Taurean Everett. Photo by Steven Underhill
Congrats to Taurean Everett who is making his Broadway debut in the international hit musical Mamma Mia! at the Broadhurst Theatre on Friday, December 19, 2014.
Mr. Everett recently appeared at Paper Mill Playhouse in the revival of Can-Can starring Kate Baldwin as Pistache and Jason Danieley as Aristide; and in the New York concert presentation of Guys and Dolls starring Tony Award winner Nathan Lane, Patrick Wilson, Sierra Boggess and Megan Mullally, at Carnegie Hall.
He portrayed Jimmy in the first National Tour of Priscilla Queen of the Desert and was the understudy for Miss Understanding. His other regional credits include Damn Yankees, Curtains and Peter Pan (Paper Mill Playhouse); and Guys and Dolls (Theatre Under the Stars).
The cast of Can-Can at Paper Mill Playhouse (2014). Photo by Jerry Dalia
Mr. Everett received his BFA in Dance from Wichita State University School of Performing Arts. He was awarded the 2007 Koch Cultural Trust Grant, which gave him the opportunity to participate in Janice Garrett’s modern dance workshop in San Francisco, and to travel to New York for auditions.
Bryan West (standing); l-r Alex Ringler, Taurean Everett and Travis Taber in the touring company of Priscilla,
Queen of the Desert: The Musical (2013). Photo: Joan Marcus
“When I received the grant, I felt a weight off my shoulders,” shared Everett. “I could finally go somewhere and dance without depleting my own bank account. I felt free, I suppose, free to indulge in one of the things I love most, dancing. The difference is simply being free to dance, without being stressed to pay to dance.”
“The KCT allows for an artist to be one step closer to pursuing their dreams. When people are awarded that step they become stronger at their craft. From strength grows opportunity, and from opportunity grows success. And when one person from Kansas succeeds, everybody succeeds.”
The cast of Paper Mill Playhouse’s production of Curtains (2011). Photo: Bruce Bonnett
Mr. Everett will be realizing his dream with Mamma Mia!, a production now celebrating 13 years on Broadway. Mamma Mia! has been seen by over 50 million people worldwide and has grossed more than $2 billion at the box office.
“I think making my Broadway debut is a direct result of patience and perseverance,” enthused Everett. “It is a reminder to never give up; that things CAN change overnight. It is a validation for myself in a business that can make you feel so invalid. Making this debut means the acceptance into a wonderfully unique and special community, the proof that dreams can come true, and a reminder that there is a reason we set goals and chase dreams; achievement is an incredible feeling.”
Nancy Anderson (Peter Pan), Jessica Lee Goldyn and the ensemble of Paper Mill Playhouse’s production of Peter Pan (2010). Photo by Kevin Sprague
Set in a beach resort in the Mediterranean, Mamma Mia! tells the story of Sophie, a bride-to-be with one wish: to have her absent father walk her down the aisle. After reading passages about three old lovers in her mom’s diary, Sophie sends each a wedding invitation in hopes of learning which is her dad. The arrival of the men from her past is surprising to Donna, Sophie’s fiercely independent mother, who prides herself on getting through life without a man, and highly amusing to Donna’s two best gal pals. The more Sophie and her mother struggle to find truth and understanding, the more it threatens to tear them apart and wreck Sophie’s dream wedding.
With music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, Mamma Mia! is written by Catherine Johnson and directed by Phyllida Lloyd. The production has choreography by Anthony Van Laast, production design by Mark Thompson, lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Andrew Bruce and Bobby Aitken, and musical supervision, additional material and arrangements by Martin Koch.
Show times at the Broadhurst are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 7 PM with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM.
The Broadhurst Theatre is located at 235 West 44th Street. For more information and tickets, visit mammamianorthamerica.com.
Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Garth Kravits on NBC’s The Blacklist
ABC’s “Fresh Off the Boat” starring Randall Park, Constance Wu, Hudson Yang, Forrest Wheeler, and Ian Chen, Premieres on February 4 & 10
Q & A with Danny Ramm, Co-writer of Joe Mantegna Helmed ‘Criminal Minds’ Season 10 Episode to Honor the late Meshach Taylor; Airs January 21, 2015
Photos: André De Shields, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Page, Charl Brown, Carly Hughes, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lillias White in 40th Anniversary of The WIZ Tribute at BC/EFA’s GYPSY OF THE YEAR; Competition Breaks Records With Over $5 Million as Hugh Jackman’s THE RIVER Brings in Top Donation
Baryshnikov Arts Center Presents New York Premiere of Carmen De Lavallade’s Solo Show AS I REMEMBER IT in February 2015
Geoffrey Holder, Artist, Actor, Dancer, Choreographer, Two-Time Tony Award-winning Director and Costume Designer for The Wiz, Dies at 84; Son Pens Intimate Account of Last Days
Stephen Adly Guirgis’ BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY at Second Stage Theatre’s Tony Kiser Theatre Beginning January 16, 2015
Emmy Winner Richard Thomas and Anna Chlumsky Set For Broadway’s YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU, Beginning January 6, 2015
Dec. Offerings: BC/EFA’s Gypsy of the Year, 9-MAN, CINDERELLA, OUR LADY OF KIBEHO, Louis Price Concert, The Legacy Now – Reflections on A Life in The Theater with Voza Rivers and Woodie King Jr., THE OLDEST BOY, HERE LIES LOVE
Ann Harada Ends Run on Broadway in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘Cinderella’ on December 14; Set for World Premiere of ‘Brooklynite’ at The Vineyard in January 2015
James Yaegashi, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Ernest Abuba, Tsering Dorjee, Takemi Kitamura, James Saito, Jon Norman Schneider in Sarah Ruhl’s The Oldest Boy in the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at LCT
Lia Chang Picks: Island Breeze CD by Jeff Peterson, Riley Lee & Kenny Endo
Lia Chang Picks: Arthur Dong’s Forbidden City: Chinese-American Nightclubs, 1930-1970
Photos: BD Wong, Cindy Cheung, Brooke Ishibashi,Thom Sesma, Manna Nichols, Steven Eng, Ariel Estrada and Lori Tan Chinn at Leviathan Lab’s Ghost Stories
Apple Video Podcast: New York Post Writer Michael Riedel Interviews David Byrne, Jaygee Macapugay, Jose Llana and Conrad Ricamora of Here Lies Love
Cheryl L. Davis’ Maid’s Door Sweeps AUDELCOs with 7 Wins; Complete List of 2014 AUDELCO Recipients Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Set for Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I
Photos: Ellen Burstyn, Baz Luhrmann, John Leguizamo, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Stephen McKinley Henderson, John Patrick Shanley, David Henry Hwang, Liza Colón-Zayas, Kenneth Lonergan and More Celebrate Stephen Adly Guirgis at The Mimi Awards
NYU Theatrical Production Presents the World Premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Describe the Night in the Shubert Theatre at Tisch School of the Arts
Q & A with Playwright Camille Darby, 2014-15 Dramatists Guild Playwrighting Fellow
Costume Institute’s Spring 2015 Exhibition at Metropolitan Museum to Focus on Chinese Imagery in Art, Film, and Fashion, May 7–August 16, 2015
Photos: Art Salon with Artist Yang Chihung and Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang at New-York Historical Society
Photos: Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion on View through April 19, 2015 at New York Historical Society
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee
Photos: Artist Arlan Huang, One Brush Stroke at a Time
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.
Lia Chang Photo by GK
Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. Lia starred as Carole Barbara in Lorey Hayes’ Power Play at the 2013 National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C., with Pauletta Pearson Washington, Roscoe Orman, and made her jazz vocalist debut in Rome Neal’s Banana Puddin’ Jazz “LADY” at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York. She is profiled in Jade Magazine. All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2014 Lia Chang Multimedia. 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. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com
