During lockdown, Seth Rudetsky’s regular concert series has moved online, broadcasting live on a Sunday night with a Monday replay for international audiences. For the first time, one of his original early-lockdown guests returned by popular demand, and it’s no surprise that there was a huge appetite for Jeremy Jordan to make another guest appearance alongside Seth and his piano.
While the concert series usually sees guests performing songs from their best known roles, Jeremy Jordan’s second appearance took more of a request format, with social media users having provided both the set list and many of the questions that Seth asked during the interview segments.
Jeremy’s career was certainly reflected; songs like ‘If I Didn’t Believe In You’ from The Last Five Years (Jordan starred in the movie version) and ‘She Used to Be Mine’ from Waitress, in which he played Broadway’s Dr. Pomatter last year, were highlights of the stream.
But so too was his performance of ‘You and Me (But Mostly Me)’ from Book of Mormon, and we discovered through Seth’s interviewing that Jordan almost originated the role of Elder Price on Broadway. The concert opened with ‘Hurricane’ a song from musical Death Note which Jordan had worked on in the development phases.
We were treated to an astounding performance of ‘Grow For Me’ from Little Shop of Horrors. Which Jordan should have been headlining off-Broadway, had Covid not closed theatres. We discovered that London audiences also narrowly missed out on Jeremy Jordan in Finding Neverland in the West End, a production that ultimately opened on Broadway instead. As always, it was the backstage and behind the scenes stories that really intrigued the audience, while Jordan’s comments on social injustice will certainly have struck a chord with viewers.
Jeremy Jordan certainly made the ideal guest for Seth Rudetsky, their natural chemistry made for compelling viewing, while Jordan’s talents were front and centre in this virtual concert. It seemed a natural choice for Jordan to return to the series, just as audiences have done week after week in the absence of live performance.
Upcoming concerts will feature Judy Kuhn, Lillias White, and Beth Leavel.
