Michael Appler It’s quiet on the roof of the St. James Theater. Up here, less than 10 stories above 44th Street, the clamor of an opening night on Broadway drifts away.
Below, titans of the American theater — actors like Chita Rivera and Joel Grey — are gathering to attend the opening night of a new musical by John Kander and Fred Ebb, a duo who gave Broadway shows like “Cabaret” and “Chicago.” But on the roof — on top of “New York, New York” — the air is still.
Up here, in the few moments of serenity before red carpet interviews, an opening night performance and a long evening of parties, the musical’s two stars, Colton Ryan and Anna Uzele — newcomers to all the fuss below — stop to catch their breath. “I consider this city to be a second chance at life,” Uzele told Variety. “I came from a place that I don’t really want to return to, and this city offered me a new shot.
Seeing the skyline right now like this, I could weep at the sight of it, because it offered me something I haven’t found anywhere else.
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