In the music video above, stage favorites from New York and London—including Christina Bianco, Sophia Anne Caruso (Beetlejuice), Kerry Ellis (Wicked) James Monroe Iglehart, (Hamilton, Aladdin), Charlie Stemp (Hello, Dolly!, the upcoming Mary Poppins revival), and Marisha Wallace (Dreamgirls)—sing their gratitude toward the Armed Forces. The original song “The Hero” was written by the husband-and-wife songwriting duo of Daniel and Laura Curtis.
In addition to the music video, stars such as recent Olivier winner Bryan Cranston (soon to be on Broadway in Network), Whoopi Goldberg, Alan Menken, Matthew Morrison, Paul McCartney, and Stephen Fry recorded words of thanks.
Proceeds from the tribute, released in conjunction with the centennial anniversary of the end of World War I, will go to the U.K. charity Help for Heroes.
“It became quickly clear that people really engaged with the song, which is about a female recruit and her journey,” Daniel Curtis explains. Soon, we had artists from Broadway signing on—we even had to change the name from ‘A West End Tribute’ to ‘A West End and Friends Tribute.’”
For more information and to donate to Help for Heroes, click here.
