Morgan聽Parker聽鈥�20 has been preparing for her Broadway debut since fifth grade.
On Dec. 18, she realized that dream. Parker, who grew up in the Salina area, debuted as a substitute in the percussion chair in the orchestra pit for聽MJ the Musical聽at the Neil Simon Theatre, which has 1,467 seats.
That number is significant because by definition, a theater in New York City with fewer than 500 seats is considered off-Broadway. Parker had fallen just one seat shy of that debut Nov. 30, when she subbed as the lead drum and percussion chair for聽Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish聽at New World Stages in the heart of New York City鈥檚 Theater District. New World Stages seats 499 people.
鈥淏eing a sub, especially a drummer/percussionist, is probably one of the hardest jobs out there,鈥澛燩arker聽said. 鈥淚 am not involved in any of the rehearsals after the show starts performing. I am allowed to go in and watch in the pit a couple of times, and I was able to obtain a recording of the show from the pit鈥檚 perspective. Basically my job is to practice ungodly amounts of hours with that singular recording and the book that the percussionist has given me. That way I can practice as real-life as possible, because I go in and play it cold.鈥�
Parker聽graduated from Kansas Wesleyan in 2020 with degrees in Percussion Performance and Music education, with a minor in Secondary Education. This past May, she earned a Master of Music in Percussion Performance at New York University.
鈥淲hen I went and played it (Fiddler聽on Nov. 30), that was the first time I had ever performed the show, the first time I had ever played it with any of the orchestra members, with a live conductor, with the actors on stage,鈥澛燩arker聽said.
鈥淓veryone who was in that orchestra and onstage is so used to hearing that regular guy, every day, eight shows a week. It鈥檚 some pretty big shoes to fill,鈥澛燩arker聽said. 鈥淭he conductor came up to me at intermission and said, 鈥榊ou played really well. I鈥檓 really impressed. Thank you so much for your prep.鈥欌��
The pressure was on, having been given fewer than three weeks notice that she would be subbing for the matinee show Nov. 30. Now she鈥檚 set to sub a handful more times.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those, 鈥業t鈥檚 no big deal but you really need to nail everything,鈥欌�澛燩arker聽said with a laugh. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 blink. But with the amount of prep I had going in, I wasn鈥檛 nervous, I wasn鈥檛 anxious. I could hear the music happening just by looking at the page. It was that ingrained in my body, in my muscles and in my ears that I knew exactly where I was going.鈥�
A look at聽Parker鈥檚 performance r茅sum茅 lists more than 30 shows in which she has sat either drums or percussion or both. From聽Vaughan Williams鈥� Symphony No. 9 in E minor聽with the New York Repertory Orchestra to聽In the Heights聽at Theatre Salina, her range is wide and has given her a solid baseline on which to prepare herself for when the call comes.
Playing for聽In the Heights during her freshman year of college was intense but convinced her to set her aim on Broadway.
鈥淚 just remember that work convincing me that I wanted to put all my effort into pursuing music, and specifically, Broadway studies,鈥澛燩arker聽said in 2019.
In between musicals, she has gigs with individual musicians, teaches percussion and works as a stage manager for the New York Pops, among other organizations.聽Parker聽is a two-time DownBeat Student Music Award winner for Asynchronous Blues/Pop/Rock Group 鈥� Graduate College with NYU鈥檚 Pop/Rock Ensemble.
Parker聽began studying under Dean Kranzler, 黑料不打烊鈥檚 director of percussion ensemble, in fifth grade and remained with him throughout high school and into college.
鈥淚t is a true joy to see Morgan realizing her dream to play on Broadway,鈥� Kranzler said. 鈥淪he did things the right way; now it is paying off. I鈥檓 so very proud of her and I wish her the very best!鈥�
To keep up with Parker, follow her on Instagram @morganparkernyc or at morganparkernyc.com.
To read an earlier profile of Morgan, see聽.
Story by Dan Froehlich and Jean Kozubowski
