Cast of Lourds Lane's 'SuperYou' to perform 2-night musical special at Carnegie Hall

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Cast of 'SuperYou' gears up for 2 nights at Carnegie Hall

The cast of Lourds Lane's "SuperYou" is performing a two-night musical special at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Sandy Kenyon has the details.

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- In March of 2020, a musical called "SuperYou" was just a few weeks away from opening at an Off-Broadway theater when all the venues shut down.

The show's creator, Lourds Lane, and her team were not to be deterred. They staged their show at a drive-in movie theater located in Amenia, New York.

Now comes another chapter in the show's long journey to reach the public.

We caught up with the cast and crew of "SuperYou" at a Manhattan rehearsal space where they were getting ready for two nights at Carnegie Hall.

It's a story of resilience told by those who know the full meaning of that word, and they know exactly what it means to bounce back from the challenges of the pandemic.

"It's about getting on the other side of grief," Lane said. "It's about remembering your worth, and people need that right now during this time when life is so topsey turvy, and we're all struggling through."

Lane has spent a decade writing and developing "SuperYou."

"The story is about a comic book artist who learns to love herself and step into her power when her own super heroine creations come to life," Lane said.

The message of her musical does seem to match this moment.

Kennedy Caughell plays the lead.

"There's a really beautiful lyric in the show: 'When you dim your light, you dim the light of the world,' and I've taken that with me everywhere I go," he said. "When you're empowered and when you love yourself enough to be fully who you are, then you empower others."

In the summer of 2020, I discovered these performers gave new meaning to the old saying that "the show must go on" by singing from the back of pickup trucks in front of a giant movie screen at an old drive-in at the height of the lockdown.

"This time, we're going from pickup trucks to Carnegie Hall," Lane said.

Powering them forward is the show's remarkable popularity on TikTok, where music videos posted by the cast went viral and were viewed more than 20 million times.

"We had to onboard a social media team saying, 'help please,'" Lane said.

That's not bad for a show that's never been staged on or off Broadway.

Now, the odyssey continues with a concert version in one of New York City's most prestigious venues.

Musical Director JoAnn Hunter is thrilled.

"The fact we're actually going to be at Carnegie Hall, to do something there is a huge plus for us and for the show," Hunter said.

The show will take place July 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m. in Zankel Hall. Limited tickets are available at the Carnegie Hall website at the phone number on the event page.

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