Natalie Weiss: “To make my Birdland solo concert debut feels like a dream come true”

Stepping in for Eden Espinosa in Scott Alan’s concert at Birdland’s jazz club singing “I’m a Star” was a turning point in Natalie Weiss career. From that moment on, Natalie performed at a large number of concerts and readings. She also can be heard on several recordings of new composers.

Natalie Weiss was in the ensemble and understudied Elphaba in the 2nd National Touring Company of WICKED. She has performed at venues all over New York City. Regional appearances include musicals such as LES MISÉRABLES, CATS or GREASE, and her voice can be heard on the recordings of Scott Alan’s ‘Keys’ or in the soundtrack of DEAR EDWINA.

On January 24, Natalie Weiss will make her solo concert debut at Birldand’s Club. The concert is called ‘Offline’ and Tituss Burgess (THE LITTLE MERMAID, GUYS AND DOLLS) directs. The tickets for this concert were sold out in record time, so Natalie Weiss will offer a second concert on February 15.

The American actress tells us about her solo debut and about her artistic career.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU MAKING YOUR BIRDLAND SOLO CONCERT DEBUT?
It feels like a dream come true. There is a lot of work that goes into it but I feel like I’ll be ready!

HOW WILL THE CONCERT BE? WHAT WILL THE AUDIENCE FIND AT BIRDLAND THESE TWO DAYS?
The concert will be a mix of pop hits and contemporary musical theatre songs. The audiences will see a more intimate side of me that they might not see on Youtube.

THE CONCERT IS DIRECTED BY TITUSS BURGESS. HOW HAS IT BEEN WORKING WITH HIM? WHAT WOULD YOU POINT OUT ABOUT HIS WORK?
He has been a great inspirational figure throughout this process. He doesn’t just tell me what I want to hear. He always plays devil’s advocate and is very objective so I can be the best I can be.

YOUR FIRST BIG BREAK WAS STEPPING IN FOR EDEN ESPINOSA IN SCOTT ALAN´S CONCERT AT BIRDLAND. HOW DO YOU REMEMBER THAT NIGHT? HOW DID YOU GOT THE PROPOSAL TO JOIN THIS CONCERT?
I will never forget the day that Scott Alan texted me asking me to step in for her last minute. The night I actually performed with those amazing people was indescribable. Since that night with Scott I had been performing at Birdland for many different composers and so the managers casually mentioned to me once that I should do my own concert there. I kept putting it off because I was nervous I wouldn’t be ready but then I just bit the bullet and said “Let’s do this!”

SINCE THEN, YOU’VE BEEN INVOLVED IN MANY SCOTT ALAN’S CONCERTS. WHAT COULD YOU COMMENT ABOUT HIS MUSIC AND HIS WORK?
As many people can attest to, his melodies are unforgettable. You leave his concerts singing his tunes. He truly knows how to network himself and he is a good friend of mine since that day I first performed with him.

WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST INTERESTING ABOUT WORKING WITH YOUNG COMPOSERS? DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVOURITE COMPOSER?
I love working with new young composers because you feel as if you are part of the creative process. I have many favorites! Everyone has something different to offer! I don’t like to single people out!

YOUR YOUTUBE VIDEOS ARE TOP HITS. WHAT DO YOU FEEL ABOUT PEOPLE’S FEEDBACK TO YOUR VIDEOS? DO THEY SURPRISE YOU?
Most of the feedbacks to my videos are extremely nice! However, some comments are certainly disrespectful as you will find when you put yourself out there. I try not to let those comments bother me and remember those people who truly support me.

YOU WERE RECENTLY IN THE ENSEMBLE AND UNDERSTUDIED ELPHABA IN THE 2ND NATIONAL TOURING COMPANY OF ‘WICKED’. WHAT DID IT MEAN TO YOU WORKING IN THIS SHOW? WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST OF IT?
To be in WICKED was truly a dream come true. When I first saw WICKED as a field trip with my musical theatre program at Penn State, I bawled my eyes out at the end of “Defying Gravity”, thinking, “I want to be in this so badly!” My favorite number to perform in the ensemble was “Dancing Through Life”.

WHAT IS THE MAIN DIFFICULTY OF UNDERSTUDYING A MAIN ROLE? HOW DID YOU FEEL PERFORMING ELPHABA?
Unfortunately this question is difficult for me to answer properly. My situation was very a-typical because I was replacing a girl who was injured for a 10 week period. Because of this, I had to learn my ensemble part EXTREMELY fast with barely any individual rehearsal. By the time I got put into my ensemble track, the girl that was injured was back ready to learn Elphaba’s track. So I never got to perform/rehearse Elphaba although I was contracted as an understudy.

HOW DID YOU DISCOVER MUSICAL THEATRE? AND WHEN DID YOU DECIDE THAT YOU’D LIKE TO BE AN ACTRESS/SINGER?
I remember being Peter Pan at a day camp when I was 10 years old. I always liked to be the center of attention. I decided to really pursue this my senior year of high school when I realized I wanted to major in musical theatre in college.

YOU ALSO WORK AS A MUSICAL COACH. WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST OF TEACHING?
Absolutely love teaching. My favorite thing about it is seeing improvement in your students and knowing that they truly understand what you are trying to convey. Making a difference feels amazing!

COULD YOU COMMENT ON YOUR NEXT PROJECTS?
As of now, the only thing I know I am doing besides my solo show at Birdland is a concert on Jan 25th at Joe’s Pub, called ‘Rated RSO, the music and lyrics of Ryan Scott Oliver’. Hope to get back into the auditioning life and be in a show soon!