Ezekiel Andrew, Broadway Performer Comes to Mineral Area College
Baritone Ezekiel Andrew, a Mississippi native, made his Broadway debut in November of 2021 as a member of the chorus and as the understudy of Mufasa in The Lion King. He made his Mufasa role debut in March of 2022. On Tuesday, December 6th, at 7 p.m., this Broadway performer, Ezekiel Andrew, will be in concert at the Mineral Area College Fine Arts Theater.
Ezekiel’s road to Broadway has been paved with several performances with the Utah Shakespeare Festival in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Henry VI Part I, and Big River. He performed the role of the Beast in The Beauty and the Beast at the White Plains New York Performing Arts Center and Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts. He brought to life the role of Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in Ragtime at Theatre Under the Stars in Houston, Music Theatre of Connecticut in Westport, and as his last performances at the Utah Shakespeare Festival.
Other roles in Ezekiel’s career have included Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Jake in Porgy and Bess at the Utah Festival – Opera and Music Theater and the title role in Rigoletto for the Mississippi Young Artists.
Ezekiel enjoys being active as a concert artist, most often creating his own programs and opportunities as he travels from theater to theater. With a heart for youth and arts education, Ezekiel enjoys giving back to the community by going to high schools and colleges, holding masterclasses and talkbacks to inspire the next generation of artists. He expressed, “I am very fortunate to be doing the thing that I love the most, touching the hearts and lives of people through storytelling and song.”
Ezekiel invites two Mineral Area College (MAC) graduates Abbi Hallock, soprano, and Tiffany Gallaher, mezzo-soprano, who will each perform a duet alongside him. Abbi is a 2019 Farmington High School graduate and former Mineral Area College music student where she was an active member and soloist for the MAC Singers and Community Singers ensembles. She most recently performed as Madame de la Grande Bouche in Mineral Area Fine Arts Academy’s production of The Beauty and the Beast, summer 2022. Previous roles include Wicked Witch, Blue Bird, and Blind Mice in Shrek, Ethel Toffelmier in The Music Man, and Gertrude McFuzz in Seussical the Musical. Abbi has studied private classical voice since the age of eight and has been teaching private voice lessons since 2019. She has plans to study vocal performance with a focus on both musical theater and opera at Missouri Baptist University.
Tiffany Gallaher graduated from Potosi High School in 2016. She attended MAC and graduated with an Associate of Arts in Education with an emphasis in Secondary Music Education. She participated in MAC Singers, Chamber Singers, and the MAC Little Theatre Guild. She is currently attending Missouri Baptist University to complete her Bachelor’s of Arts in Middle and Secondary Theatre and Speech Education. She has had the honor of playing a wide variety of roles in high school, college, and community productions. Tiffany has played the roles of Fiona in Shrek the Musical, Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, Kim MacAfee in Bye Bye Birdie, Olive Ostrovsky in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Mimi in Rent, Diana Goodman in Next to Normal, the understudy for Belle in Beauty and the Beast, and most recently Mrs. Brill in Missouri Baptist University’s production of Mary Poppins. Tiffany has always had a passion for music and theatre. She is honored to be able to continue to perform with other artists.
Local musicians, Dr. Kevin White, Phil Hoffman, and Lindy LaChance will form a jazz combo to fill out the jazz portion of the concert. Pianist Cory King will accompany Ezekiel for the musical theater tunes and hymn tunes.
The audience will experience repertoire from music theater, jazz, and hymn tunes celebrating Ezekiel’s Mississippi heritage. His finely-honed Baritone vocals will thrill and inspire any audience. His presence on stage has been hailed as authentic! “Ezekiel Andrew imbues Coalhouse Walker Jr. with dignity and confidence, making the character’s turn as a leader of a small insurrection completely believable. I loved Andrew’s performance most, though, when Coalhouse was building a life with Sarah. His pleas for Sarah to return to him during ‘New Music’ and his affection towards her and their son during ‘Wheels of a Dream’ were endlessly enjoyable. Andrew also has a smooth, silky voice that served ‘Sarah Brown Eyes,’ ‘Make Them Hear You,’ and ‘Wheels of a Dream’ well.” – Russell Warne, Utah Theatre Bloggers Association, July 2021. “Ezekiel Andrew fills those shoes extremely well. Andrew makes Coalhouse’s search for justice and the American Dream palpable and the devastation when those dreams are shattered is distinctly felt by the audience.” – Front Row Reviewers of Utah Shakespeare Festival’s Ragtime.
Tickets for Broadway’s Ezekiel Andrew concert are $10 and available at https://bit.ly/MACOA_EzekielAndrew or by contacting Tiffany Gallaher, MACOA Executive Director at tgallaher@MineralArea.edu or (573) 518-2125.