021 and yes, king. “Sometimes I get to play Mufasa!” he shared with an adoring audience during the 31st annual Sedona International Film Festival (SIFF), Saturday, March 1.
“When I first heard Ezekiel Andrew perform as Big Jim in ‘Big River’ in 2018 [at the Utah Shakespeare Festival] and then again in ‘Ragtime,’ I vowed that one day I would bring him here to Sedona for a performance. And we made that happen this year!” said longtime SIFF Executive Director Patrick Schweiss. “And, he brought along very talented friends, Garrett Taylor and Samantha Stevens, for an absolutely astounding performance.”
In “From Broadway with Love,” Andrew, along with musician, voice teacher and performer Garrett Taylor, who for 16 years has been a frequent guest in the orchestra pit of “Wicked” on Broadway and British singer and dancer Samantha Stevens, who recently finished playing Lily St. Regis on the national tour of “Annie,” had the packed Sedona Performing Arts Center clapping, “spreading the news” from “New York, New York” and singing about “The Sound of Music’s” female deer in “Do-Re-Mi.”
“‘From Broadway with Love’ was an overarching highlight for sure, just a magical experience!” said Schweiss, noting his favorite show tune of the evening was Andrew’s “Music of the Night” from “Phantom of the Opera.”
More than 150 films were shown from Saturday, Feb. 22 through Sunday, March 2, including “Sweetwater,” the story of Harlem Globetrotters phenom Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton who overcame a lifetime of barriers and a barrage of discrimination to make history as the first African American to sign an NBA contract.
“My greatest satisfaction is seeing the audience enjoy and appreciate our films,” said Schweiss, “and watching our filmmakers glow as they get to see their work on the big screen in front of our incredible patrons!”
In addition, appearances from costume designer Bob Mackie, comedian Vicki Lawrence and actor Jeremy Piven, promoting his film, “The Performance,” were festival favorites. Actress Diane Baker received the Lifetime Achievement Award. The television and film star’s career spans 50 years, including roles in “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Silence of the Lambs.”
“In our darkest times, it is the arts that speak,” said Andrew, who grew up singing gospel music in his father’s church choir. “It may seem impossible, but I’m going to keep dreaming anyway – because my dream came true, you all!” Pausing, he added, “Music is how I reach you, how I affect you, and how I hope to inspire change for the better.” FBN
By Bonnie Stevens, FBN
Photo by Bonnie Stevens: Garrett Taylor, Samantha Stevens and Ezekiel Andrew brought “From Broadway with Love” to the Sedona International Film Festival.
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