Their Favorite Things: Act of God’s David Josefsberg Shares His Theatregoing Experiences | Playbill

Favorite Things Their Favorite Things: Act of God’s David Josefsberg Shares His Theatregoing Experiences Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Holliday and Danny Burstein are among the singing actor’s favorites.
David Joseferg Joseph Marzullo/WENN
David Josefsberg, who has been seen on Broadway in Les Miserables, The Wedding Singer, Motown and Honeymoon in Vegas, is currently playing God’s Archangel, Michael, opposite Sean Hayes in An Act of God, which ends its limited engagement September 4 at the Booth Theatre. Here, the singing actor reveals the performances that most affected him as part of the audience. “Well, I’m gonna guess there are probably really more than 50,” Josefsberg told Playbill.com, “sooooo…..apologies in advance for those that don’t make the cut… And, if I wrote this tomorrow, we might have a different list….but, here we go…..in no particular order.”

Les Miserables with Craig Schulman

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Craig Schulman
One of the first musicals that I listened to six million times before I got to see the show. I was totally amazed by everything about this production. Craig Schulman’s Valjean was the greatest thing I had ever seen. His voice, the story, I mean….the turntable… and….a couple of parts that would probably be good for me one day. Cut to happy ending. While waitering at the Paramount Hotel and staring at the sign for Les Miserables at the Imperial across the street, I met and auditioned for Richard Jay-Alexander….and got the part. The show has brought me friends that have and will last a lifetime…, and it is where I met my beautiful wife, Liz Josefsberg. We even played Marius (Mauryus for me) and Cosette one night together. Okay I will, ahem, “talk less, smile more” for the rest of them.

Miguel Cervantes in Hamilton

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Miguel Cervantes
Seeing friends perform is always amazing. Seeing a friend perform for only his second time, in the hottest show on Broadway, in the eighth row center, with your wife and kids (who play the music all day long) is epic. The whole cast was truly amazing, but Miguel’s Hamilton was spectacular. He was in every single moment, and I was extremely affected by the show. Brilliant!

Jennifer Holliday in Dreamgirls

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Jennifer Holliday, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Loretta Devine in Dreamgirls Martha Swope
Holy Crap!!! Emotion, Power, Drama, Strength….she had everything….there really are no words……except for the ones I just said…... and probably some more that I didn’t!

Danny Burstein in The Drowsy Chaperone

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Danny Burstein and Beth Leavel in The Drowsy Chaperone Joan Marcus
Danny = perfection. His detail to character, in any show he does, has inspired me! I could have chosen his whole body of work, but his Aldolpho was flawless. Funny, silly, charming, smart. I Loved It. I want to be Danny Burstein….or at least a mini-him! Oh, and um….Sutton Foster, too???? Double dip!

Kevin Kern in Finding Neverland

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Kevin Kern
Yep, he’s my heterosexual life partner, so he gets preferential treatment. Again, seeing a friend, and an understudy, absolutely kill a role that was tailor-made for him is what it’s all about. Inspiring! Kevin does a lot of the dirty work in shows, and getting to see him shine….well, I’m proud of ’ya Kev.

Cynthia Erivo in The Color Purple

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Cynthia Erivo in The Color Purple Matthew Murphy
Okay, I need to chill before I talk about this next one…..(deep breath) I said there is no order for this list, right? Well, it would be hard to argue that Cynthia’s performance wasn’t the one. It was opening night….which was already crazy, but, also, I don’t think I have ever seen anyone give a performance as passionate, moving or otherworldly as hers was. I don’t believe she is human. Her ability is unequaled, and her commitment is one that makes me want to be better. And, The Voice! Nope…..I can’t believe it is real. And that is with (double dip number 2) one of the greatest singers of our generation on stage with her. The amazing Jennifer Hudson….whose performance was filled with grace, humor, and um…the voice!?!?!? What? I could listen to her all day!

The entire cast of Falsettoland at the Lucille Lortel

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Falsettoland Carol Rosegg/Martha Swope NYPL
Can I do Off-Broadway? C’mon, it went to Broadway! … So, I was studying at NYU and to make some extra cash I was an usher. I probably saw the show 300 times, and the performances were unbelievable….But, what actually had an impact on me was the way they treated me. They were all so nice, asking me about my day, and just treating me like one of them. Of course, we all are, but it was just a wonderful example of how to treat people. Also, I saw Falsettos on Broadway, and it was awesome, too. Now you can’t remove this one. Ha!

Rent (original cast)

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The original Broadway cast of Rent. Joan Marcus/Carol Rosegg
You know who they are! And, I also want to shout out Norbert Leo Butz’s Roger, which was amazing. Yep, I saw it a few times. Perfectly cast, amazingly performed! They were their characters. I don’t know if they all loved each other, but their chemistry certainly seemed off the charts!!!! Moved!

Jason Robert Brown's Bridges of Madison County

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Steven Pasquale and Kelli O'Hara in The Bridges of Madison County Joan Marcus
Yep , you heard me. So, I went to one of the final performances of Bridges with Jason conducting. Watching him conduct his own beautiful music, with everyone knowing it was closing, with Kelli O’Hara’s amazing performance, and [Steven] Pasquale’s voice…..well….it was a magical performance. JRB!!!!!!!!

Sean Hayes in An Act of God

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Sean Hayes in An Act of God
Hear me out. I spend a lot of time watching Sean in this show. Yes, I’m in it, but watching him get every single laugh, every single night….(okay there was that one day where he missed that one) is a master class in comedy. I still laugh at jokes that I have heard over 300 times. His performance is inspiring. A true comic genius!!!!! And he even allows me to look directly into his eyes twice a week. What a guy!

 
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