Courtesy
Shoshana Bean performs twice at The Space this week.
Monday, Oct. 22, 2018 | 2 a.m.
She’s still best known for her Broadway performances as Elphaba in “Wicked” and in the original cast of “Hairspray” but Shoshana Bean’s three independent solo releases have all topped the iTunes R&B and blues charts in the U.S. and U.K., and her new big-band album “Spectrum” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard jazz chart.
The stellar singer brings a diverse array of sounds to Las Vegas this week, her first time performing here since 2009 when she took a lead role in “Peepshow” at Planet Hollywood for a limited run. She’s playing Thursday and Friday just off the Strip at The Space.
“These are my first proper [shows] and I’m really looking forward to it,” Bean says. “This is something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while and I’m excited to bring my stuff the city in a cool way. A lot of this album is inspired by Sinatra at the Sands and the Count Basie orchestra and it’s really cool to be in one of those little pockets that still feels like old Vegas.”
Bean’s new record is a unique twist on the big band sound, but she’ll be singing with minimal accompaniment at The Space and shooting for an intimate experience. “Spectrum” is a lot different from her previous albums, even though Bean has consistently bounced between musical genres throughout her career.
“My previous albums have all been very different, from pop to vintage to really stripped away and raw, so this felt like a huge left turn,” she says. “I didn’t want to re-create something that had already been done. The approach was to do a fresh take on big band music but in a way, the goal was how can we preserve this genre and tradition for a younger audience, how can we make this relevant or cool so kids who were not raised around those records the way I was can still experience that massive sound and feeling? It was a very involved process, to say the least.”
The results are impressive, a collection of familiar songs ranging from Sinatra’s “I Wanna Be Around” to Rihanna’s “Stay” done in Bean’s signature style and always showcasing her powerful voice.
Shoshana Bean performs at 8 p.m. October 25 and 26 at The Space (3460 Cavaretta Court, 702-903-1070) and more info can be found at thespacelv.com.
