Alistair Brammer, seen on Broadway and in the West End in Miss Saigon, as well as appearing in both Les Miserables and Wicked in London has joined the lineup of West End stars giving Leave a Light On concerts from their living rooms.
The performance opened with "Why God Why?" from Miss Saigon, and it was performed absolutely beautifully. He talked about the difference between playing Chris in London and New York, the amount of energy the audience brought to the theater and the difference in the stage door experience. He followed this with "Bring Him Home" from Les Mis, as Jean Valjean is one of his dream roles, but also because he sang the song with other Les Mis alums in honor of the NHS.
Another one of his dream roles is Judas from Jesus Christ Superstar, so he sang "Heaven on Their Minds." He said he'd seen the production in Regent's Park in London and loved it. I would love to see him take on this role, as his rendition of this song left my jaw on the ground. Keeping in the theme of rock music, he followed with Bon Jovi's Bed of Roses, as he had seen Bon Jovi in concert in New York, sang this song drunkenly at karaoke, and decided it was time to sing it sober. At he did it quite well!
A very nice part of this concert in particular was the questions he answered. Asked when his love of theater started, he said he fell in love with it after seeing a local production around the age of fifteen, and joined the company with his first show being Pirates of Penzance. He also reiterated that the role he would love to do the most is Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, as he wants to find that kind of role in his voice as he usually doesn't get to sing that way. He was also asked what it was like working withe Eva Noblezada during Miss Saigon, and he said he loved working with her. She was 17 when they started rehearsals in London and was absolutely incredible, and has now become a Broadway star through her role in Hadestown.
He followed up his questions with "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon, a song he sang for his friend as a first dance song for their wedding, as well as a song he loves. He said one upbeat song was necessary so people wouldn't think he was singing ballad after ballad after ballad. And he sang it very, very well! The next song was from Taboo, called "Stranger in this World." Eight years ago, he played the role of Billy in a little makeshift theater and it was one of his favorite jobs. One of his favorite lines from the show is "on a clear day I can see myself for miles," and he feels that's it's very appropriate for the current time.
For the next song, he returned to pop music with Harry Styles' "Falling," as he thinks he's producing some of the best pop music lately. It was sung absolutely beautifully in every way. The next some was "Proud of Your Boy" from Aladdin, as he'd had a request to sing some Disney. He noted, however, that the person who tweeted at him said he should play Hercules in the remake that Disney announced, though he thought he was more of the size of Aladdin.
The concert ended with "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith, which was the reason he sang some Les Mis at the beginning, since he wanted to end with this song. He thought he had to end on a bit of rock, and he did it incredibly well.
It was a lovely concert, and it was a treat to hear him sing after seeing him in Miss Saigon on Broadway. It's also worth noting that he's behind @lockdown_duets on Instagram, to connect the Broadway and West End communities during the lockdowns. If you're missing theater as much as I am, give a listen to some of the duets. You won't regret it!