Shoshana Said

Best known by music theatre fans as the actor who first replaced Idina Menzel as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked, Shoshana Bean made her Broadway in the original company of Hairspray after appearing in the Off-Broadway revival of Godspell.

Shoshana is performing in Australia for the first time this month, in Brisbane, Sydney and as guest of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. While in Adelaide, she will appear as special guest with songwriting wunderkinds, Pasek and Paul. Bean is regularly invited to perform at their showcases in New York as well those of Jason Robert Brown.

Shoshana Bean: I enjoy my relationships with writers because as a songwriter myself, it’s really refreshing to be able to sing other people’s material for a change. There’s a lot less pressure involved and the men you’ve mentioned happen to be incredible at what they do. It is an honor and a pleasure and very indulgent for me to be able to sing their material. 

There have been many memorable partnerships between singers and songwriters. Sinatra would regularly go to Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen for new material, Burt Bacharach chose to have Dionne Warwick record many of his songs. It must be an honour for songwriters to have your voice in mind as they are creating a new song.

SB: I feel we serve each other well. Writers need singers to perform their material and singers are constantly looking for new and inspiring material to sing and perform. It’s a nice trade.

Raised in Portland, Oregon, Shoshana then trained at the University of Cincinnatti College - Conservatory of Music. Considered one of the best music theatre programs in the country, CCM’s alumni include Lauren Kennedy, Leslie Kritzer, Faith Prince and Leigh Anne Larkin. She credits her classmates for motivating her to be a better performer.

SB: When you play tennis with people who are better than you, you have no choice but to get better if you wanna survive the game! My instructors and directors both at Beaverton and CCM were both instrumental as well. They pushed me pretty hard and in their own ways forced me to push my own perceived limits and become stronger and better.

With aspirations to be a pop star, Bean had been living in LA when she flew to New York to audition for both Mary J Blige AND Hairspray - the musical. Jerry Mitchell, Hairspray’s choreographer “swept her off her feet” and she found herself cast in her Broadway debut. Switching between different musical personalities may sometimes be difficult but one of the toughest challenges for a performer is the time spent in between jobs.

SB: As performers, until we know better, we really define ourselves by what we do. When we don’t get to do what we do, we don’t know who we are anymore. I learned the hard way and had to figure out who I am and what I’m good for if or when I’m not performing.

After Hairspray and then her time in Wicked both in New York and the national tour, Shoshana took time to record her debut album ‘Superhero’ featuring her own songwriting and stretch out with some great R&B tracks which have an organic sound that harken back to the classic Motown era. The album reached #5 on the iTunes R&B charts in its first week of release (the only independent release in the top 100).

Last year Bean debuted her concert event “Shoshana Sings Streisand” in Los Angeles. In developing the concept for the show, she initially considered recreating the ‘My Name is Barbra’ television special but the eventual outcome was more of a loving tribute to Streisand.

SB: I was privileged enough to perform the concert in LA and then again at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York this past Fall. It was an incredible evening, definitely a career highlight. We have a few more bookings for that show around the country coming up later this year. 

I learned sooooo much from that concert. Starting with the preparation for it and revisiting all the Streisand material, some of which I hadn’t looked at or listened to in many many years. Her simplicity, her ease, her comic timing. All of it was a crash course in genius! Actually performing the concert was the largest solo undertaking of my career, so you can imagine the work and the pressure and the consideration of every tiny detail. Singing a full 2.5 hour concert was the most singing I’d ever done in one sitting. It strengthened my voice and solidified my technique a great deal. It was an amazing learning experience. And to get to perform such amazing material…it doesn’t get much better than that.

The first half of the show was ‘My Name is Barbra’ and the second half ‘My Name is Shoshona.’ It featured music from ‘Superhero’ and had a more soulful R&B aspect to it.

Singing a two hour concert or playing Elphaba eight shows a week requires that you are conscientious about maintaining your vocal health.

SB: I rely on sleep, water, steam and good technique. Warm ups, cool downs, and preparation. It’s like running a marathon. You don’t just show up on the day and run a 5K. You train, you build up to it, you strengthen the muscles. The voice, like every other muscle in the body, learns. It gets stronger, its endurance improves.

Jerry Mitchell, who choreographed Shoshana in Hairspray and subsequently directed Legally Blonde on Broadway, conceived Peepshow which plays at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Composer Andrew Lippa (a previous guest at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival) contributed the original music nfor the show. Shoshana recently headlined in that production in outfits that left little to the imagination.

SB: My role was called ‘The Peep Diva’. I would say I was essentially a narrator or master of ceremonies. I was there to guide the lead character of ‘Bo Peep’ and the audience on this journey of sexual discovery. This show was my first experience playing a character as close to myself as ever before!!! I wasn’t hiding behind a far suit or green paint…it was me! In very little clothing! Not having anything to hide behind was quite frightening for me. I had to get comfy with my body being exposed very quickly, which was very beneficial for me in general. I think loving one’s own body is something many of us struggle with…I certainly did and still do to an extent, so this role forced me to face it. I also had quite a bit of ad-libbing and audience participation to deal with. From night to night I never knew what was going to come up out of the audience onto the stage so it was a great lesson in being on my toes!

Cabaret means something different to everyone. Could categorising a show as cabaret rather than a concert limit the performer at all?

SB: No. The word ‘cabaret’ used to scare me. I associated it with lounge acts and life stories. My cabarets (if they must be called such) are concerts. Scaled down and intimate concerts. I think it ends up being more enjoyable for the audiences because they are so intimate and personal.

A group of very dedicated Shoshana fans started a facebook petition to encourage you to perform in Adelaide and are extremely excited at the prospect of seeing you. 

SB: Yes I want to thank them very much! I’d like to think they are responsible for me getting to see more of your country and for giving me the opportunity to meet them face to face!

Finally, Shoshana reveals her happiest moments, on stage and off.

Onstage, I used to hate when things would go wrong. I was a perfectionist. Now my favorite moments are the moments when something ‘goes wrong’. A forgotten lyric, a random off stage noise, a slip of the tongue. These are the moments I share with my audience that are completely unique and organic to the exact situation or moment in which they occur. They become something we have shared together than cannot be replicated. And that’s special. Offstage, I love the moment in songwriting when the puzzle of creating it is coming together. A lyric, a melody…the moment you realize you might be on to something good. I also love cuddling with my dog on my couch watching TV and I do love the very moment I lay eyes on an amazing shoe. I’m pretty simple.

 

Book here to see Shoshana perform in Adelaide, Brisbane or Sydney.

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Comments

[Sophie Bruhn]

It wasn't until i read this that i realised i have the same initals as sho. And that makes me smile :)
Thanks, great interview!

[Jo Blogs]

For the record her Album is called Superhero not Superwoman.

[Ben Nicholson]

This is a very cool interview. Shoshana sounds very nice. :D

[Matthew Carey]

Thanks Jo, just corrected it!