This past Monday, May 26th, “Broadway Bar” hosted by Kate Pazakis held a special evening of Disney favorites at the Rockwell Table and Stage in Los Feliz, CA. Featuring Brian Kennedy at the piano, the night was co-hosted by special guest Missi Pyle (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and upcoming TV Land series Jennifer Falls).
Throughout the show, Pazakis called up some of her friends — many of whom are seasoned Broadway alums — to perform songs from Disney films and stage shows. Their selections ranged from very well known (“For the First Time in Forever”, “A Whole New World”, “Poor Unfortunate Souls”) to some slightly more obscure choices from the Disney songbook (“Out There” from The Hunchback of Notre Dome, the theme song to Gummi Bears). There were even performances of some original songs that poked fun at some Disney cliches and archetypes.
One of the highlights of the show was a round of “Diva Tag”, where any volunteers from the audience were invited onto the stage to join the performers. In this challenge, Pazakis would move the mic from singer to singer at some inopportune times in the song. The game is best played with songs that everyone knows all the words to, thus the obvious choice of the evening was “Let it Go”.
While the Rockwell might not be a bar where everybody knows your name, it is one where you get to know your neighbors as the event was completely sold out! While the performers and their friends took up a good portion of the packed house, some animators from Disney came down for the show as well as some celebrities (we spotted Sarah Hyland from Modern Family in the crowd).
In fact, the evening proved so popular that an encore performance has been scheduled for Monday, June 2. Tickets are $10 (plus a 2 item minimum on the night of the performance) and are available at www.rockwell-LA.com. Please note that this event might not be family friendly, as the performers do tend to use some colorful language.
Pictures and video by Jill Whitfield