A twelve-episode short-form musical series. A visual album. A dozen musical vignettes. An homage to Broadway. A love letter to musical theatre.
Broadway veteran and award-winning recording artist Matt Zarley will premiere a new, twelve-episode musical web series, “11 O’Clock Number,” on Monday, March 27, 2023, at 11 p.m. ET on YouTube_11oClockNumber.
The series – which will debut two new episodes every Monday night over a six-week period – tells the story of a heartbroken singer who harnesses the power of musicals to help him cope with the pandemic lockdown, reigniting the lifelong dream he thought he had left behind.
“11 O’Clock Number” features songs from Wicked, Rent, Once on This Island, Waitress, Miss Saigon, Aspects of Love, A Chorus Line, Ghost: The Musical, The Last Five Years, The Greatest Showman and The Color Purple.
“What started out, two months into the pandemic lockdown, as purely throwing down some vocals on a few songs (written originally for women that I always secretly wanted to sing), eventually evolved into a twelve-episode short form musical series,” says Matt Zarley, the series’ star, director, producer, and editor. “To say that this was a labor of love would be a real understatement. I love the idea of creating new ways of presenting musical content to a mass audience in a fresh way.”
The twelve songs that were originally sung by women – proof that women get some of the best songs to sing – include: “What I Did for Love” (A Chorus Line), “I’m Not That Girl” (Wicked), “I’d Give My Life for You”/“I Still Believe (Miss Saigon), “He Used to Be Mine” (Waitress), and “I’m Here” (The Color Purple), among others. A testament that a good song is simply a good song, no matter who sings it.
“I realize that this format is a very unique one, while the narrative is a very relatable one,” adds Zarley. “They say that the power of music has a way of bringing people together – I hope that “11 O’Clock Number” proves just that.”
In addition, the web series includes creative contributions from good friends Billy Porter, Joann Hunter and Ron Kellum and features the talents of Jason Graae, Haviland Stillwell, Ty Taylor, Marty Thomas, Barbara Deutsch, Kathy Deitch, James Tabeek and Julie Garnye.
The series can be found on YouTube at YouTube_11oClockNumber and a soundtrack album is available on Apple Music or wherever fine music is sold and streamed.
Melsima Media Presents Matt Zarley in “11 O’Clock Number”
• Directed, Produced and Edited by Matt Zarley
• Co-directed by Reed Stillwell
• Story by Matt Zarley and Reed Stilwell
• Director of Photography: Jesse Aragon
• Music Produced by Matt Zarley and Andy Zulla
• Wardrobe Stylist: Sabrina Feldman
“11 O’CLOCK NUMBER” SONGS
• “Prologue”
• “Never Enough” (The Greatest Showman) Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
• “Still Hurting” (The Last Five Years) Jason Robert Brown
• “With You” (Ghost: The Musical) Dave Stewart, Glen Ballard, Bruce Joel Rubin
• “I’m Not That Girl” (Wicked) Stephen Schwartz
• “I’d Give My Life for You” (Miss Saigon) Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Richard Maltby Jr.
• “I Still Believe” (Miss Saigon) Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Richard Maltby Jr.
• “Take Me or Leave Me” (RENT) Jonathan Larson
• “He Used to Be Mine” (Waitress) Sara Bareilles
• “The Human Heart” (Once on This Island) Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty
• “Anything But Lonely” (Aspects of Love) Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black, Charles Hart
• “I’m Here” (The Color Purple) Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, Stephen Bray
• “What I Did for Love” (A Chorus Line) Marvin Hamlisch, Edward Kleban
About Matt Zarley:
Matt made his professional theatrical debut at 17 years old in the national tour of Cats; and his Broadway debut at 19 years old in A Chorus Line. His other Broadway credits include The Who’s Tommy, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Chicago. His TV credits include “Smash,” Disney’s “Cinderella,” “Geppetto” and “Annie,” “The Drew Carey Show,” “Fame,” “The Tonight Show,” and “The Rosie O’Donnell Show,” among others.
An award-winning, four-time Billboard charting recording artist, his albums include: “Debut,” “Here I Am” (2008 Billboard Critics’ Top Ten and American Idol Top 10 Songwriter Finalist), and “Change Begins with Me” (2012 Out Music Award for Album and Single Of the Year).
He added award-winning filmmaker to his resume when he released “hopefulROMANTIC,” an original musical short film he wrote, produced, and starred in with internet phenom and “Star Trek” star, George Takei.
The film played dozens of film festivals worldwide including the Cannes Short Film Festival, among many others. His next album, “The Estrogen Sessions,” was a collection of pop classics that were all originally recorded by some of the industry’s most prolific female pop artists.
Among the set, was a duet with Matt’s lifelong friend, Billy Porter, Emmy winner of “Pose.” Matt re-produced the single version as a fundraiser for the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s youth homeless shelter. Matt’s upcoming and most ambitious project to date is a twelve-episode short form musical web series he created during the pandemic lockdown.
Follow Matt on Social Media:
Website: MattZarley.com
Instagram: @MattZarley
Twitter: @MattZarley
Facebook: @MattZarley
TikTok: @TikTok
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