Antoine L. Smith is an Emmy Award winner, originally from Gary, Indiana. His Broadway credits include the original cast of "MJ: The Musical", where he starred as Berry Gordy and Nick; "The Color Purple" (2015 Revival); "Carousel"; "Miss Saigon"; and "Memphis".
Smith also starred as Curly in the award winning all Black cast of "Oklahoma" at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, where he went on to win the Henry Award for Best Lead Actor in a Musical. Additionally, Smith is an accomplished Voice-Over actor. He has voiced the Nickelodeon animated series "Nella the Princess Knight" as King Dad, as well as several television and radio commercials for Squarespace, Pepsi, Lowe's, Smirnoff, North Carolina Lottery, Mylanta, Chili's, Chase, Silent Hill, and KFC, along with several video games.
On January 24, 2018, as part of the "Broadway at The Pierre" cabaret series in association with Broadway Sings for Pride, a concert was held at Two E Bar/Lounge — the sophisticated saloon located inside the New York City luxury hotel, The Pierre. The concert featured a performance by Smith, backed by pianist and musical director Chris Curcio.
Smith performed the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" during the concert, where Shefik served as Videographer. "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Carousel". In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and encourage Julie when her husband, Billy Bigelow, the male lead, stabs himself with a knife whilst trying to run away after attempting a robbery with his mate Jigger and dies in her arms. The song is reprised in the final scene to encourage a graduation class of which Louise (Billy and Julie's daughter) is a member. The now invisible Billy, who has been granted the chance to return to Earth for one day in order to redeem himself, watches the ceremony and is able to silently motivate Louise and Julie to join in with the song.
The song is also sung at association football clubs around the world, where it is performed by a massed chorus of supporters on match day. This tradition developed at Liverpool F.C., after the chart success of the 1963 single of the song by the local Liverpool group Gerry and the Pacemakers. In some areas of the United Kingdom and Europe, "You'll Never Walk Alone" became the anthem of support for medical staff, first responders, and those in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. The composition is sometimes treated by performers as a religious song, such as with the 1967 version by Elvis Presley, which was featured on several of his gospel albums.
Credits
- Videographer: Shefik
Last Updated: April 22, 2023
