Shoshana Bean - "Defying Gravity + Gravity (Mashup)"

Shoshana Bean was born to a Jewish family in Olympia, Washington and raised in the Portland, Oregon area. She first found her love for performing at a summer camp in Olympia called Capital Kids.

Barely out of college, Shoshana Bean was pounding the pavement, booking roles in regional productions like Annie to earn her Equity Card. Pretty much immediately after that, Bean stayed on her post-grad energy wave and found herself in New York City. The excitement of her new surroundings kept Bean’s theater buzz going and she quickly began finding work as a New York actor.

Shoshana Bean was one of the original cast members of the 2003 Tony Award winning production of Hairspray, where she got her broadway debut! In addition to understudying the roles of Tracy Turnblad (who was originally played by fellow Jewess Marissa Jaret Winokur), Velma Von Tussle, and Prudy Pingleton, Bean starred as Shelley (one of the Corny Collins dancers).

Following her success in Hairspray, Shoshana took over for Idina Menzel (why yes, another Jew!) as Elphaba in Wicked, arguably still one of the most highly coveted roles on Broadway. As the first predecessor of the role, Bean had some big shoes to fill and she did not disappoint. Her vocal riffs and rock star mezzo-belt left audiences speechless and on their feet after every performance.

In 2015, Shoshana Bean starred as Fanny Brice (role originated on Broadway by Barbra Streisand) in a revival of Funny Girl at North Shore Theater near Boston and received an IRNE award for her portrayal. Bean also originated the role of CeeCee Bloom in the pre-Broadway run of the musical production of Beaches (role originated in the film by Bette Midler). Her part in Beaches earned Bean a Jeff Award nomination.

She writes her own music too! Show tunes, pop, jazz— Shoshana Bean does it all. In addition to her long reigning Broadway career, Bean writes and records original songs and popular covers of songs, like her latest release covering Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” Bean has three original albums in addition to dozens of EPs, single covers, and guest recording tracks. Spectrum, her latest album, reached number one on the Billboard Jazz Charts in 2018. Her musical style is heavily influenced by R&B artists like Mariah Carey (you can tell by her to-die-for whistle tones). Her voice is truly an American treasure and we are not worthy.

So today, with grit and guts I choose Shoshana Bean’s delicious versions of "Defying Gravity + Gravity (a Mashup)" as my, grind on, rise up, lift off, song for a, float if you can, support those who are leaping, be a net when necessary, Tuesday.