Today we’d like to introduce you to Leah Sprecher and Nicole Mangi.
We met performing in a summerstock production of 42nd Street in Long Island many moons ago. We became instant friends, bonding over our shared love of old timey musicals, vaudeville, and slap-stick humor. We also connected over a deeper passion for arts education. After the show closed, we were mostly apart, but kept in regular touch (Nicole went on to be in the Broadway production of Gypsy, while Leah was touring the country with the National Tour of Happy Days the Musical). Years later, we came together again to build an expression-based, confidence building children’s theatre program for Transcendence Theatre Company, an award-winning outdoor theatre based in Sonoma, CA.
When Nicole became a mom, she wanted to share her passion for musical theatre with her daughter but couldn’t find a class that would allow for the inspirational engagement she was looking for. Recognizing a gap, she reached out to Leah for another collaboration. We realized that many parents, too, were seeking a music class that helped them connect with their babies, where they could learn music above their own abilities and feel inspired. Since then, we’ve created a wildly successful music class in Los Angeles where we’ve been able to witness the bond between parent and child expand exponentially through the nostalgic joys of musical theatre. When the pandemic hit, we pivoted into the digital world and have begun self-producing a scripted Children’s TV show in the style of Carol Burnett meets Sesame Street. Look out for full-length episodes dropping soon!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Luckily for us, it’s been a pretty organic journey! We’d been collaborating for years so we knew we’d enjoy working together on this new venture and the quick growth of our company has been really gratifying. The main obstacle so far has been the pandemic and how it put a complete halt to our live, in person classes which were really starting to take off! It was difficult for us to continue teaching via zoom as we weren’t sheltering in place together, so rather than lose steam, we decided to translate the idea of our live classes into a scripted TV show. We are hoping to find a home for it soon, but in the interim, we will continue to self-produce and launch full episodes on our brand new YouTube Channel!
Please tell us about The Broadway Babies.
Broadway babies is a parent and me music class with a vision to inspire children to believe in themselves and dream big dreams through the magic of musical theatre. We feature music from classic and current Broadway musicals, taught by musical theatre professionals, backed by live music with custom props, costumes, and choreography. We have a unique ability to engage children, parents and care-givers in a way that makes everyone feel inspired and energized. Unlike other classes where the adults use the hour to tune-out, we find that our brand of musical theatre nostalgia hooks them in immediately and makes them feel connected to something deeper…something they don’t get with “Mary Had A Little Lamb”. For instance, when we sing “So Long, Farewell” from The Sound of Music, parents will light up with their own childhood memories, making the music all the more enjoyable! Much like our live classes, our new TV show explores vocal warm-ups, wacky choreography, fun instruments, original music, silly gags, as well as simple DIY crafts. There are also guest artists who specialize in theatre disciplines like puppetry, stage makeup and tap dancing and every episode culminates in a big Broadway show-stopping number. Kids and parents are encouraged to participate in all of the exciting elements Broadway has to offer in the comfort of their own living rooms, using whatever they have on hand!
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
We’ve had a lot of mentors and support along the way! We did a Creative Entrepreneurship Program at the Actor’s fund that gave us the time to develop our vision. Then, early on, we were lucky enough to partner up with Snooknuk in Larchmont. The owner, Cheri, believed in us and really took us under her wing! Since then, we’ve had amazing partnerships with the Jane Club and Playlab, both wonderful LA-based companies. When we started thinking about creating our Broadway Babies TV Show, our director, Michelle Bossy, kicked things into high gear and really made it happen! We also must give credit to Nicole’s daughter, Vivien, for inspiring us to create the class in the first place!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/broadwaybabiesshow/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BroadwayBabiesLA/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChRaPHhUMbioL47rvCpmqcw
Image Credit:
All the hot pink background photos and the yellow brick wall background photo is Laura Albers.
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