Christopher Jackson
“We’ve been stuck at home too,” exclaimed Christopher Jackson during his virtual 90-minute show last Saturday night, broadcast from New York City and live-streamed locally by the Marcus Performing Arts Center. His exuberance for being back on a stage radiated throughout the well-timed Steve Wonder tune, “Happier Than the Morning Sun.” Even though the Schubert Virtual Studios had no live audience, Jackson made the global audience literally feel “right at home” with his down to earth stage presence and real-life stories of his theater experiences—including that show.
Jackson, best known for his Tony Award-nominated performance as George Washington in the original Broadway cast of Hamilton, performed as a benefit for 17 arts organizations nationwide. His talented six-piece band included a number of musicians from the Hamilton pit orchestra as well as a talented vocalist from his early days in In the Heights—wife Veronica Vazquez Jackson. It was a family affair, especially taking into account his longstanding relationship and friendship with Hamilton and In The Heights’ creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.
“Lin doesn’t write me solos,” Jackson proclaimed of his Hamilton role as the band launched into the rhythmic “Here Comes The General” refrain of “Right Hand Man.” Jackson’s mastery of the “hippy-hoppy” word play showcased just one of his many vocal talents of the evening, bookended with a solo, soaring version of “One Last Time.” But there were other sparkling gems to mine from Jackson’s set: a soulful version of the Ray Charles’ classic, “You Don’t Know Me”; a spritely take on Donny Hathaway’s “Magdalena” and a stirring cover of the Sting song “Shape of My Heart.”
But it was Jackson’s passionate tribute to singer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte that proved to be the high point of the evening. “I grew up learning folk songs,” Jackson explained, a perfect segue into “John Henry,” which showed the emotional range of this contemporary performer marched with such an historic folk song. Yes, there was the obligatory “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” but it was the beautifully wrought mournful spiritual, “Take My Mother Home,” that showcased Jackson’s ability to reach in and blend vocal range with theatrical emotion. And in keeping with Belafonte’s spirit and message, signs of “Black Lives Matter” were help up at the end of the trilogy of Belafonte covers.
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That gospel-tinged momentum continued with a new unpublished song Jackson wrote himself, “Never Alone.” Backed by the band’s lush harmonies and instrumentation, Jackson’s vocals rose above it all, clear, emotive, celebrating just being there. As he said earlier in the show, “Artists respond to a moment like this. So watch out. it’s comin’.” And based on this show, it will be well worth the wait.
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