Watch out, Broadway! There's a new star coming to town, and his name is Nathan Broxton. The 11-year-old boy from California has gained viral attention from Broadway and beyond with a clip of him singing along to "Naughty" from the new Matilda movie musical.
The video, which was originally posted by his mother Samantha Broxton to her TikTok, was first shared on Twitter by author Kendra James. Then another tweet from Ayanna Prescod sharing the video quickly gained traction, receiving responses from numerous stars of the stage and theatre industry members.
Amongst the replies was Bebe Neuwirth, who called the car ride karaoke "fantastic," and #OscarsSoWhite creator (and former Broadway Black managing editor) April Reign, who said: "when [Nathan] walks across the stage to receive his #Tonys, you can say 'I remember him when...'"
@raisingself Let’s just call this Nathan’s audition for Matilda the Musical!
♬ Naughty (Deluxe Edition Only Bonus Track with All 4 Original Broadway Matildas) - Bailey Ryon & Sophia Gennusa & Oona Laurence & Milly Shapiro
Samantha then shared an additional video of Nathan lip-syncing passionately to Hamilton's "Wait For It." Shortly thereafter, original Broadway Aaron Burr himself Leslie Odom Jr. quote-tweeted the video, stating: "Young brother is far more committed than I even dreamt of being at his age. This is conviction! And I love to see it. On this trajectory, he’ll eclipse me in no time."
Nathan's response to seeing the kind words from his Hamilton hero was shared on Samantha's TikTok. The young boy, silently in tears for the first few minutes of the video, eventually says: "This one tweet means so much to me." Holding his mother's hand, the pair share tears of joy at the Odom Jr.'s support.
@raisingself Shared with permission from Nathan. He is so thankful for everyone’s kind words and encouragement. This year he want to get voice lessons and dance lessons and get even more serious about Musical Theater.
♬ original sound - Samantha Sophia
Little did the mother-and-son duo know, Nathan's big Broadway adventure was just beginning. Samantha announced on January 11 that Delta Airlines had reached out to the family, offering to send Nathan and the rest of the crew to New York City to see Nathan's first Broadway musical.
According to Samantha, the details haven't been ironed out just yet. But it seems Broadway is eager to welcome young Nathan and his family. In response to Samantha's tweet announcing the trip, playwright Jeremy O. Harris offered to get Nathan tickets to anything else he'd like to see. Wicked's Brittney Johnson also encouraged the family to come see the long-running musical, stating that she'd love to meet them all.
In a video response to all the Broadway love he's received, posted on Twitter, Nathan shared that he's "humbled." Samantha proceeds to explain to Nathan that much of the theatre community is rooting for him to be onstage.
He responds, "I agree!" Samantha then asks if he's "waiting for his shot." And of course, he begins to recite the lyrics to "My Shot" from Hamilton. It's safe to say, Nathan will not be throwing away his shot to come to Broadway!
