Barbra Streisand once said “Doubt can motivate you, so don’t be afraid of it. Confidence and doubt are at two ends of the scale, and you need both. They balance each other out.” If only Streisand had whispered those words into Shoshana Bean’s ears. The Broadway star (Wicked, Hairspray) and chart-topping artist has often let fear of the unknown get in the way of her art.
“I think my instinct is when people present new ideas of how to accomplish anything,” she says over the phone, “if it isn’t something I know or understand, my knee-jerk reaction was to say ‘no.'”
There are two reasons Streisand would be helpful. Bean is an avowed Streisand fan first and foremost. Secondly it was this clip of Streisand performing “When the Sun Comes Out” on the Ed Sullivan that inspired Bean’s new album, Spectrum.
Spectrum, by Bean’s own definition, is inspired by the classic recordings of artists like Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin and yes, Barbra. It has just been released and on Saturday Bean is showcasing the new material in a concert at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel. She will be joined by the 18-piece big band that backed her up on the recordings. Amongst the songs featured are three originals Bean wrote, covers of songs by Rihanna and Ed Sheeran plus her interpretations of such standards as “How Deep is the Ocean” and “I Wanna Be Around.”
“I challenged myself with Spectrum,” she reveals. “It’s enabled me to go way further and meet new people and have new relationships beyond anything I’ve had in the past. How I handle my art is how I’m handling my personal and professional relationships and how I’m taking care of myself. I’ve become more flexible and open and it’s made room for more excitement and joy and opportunity.”
In order to make Spectrum, Bean went the crowdfunding route. And she found out how large her fan base really was. She achieved 192% of her goal. “It was proof-positive to me that when you do something uncomfortable magical things will happen. I heard ‘you’ll need raise $60-70,000 for a big band album.’ That so many people were on board that quickly and enthusiastically gave me a lot of confidence and bolstered my bravery to make big asks and take big steps.”
Just days before recording started, Bean didn’t have “the single” for the project yet. So she did what any enterprising songwriter does with a ticking clock on her shoulder…she wrote one, “Remember the Day.”
“I knew it had to be hooky,” she says of this particular creative process. “It needed a big bold sound because it needed to let you know this is what you can expect from this album. It needed to bridge the gap from gritty to more soulful to more traditional. It needed to be created from everything else on the album. This had a lot of expectations and had to do all those things and be uptempo and stand next to these monster classics. It was a miracle.”
Now she has to present the material live on Saturday. “This is such a massive undertaking in so many ways,” she says with nervous excitement. “This will be the first time I get to perform with this type of a band. I’ve never been on stage with 18 pieces. Being in that venue is thrilling. Most of the people I love and who have supported me will be there. It’s a celebration. My dress isn’t too shabby. I’m pretty excited about my dress.”
Unfortunately some of the people she announced as special guests won’t ultimately be joining. But this, too, offered Bean some lessons. “Every single one cancelled. Even making those asks was a move I would never have made before. But now I can go back and be even more brave by being okay with people canceling. Amber Riley just agreed to show up and sing with me.” [Amber Riley, best known for Glee, won the British equivalent of the Tony Award for her performance in the London production of Dreamgirls.]
I bring up a different Streisand quote to Bean before the conversation ends. Streisand said “I guess if you have an original take on life, or something about you is original, you don’t have to study people who came before you. You don’t have to mimic anybody. You just have a gut feeling inside, an instinct that tells you what’s right for you and you can’t do it and other way.”
Bean loves the quote, thinks for a moment and then says, “I think that I’m a culmination of all the things I’ve soaked up in my life. I’m very Streisand, there’s Frank Sinatra, Chrissie Hyde, John Mayer, Aretha Franklin…while it may seem original, we’re all using the same ingredients. What matters are your proportions. I go left when people think I’m going right. I don’t look at it as strategic decisions, it’s what I’m lead to do. It’s literally been what felt like it needed to happen.”
Photo by Bradford Rogne Photography