It began with a passing comment among peers at the 2019 Tony Awards. Grammy-winning vocalist Mela Sarajane Dailey was sitting with a group of producers and fellow performer Beth Malone. Dailey recalled one of the producers asked her and Malone, “‘Wouldn’t it be so great if the two of you could do some kind of Broadway revue during Pride?’”
By the next day, Dailey had sent a 28-page PowerPoint to the producers’ production team, envisioning a bigger show than what the producers had originally proposed. And Sing Out! was born.
The show was set to premiere on Broadway during the first COVID summer and, of course, was canceled. For the summer of 2021, Dailey was determined to put artists back to work. An empty parking lot, a 225-foot LED screen, and a film crew were arranged. The show ran for the first time in Austin that summer.
Almost a year later, Sing Out! makes its way back to the city where the idea was birthed, more specifically the Lincoln Center, on June 20. The upcoming show comes as collaboration between the Austin Artists Project, which Dailey founded, and the theater publication Playbill. AAP was founded in 2019 to create opportunities for women, people of color, and the queer community, Dailey explained.
Dailey will be joined by six other award-winning artists, including Kenny Williams of Austin, for the show that draws from Broadway greats like Rodgers and Hammerstein and newer works like The Color Purple and Hadestown.
The partnership comes as elected officials push legislation that adversely affects the LGBTQ+ community. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced in April that he would prioritize passing a bill coined by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay Law.” The law, already passed in Florida, has made teachers there afraid to talk about sexual orientation or gender identity for fear of career or legal repercussions. In a visit to Austin this May, former President Donald Trump voiced his support for the bill, saying that “teachers shouldn’t be allowed to teach transgender.”
To combat this marginalization (to put it nicely) Dailey wants to invite everyone to have a seat at this theatrical table. “What if we really show representation from the trans community and the gay community, and I’ll represent all the bisexuals that I can,” Dailey said. “This is taking representation and showing these groups of students that are coming: You matter.”
Sing Out! at Rose Theater at the Lincoln Center, New York, June 20. Tickets for the show available at austinartistsproject.org/singout. Some of the proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Human Rights Campaign.
This article appears in June 3 • 2022.