"The Catalyst Sessions" w/Bill DeYoung: Ephraim Sykes
Season 1, Episode 3897, Aug 21, 2020, 09:02 PM
The great Angela Bassett might take exception, but it’s the opinion of The Catalyst Sessions that Ephraim Sykes will soon be the most famous St. Petersburg native in entertainment history.
Sykes was our guest on the 100th edition Thursday.
A graduate of the Pinellas County Center for the Arts, Sykes will star on Broadway in 2021 as Michael Jackson in MJ The Musical, with book by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage. The show would be in full swing right now if Covid hadn’t shut theater down for a good long while.
This follows his Tony-nominated turn as Motown icon David Ruffin in Ain’t Too Proud: The Temptations Musical, with book by Dominique Morriseau. In a show packed with scene-stealing performances, Ephraim Sykes was the guy everyone talked about after they witnessed it.
Oh, and Sykes was in the original Broadway cast of Hamilton, as George Eacker; you can see him in the video version on Disney +. And he was in NBC’s Hairspray Live! as Seaweed J. Stubbs, the love intertest for Ariana Grande’s character. He was on Broadway in Newsies, Motown the Musical and The Little Mermaid. #stpetecatalyst #tampabay #radio # radiostpete