Crowds gathered on the sidewalks of West 45th Street on Thursday, June 26, starting at noon, for the free 45-minute lunchtime concert Rise Up, Live Proud, featuring songs from Broadway stars, LGBTQIA+ artists, and allies, presented live on the Torch Balcony at RiseNY, in partnership with Playbill, there distributing free rainbow bracelets to everyone. Hosted by Marti Gould Cummings – drag legend, entertainer, activist, and Grand Marshall of this year’s NYC Pride – the uplifting and empowering celebration of Pride and community also included a raffle of tickets to Broadway shows, grandstand seats for Sunday’s Pride March (starting at noon, at 26th Street and Fifth Avenue), and a VIP experience at RiseNY, gift cards and merchandise from Midtown favorites, and virtual meet-and-greets with noted celebrities, with the proceeds benefitting the year-round programs of NYC Pride/Heritage of Pride.
The exuberant Cummings – listed in Guinness World Records as the first drag artist to perform on all seven continents, and also to make history as the first non-binary candidate to run for public office in NYC – introduced the event and the special guests, and announced the raffle winners between performances, wished everyone a “Happy Pride,” and encouraged us all to “fight for trans people, stand against hatred, and support joy and love.” It’s an important message, now more than ever, and one that was enthusiastically cheered by the crowd.
Jackie Cox, a fan favorite from Season 12 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, joined Cummings for a segment on the balcony, and a roster of stars sang a selection of meaningful songs to a soundtrack of pre-recorded music from four stories high, opening with stage and screen star Mario Cantone (now appearing in the Sex and the City TV series sequel And Just Like That . . .) passionately belting, over the noise of the street traffic, two oldies by mid-century favorites of Italian-American descent (as is he), “I’m Gonna Live Till I Die,” popularized by Frank Sinatra in the 1950s, and “Looking for Love,” from the 1964 movie of the same name and performed by pop singer Connie Francis – a featured character, he noted, in the new Broadway musical Just in Time.
He was followed by Sandra Valls (currently on Broadway in Real Women Have Curves: The Musical) offering powerful renditions of the Etta James classic “Damn Your Eyes” and the Melissa Etheridge hit “Like the Way I Do,” Lissa de Guzman and Jennafer Newberry from the Broadway cast of Wicked presenting two numbers from the musical – a solo of “The Wizard and I” by Guzman and a sensitive duet of “For Good” – and Anthony Rapp (who rose to fame as a member of the original Broadway cast of Rent), closing the musical selections with “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper, and proudly showing his.
In addition to providing a venue and support for the NYC Pride concert, RiseNY is a must-see four-floor immersive and interactive museum dedicated to showcasing the culture and history of NYC through a short documentary film shown in a replica of New York’s first subway station at City Hall, seven illuminating gallery exhibitions on Finance, the New York Skyline, Fashion, TV and Radio, Film, Music, and Broadway, and an exciting flight simulation ride, soaring over the city with cutting-edge 4D technology. If you love New York and want to learn more about it in an exciting and educational experience, be sure to stop there between shows.
RiseNY, 160 W 45th Street, NYC, is open on Sunday-Thursday, 10 am–8 pm, Friday-Saturday 10 am–9 pm. For tickets (priced at $42-63, including fees; VIP tickets include express entry, priority access, anytime arrival, and complimentary VIP swag), go online.
