1. “Design is a solution to a problem. Art is a question to a problem.” John Maedaexecutive life
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Khoury has always been a fan of performance
arts and, as a youngster, used to take singing, piano
and violin lessons with private coaches, as well as
dance classes in studios. His passion knew no bound-
aries, until he was injured in an accident that put him
in a coma for two months in the middle of 12th grade.
After waking up from his coma, he decided to
stop all other artistic activities and concentrated on
filmmaking studies at the Academie Libanaise Des
Beaux-Arts (ALBA). After two years, he stumbled upon
the ‘Broadway Musical Theater’ program and applied
on a whim. He received a callback within two days of
submitting his video audition, and was invited to au-
dition live in New York.
The two years he spent at the New York Film
Academy were a period of highly intensive training.
While there, he studied music theory, musical theater
and theatrical scene, acquired acting techniques such
as ‘The Meisner technique’, ‘Stanislavski’s system’ and
‘Uta Hagen’s technique’, exercised his vocals to adapt
to several music genres and performed all types of
dances (Classical, Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Ballroom, etc.).
Yet when he came back in 2012, he was disap-
pointed to discover there was no place in Lebanon for
somebody with his training. Broadway musicals were
still foreign to the Middle East, and a university teach-
ing position without a PhD was out of the question at
any reputable university.
That is when he decided to establish his own
dancing school - STEPS. For more than a year he ex-
perimented and innovated with his students, many
of whom were interested in honing their skills and
adapting them to the requirements of a musical. And
that is how, just before the end of 2014, Khoury de-
cided to create his first musical - ‘One Night On Broad-
way’ - featuring his troupe of acting, dancing and sing-
ing students!
Success is often difficult to come by, but when it
happens, it is truly a reason for celebration. Khoury is
one of many talented young Lebanese, yet he is also
one of the few who had the fortune of being around
people who took risks on him simply out of faith in his
abilities.Buttheirriskpaidoffastheshownotonlysold
out and thrilled audiences keen to discover a new form
of theater, but also raised the bar in our theater scene.
Local talent and creativity is yearning to unveil itself,
and we hope that “One Night on Broadway” will be the
first in a long line of future Lebanese musicals.
A Locally Crafted Broadway Musical
‘One Night on Broadway’ By Roy Khoury
Words by Sara Ghorra
one of the delights no theater enthusiast would ever
miss on a trip to London or New York is a West End
or Broadway musical. This performance, which min-
gles the worlds of acting, singing and dancing, can
be a truly enchanting spectacle, one which we have
never had the chance to experience on our home soil
… until now!
For the very first time in Lebanon and the Middle
East we have a chance to get a taste of the drama in
the production “One Night on Broadway”. This show,
which gathers 25 artists and 25 members of the Leba-
nese Philharmonic Orchestra on stage, has already
enthralled crowds on two fully booked nights at Ca-
sino du Liban back in May, and was one of the most
anticipated events at the Zouk Mikael International
Festival in July.
Yet the most exciting news of all is that this out-
standing production was the creation of one of our
own local talents, 26-year-old Roy Khoury, who gradu-
ated with honors from the ‘Broadway Musical Theater’
program at the New York Film Academy back in 2012.
“One Night on Broadway” is Roy’s personalized
musical, an artfully designed compilation of excerpts
from twenty of Broadway’s most famous shows. The
musical numbers include Footloose’s “Mama Says”’,
Chicago’s“AllThatJazz”,SisterAct’s“RaiseYourVoice”,
The Addams Family’s “When You’re an Addams”, Les
Miserables’ “I Dreamed a Dream”, Hairspray’s “You
Can’t Stop the Beat” as well as extracts from the en-
chanting Phantom Of The Opera, among others.
No two scenes are alike, with each stage setting
distinguished by its unique décor, special costumes,
and flamboyant troupe of actors, singers and danc-
ers. Even better, no scene lasts more than five min-
utes, and the transitions from one to the next are as
smooth as they are funny. Roy, the choreographer, di-
rector and musical director of the whole show wanted
his musical to be a spectacular ‘tasting’ in which each
member of the audience could find satisfaction.
The high quality of the show is a reflection of
the rich experience Khoury gained during his studies,
internships (at the ‘Broadway Dance Center’ & ‘Steps
on Broadway’) as well as his participation in some
Broadway musical performances. He took part in pro-
ductions of ‘Sister Act’ (backstage as hair & make-up
artist), ‘The Lion King’ (on stage as dancer and pup-
peteer) and ‘Wicked’ (as backing actor & singer) in
New York.