Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic “The Voice” has not been much concerned with current Broadway voices until now.
That’ll change in a big way with this coming Monday’s episode, which will feature a show-stopping number from “Shucked” — marking the first time a song from a currently running Broadway show has been featured on the long-running singing competition series.
The song is “Independently Owned,” a major nightly showcase for Tony nominee Alex Newell. It’s been cited as the rare example of an original Broadway musical having its first and possibly biggest standing-ovation number come in the middle of the first act… and it’s a testament to “Shucked” as a whole that the production doesn’t feel like it’s going downhill from that early barn-burner. “We have always imagined ‘The Voice’ as a platform to foster talent while being relevant and of-the-moment,” Melissa Watkins Trueblood, the head of talent for “The Voice,” tells Variety. “It is a joy to have such a phenomenal talent as Alex Newell on the show and get to play a role in this journey for ‘Shucked.'” The performance by Newell was booked during a period of uncertainty when it didn’t look as if the Tonys would happen on network television in June this year; that kudocast is particularly important for productions like “Shucked” that don’t have a lot of preexisting IP name value.
Now it appears the Tonys’ show will go on, with producers having made a deal with the Writers Guild for the telecast to proceed next month. “Shucked” will surely benefit from a double-boost in prime time, if a number is booked for the Tonys as well, but having Newell on “The Voice,” with its higher ratings and reach beyond regular theatergoers, provides a first-time
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