Tag Archives: Morgan James

Jan. 15: BACKSTAGE PASS with Lia Chang Features Morgan James, Pearl Sun, Tamika Lawrence, Ellyn Marie Marsh, and Orfeh in EVERYBODY SAYS DON’T Concert on Little Island airing on FIOS 34, RCN 83, and Spectrum 56/1996, and streaming on MNN2

The nineteenth episode of BACKSTAGE PASS with Lia Chang, executive produced and hosted by Lia, airs on January 15, 2023 at 6:30 pm (EST) on FIOS 34, RCN 83, and Spectrum 56/1996, and streams on MNN2. If you miss the episode, it is archived on my youtube channel.

On this edition of Backstage Pass with Lia Chang, Morgan James was in concert at The Glade on Little Island on July 31, 2022, and was joined by four cast members from her all-female JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR studio cast recording: Tamika Lawrence, Ellyn Marie Marsh, Orfeh and Pearl Sun for her EVERYBODY SAYS DON’T Concert, interpreting lyrics assigned to other male characters in musicals, and makes a compelling case for nontraditional casting as it relates to gender. Watch below:

Helmed by Richard Amelius, the concert features musical direction by Geraldine Anello on keys, Paul Adamy on bass, and Sarah Gooch on drums.

The episode includes:
“Lily’s Eyes” (from The Secret Garden) – Pearl Sun, Morgan James

“Lost in the Wilderness” (from Children of Eden) – Tamika Lawrence
Tamika Lawrence. Photo by Lia Chang
Tamika Lawrence. Photo by Lia Chang

“Being Alive” (from Company) – Morgan James

Morgan James. Photo by Lia Chang

“Mister Cellophane” (from Chicago) – Pearl Sun

Geraldine Anello, Paul Adamy, Pearl Sun, Sarah Gooch. Photo by Lia Chang
Geraldine Anello, Paul Adamy, Pearl Sun, Sarah Gooch. Photo by Lia Chang
Geraldine Anello, Paul Adamy, Pearl Sun, Sarah Gooch. Photo by Lia Chang

“I Who Have Nothing” (from Smokey Joe’s Café) – Tamika Lawrence

Tamika Lawrence. Photo by Lia Chang

“I Believe” (from The Book of Mormon) – Ellyn Marie Marsh

Geraldine Anello, Paul Adamy, Ellyn Marie Marsh, Sarah Gooch. Photo by Lia Chang
Ellyn Marie Marsh. Photo by Lia Chang
Ellyn Marie Marsh. Photo by Lia Chang

“Pilate’s Dream” (from Jesus Christ Superstar) – Orfeh

Orfeh. Photo by Lia Chang

“Gethsemane” (from Jesus Christ Superstar) – Morgan James

Geraldine Anello, Paul Adamy, Morgan James, Sarah Gooch. Photo by Lia Chang

“Beautiful City” (from Godspell) – Morgan James

Morgan James. Photo by Lia Chang
Orfeh and Pearl Sun. Photo by Lia Chang
TALKBACK
Ellyn Marie Marsh, Morgan James, Pearl Sun,  Richard Amelius, Torya Beard. Photo by Lia Chang
Orfeh, Ellyn Marie Marsh, Morgan James, Pearl Sun. Photo by Lia Chang
Tamika Lawrence, Orfeh, Ellyn Marie Marsh, Morgan James, Pearl Sun, Richard Amelius, Torya Beard. Photo by Lia Chang
Tamika Lawrence, Orfeh, Ellyn Marie Marsh, Morgan James, Pearl Sun, Richard Amelius. Photo by Lia Chang
Orfeh, Ellyn Marie Marsh, Morgan James, Pearl Sun, Richard Amelius, Torya Beard. Photo by Lia Chang
Tamika Lawrence, Orfeh, Ellyn Marie Marsh, Morgan James, Pearl Sun, Richard Amelius. Photo by Lia Chang
Tamika Lawrence, Orfeh. Photo by Lia Chang
Orfeh, Ellyn Marie Marsh, Morgan James, Pearl Sun, Richard Amelius. Photo by Lia Chang
Tamika Lawrence, Orfeh, Ellyn Marie Marsh, Morgan James, Pearl Sun, Richard Amelius. Photo by Lia Chang
Morgan James, Pearl Sun, Richard Amelius. Photo by Lia Chang
Tamika Lawrence, Orfeh, Ellyn Marie Marsh, Morgan James and Pearl Sun. Photo by Lia Chang

The concert also included “Everybody Says Don’t” (from Anyone Can Whistle) sung by Morgan James; “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story) sung by Pearl Sun; “Fight From the Heart” from Rocky sung by Orfeh; and “Hold Me in Your Heart” from Kinky Boots sung by Ellyn Marie Marsh.

Playbill: Final Release Set for All-Female Jesus Christ Superstar Album Starring Cynthia Erivo, Shoshana Bean, Ledisi, More

Lia Chang at the Museum of Broadway with the display of Winter Wonderland Gingerbread Houses currently on view through December 31, 2022. Photo by Erich McMillan-McCall.

Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer, activist, documentarian, corporate photographer and an Award winning filmmaker and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Lia is also the host and Executive Producer of BACKSTAGE PASS WITH LIA CHANG, an Arts and Entertainment and Lifestyle program that airs on Sundays at 6:30pm on FIOS 34, RCN 83, Spectrum 56/1996, and streams on MNN2.

Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. Her short film, When the World Was Young garnered a 2021 DisOrient Film Audience Choice Award for Best Short Narrative. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman. She stars in and served as Executive Producer for the short independent films Hide and Seek, Balancing Act, Rom-Com Gone Wrong, Belongingness and When the World was Young. She is also the Executive Producer for The Cactus, The Language Lesson, The Writer and Cream and 2 Shugahs. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations.

Lia is the recipient of the 2022 Prospect Muse Award, 2000 OCA Chinese American Journalist Award, the 2001 AAJA National Award for New Media. Lia is an AAJA Executive Leadership Graduate (2000), a Western Knight Fellow at USC’s Annenberg College of Communications for Specialized Journalism on Entertainment Journalism in the Digital Age (2000), a National Press Photographers Association Visual Edge/Visual Journalism Fellow at the Poynter Institute for New Media (2001), a Scripps Howard New Media Fellow at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism (2002), and a National Tropical Botanical Garden Environmental Journalism Fellow (2003).

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2023 Lia Chang Multimedia, unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang, unless otherwise indicated. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at backstagepasswithliachang@gmail.com.