Broadway's Jason Danieley Comes Home to St. Louis for Two Nights of Performances

Co-Presented by The Cabaret Project of St. Louis and Jazz St. Louis, Broadway star Jason Danieley is coming home to perform his cabaret Homecoming on May 18th and 19th. Ahead of the show, BroadwayWorld caught up with Danieley for a few quick questions.

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You're performing in St. Louis on May 18 and 19. What can audiences expect from your show?

I usually like to title my own shows but the presenters gave my appearance the name Homecoming. So, I decided to work backwards and have the title inform the content and it's worked out well. I talk and sing about my growing up in St. Louis, to a small extent, and then shift into my professional and personal journey since leaving my hometown. With social media there are many people who have followed my life and career over the recent years but there are just as many who haven't and this is a "Reader's Digest" version for those people, using mostly Broadway music, jazz standards and a few pop and country tunes. I know of several high school pals whom I haven't had direct contact over the years who are planning to attend and this would be an entertaining way of having that cocktail conversation of "so what have you done since high school".

You were born and raised in St. Louis - what does it mean to you to be back home performing?

I'm so happy to have the opportunity to perform for many friends and family who haven't been able to travel to New York or any other city I may have performed over my 30+ years away from St. Louis. It's an occasion to reconnect with the community that raised me and I'm hoping to be able to thank a few very important folks in the course of the two evenings.

You've had a great stage career so far - from Candide to Pretty Woman and beyond - what is one of your favorite memories from these roles?

That question casts quite a wide net over a lot of territory. I'm always making new memories and attempting to have them be unique and meaningful. I just finished a long-awaited world premiere of a new Ahrens & Flaherty musical called Knoxville which was written and directed by Frank Galati. These three were responsible for another great musical of our time called Ragtime which I have a very personal attachment to. Starring in Knoxville and uncovering and exploring the emotional and musical landscape in it has been the most rewarding and fulfilling work of art I've ever experienced from the inside. Let's hope you'll be able to see it in NYC in the near future.

What are some of your dream roles that you haven't yet had the chance to play?

This question comes up a lot in interviews. There are a myriad of roles in the musical theatre canon that are compelling to do but I'm always more interested in the roles that have yet to be written. I've been fortunate, over the last 28+ years, to have created characters that are now in that canon and I look forward creating more and more in the future.

We like to ask this of performers: If you hadn't become a successful performer would there have been another profession you'd be happy in?

A director of musicals and plays for the theatre, which is also another facet of what I currently do. Other than that... nope.

Tickets for the May 18th and 19th shows can be purchased by clicking here.