Mark William is ready to dream big on stage and on records this holiday season
As he prepares for what could be his most prolific year yet, Mark William is eager to take his fans on a musical journey that traverses favorite genres of Broadway and classic pop.
In September, the New York actor and singer presented his second album and his first live recording, “If I Can Dream.” The 13-song collection captures William’s May 10 performance at Manhattan nightspot Green Room 42 and finds him putting his unique spin on songs made famous by Elvis Presley.Barbra Streisand and others, along with original melodies.
“This album marks a significant moment,” William writes in the album’s liner notes. “I finally feel like I’m no longer imitating the great singers I grew up listening to, but rather I’ve found my own voice. And I’m thrilled to share it.”
Genevieve Rafter Keddy
Other highlights include a medley by the late singer-songwriter Peter Allen, including “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” and “Not The Boy Next Door,” as well as songs from “Dorian’s Wild(e) Affair,” William’s upcoming musical that sets Oscar Wilde’s 1891 novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” in New York during the disco era of the 1970s.
William described “If I Can Dream” as his response to the classic records of Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli, telling News, “There’s an energy to a live album that can’t be duplicated in a studio, and that’s the exchange between the musicians and the audience.”
“My first album [2019’s ‘Back With a Beat’] “It was very much a classical singer, a Great American Songbook and a Broadway album,” he said. “With this new show and this album, I wanted to be open to some rock and roll stuff and also share some of my own writing. It’s really something special that I’m proud of.”
As in previous years, William performed his May concert before a host of stage and film stars, including Sandy Duncan and “Ozark” actor Ben Rappaport.
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It’s no surprise, then, that New York’s film and theater communities have begun to take notice. William recently completed filming his first short film, “Do You…?”, in which he plays a groom-to-be who faces an unusual dilemma on his wedding day.
He’s also working on a second short film, “Good, Isn’t It?”, a story of self-discovery set in a small-town library, and is co-writing the script for a feature film, which he describes as “a cheesy slasher set during the opening party of a new Broadway musical.” The first full staging of “Dorian’s Wild(e) Affair” will also take place in the second half of the year at a theater in New Hampshire.
The release of “If I Can Dream” comes just weeks before William kicks off a busy holiday season. He recently returned to Walt Disney World for a third year to appear alongside Brendan Fraser, Sheryl Lee Ralph and other top celebrity presenters at the Orlando, Florida resort’s Candlelight Processional event.
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He will also perform with singer Sarah Brightman, best known for playing the role of Christine in the Broadway hit “Phantom of the Opera,” during five stops on her Winter Symphony Tour throughout the Sunshine State in December.
William met Brightman two years ago, when he was hired to sing backup at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The couple met unexpectedly, with Brightman entering an elevator at the complex wearing “a caftan and her hair in curls,” she said.
However, once Brightman took the stage, she was every inch the “glamour goddess” William had hoped for. Since then, she has come to view her time with the Broadway veteran and global entertainer as a learning experience that she hopes will pave the way for the next chapter of her career.
“Life can be crazy and the world can be crazy, but…keeping hope and continuing to strive is what will help us get through,” he said. “Whether it’s romantic love, brotherly love or friendship, there’s a lot to give and receive. So my goal is to be open to that.”