Capitals fans know Bob McDonald as one of the team’s anthem singers, but this past week, he took his performing talents to Broadway. McDonald participated in the Writer’s Guild of America, East’s “Broadway Day Rally” on Thursday in Times Square.
The event featured a star-studded cast of stage and screen actors, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sara Bareilles, and Adam Pascal. Between renditions of showtunes, performers shared support for the WGA members, who have been on strike since early May.
What a joyful day! Huge thanks to @SethRudetsky for putting together such a great group to support an important cause, the Writers’ strike! To be a part of this was so special… and to sing in the middle of Times Square was !!! #WGAStrong pic.twitter.com/vRL5xRLkhl
— Bob McDonald (@bobinarlington) June 16, 2023
McDonald told RMNB that Seth Rudetsky, a college friend of his who helped to organize the event, asked him to come to New York and participate.
It wasn’t an easy trip–McDonald is currently performing at Signature Theater’s production of Sweeney Todd and would be onstage later that night. But Rudetsky wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“[Rudetsky] said, ‘It’s at one o’clock in New York. You can do both,’” McDonald explained. “And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s right. I can.’”
Spurned on by his friend’s request and a good cause, McDonald took a 6 am train out of Washington, returning to DC just in time for Sweeney Todd that evening.
“A lot of the other folks that were involved [with the rally] heard what I was doing. They just looked at me like, ‘are you crazy?’” McDonald said.
Harried as the trip may have been, you couldn’t tell from McDonald’s performance. He and the rest of the ensemble opened the event with a rousing rendition of “Finale” from Les Misérables, as well as accompanying the solo performers. The entire event was livestreamed on YouTube and is available to watch below.
“It was just a thrill to be around all the Broadway folks and to sing music,” McDonald said. “I was awesome to stand there and look out and you’re in Times Square singing this amazing music. It was really special.”
During the event, McDonald managed to snag a selfie with Miranda–a performer he greatly admires. Miranda is best-known as the creator and original star of Hamilton, which earned a staggering 11 Tony Awards in 2016. He also composed the music and lyrics for In the Heights and has composed songs for Disney’s Moana and Encanto. In 2018, Miranda received the Kennedy Center Honors for his work on Hamilton alongside director Thomas Kail, choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, and orchestrator Alex Lacamoire.
Actress and writer Paula Pell hosted Thursday’s rally, with Rudetsky overseeing the musical direction. Actors performed songs from the likes of Rent, Wicked, Oliver!, and Dreamgirls, many of which were chosen to be particularly relevant to the strike.
The cast list only grew as the rally drew closer. Miranda and Bareilles both joined on last-minute, while Tony Award-winner Lauren Patten came up from the audience to reprise her performance of “You Oughta Know” from Jagged Little Pill. Beyond the big names, a host of seasoned actors came together for the rally, lending their talents and voices to the strike effort.
“Some of the other Broadway performers that were on it also were people that I’d looked up to forever,” McDonald explained. “To stand behind them and watch them do their thing was just inspiring.”
The importance of the rally and the strike were never far from view. Thursday’s even came as the WGA strike nears the 50-day mark. Striking writers are seeking increased pay and protections against the backdrop of growing streaming companies and the rise of AI.
Many members of the audience held signs, while performers edited classic Broadway hits to parody the labor fight. McDonald felt the impact of the strike throughout the rally.
“There were hundreds of writers in front of us who are striking and the gravity of that is something that also sunk in.” he said. “When we were finished, lots of the writers came up to us and thanked us for our time and how much it meant to them. It kind of put it in perspective, what we were actually there for.“
All in all, it was an experience and a cause worth the trip.
“It was a thrill. It was just a thrill.”
Headline photo: Bob McDonald/Twitter
