Fresh from the Start
I’ve posted several videos here of Heather Headley, a phenomenal singer who (among many other things) starred in Elton John’s musical Aida, winning a Tony Award for it, and the musical adaptation of The Bodyguard that premiered on the West End, as well as the Broadway productions of The Color Purple musical and The Lion King. (And a lot more, including winning a Grammy for her solo work.)
I’ve also posted them because she went to the beloved Northwestern, I have a touch of pride from that. (She left college as a senior because she was offered to be the understudy for Audra MacDonald in Ragtime. Not a shabby start… She’s said she wanted to graduate, and talked it over with the founder of the school’s Musical Theatre Program, the legendary Dominic Missimi. He told her that as much as he wanted her to stay, because he had a great role for her in the upcoming Spring musical, said that leaving was the only real choice. ) And that leads to the point here.
When she was at Northwestern and just a sophomore, she performed in the Waa-Mu Show -- the student-written musical which has been going on for around 95 years – and blew the roof off of a great song called “Children of Privilege.” I was able to find a video of it, and posted it here three years ago.
As luck would have it, by pure chance – looking for something else – I found another video of Heather Headley when she was at Northwestern. It’s again from the Waa-Mu Show – but from the year before, when she was only a freshman. Freshmen don’t tend to get solo numbers at the Waa-Mu Show. But in fairness, freshmen don’t tend to be Heather Headley. She performs the number “Laugh So Hard” with total ease and unfettered confidence, and completely owns the stage. While it’s not a song with the depth of “Children of Privilege,” it’s a good one – but what stands out is that this is a performance with the full maturity of a seasoned veteran. Yet here she is at the very start – a freshman in college.
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