Before YouTube was a bonafide platform for discovering talent and birthing stars, Todrick Hall began producing original music videos and posting them to his channel. Now, YouTube is a certifiable launchpad for those trying to make it in the entertainment industry, and Hall is one of the platform鈥檚 biggest homegrown names. With 2.2 million subscribers to his channel (and counting), Hall recently released his first visual album, Straight Outta Oz. The 57-minute video marks a high point in his artistry and the origin for his current touring show of the same name, which hits New York City鈥檚 Highline Ballroom August 4 and . But Hall鈥檚 dreams are beyond the rainbow.
鈥淚 want this show to do so much more than be a YouTube visual album,鈥� says Hall. 鈥淚 think this show has the potential to be on Broadway in some shape or form. That鈥檚 my goal, to hopefully be talking to you in a couple of years about the Broadway version of this show.鈥�
It wouldn鈥檛 be Hall鈥檚 first time on the Great White Way. After his exit from Fox鈥檚 American Idol, Hall understudied the role of Harpo in the original production of The Color Purple and covered the role of Gator in Memphis.
Still, Hall has never felt more himself than when creating his own work.
The singer grew up in Arlington, TX, watching videos of Cats, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jekyll & Hyde, starring David Hasselhoff, and falling in love with musical theatre. 鈥淚 was in such a small town that I didn鈥檛 have friends that also had an appreciation for Broadway, so it was just me, and I would put on these huge, elaborate shows in my garage,鈥� says Hall. 鈥淚 grew up not having resources, and I couldn鈥檛 afford to hire a choreographer, so I learned how to choreograph my own shows and learned at a very young age how to put together pictures onstage and try to tell a story.鈥�
Those skills have paid off as Hall creates music videos that spoof famous Broadway routines in videos like 鈥淏eauty and the Beat,鈥� 鈥淪pell Block Tango鈥� and 鈥淭werking in the Rain.鈥� 鈥淲hen I do my shows, I costume everything. I choreograph all of the show. I write all the music,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a one-man-band type situation.鈥�
YouTube not only provided an outlet for Hall鈥檚 creative impulses, it鈥檚 also been a way for him to introduce the world of theatre to a wider audience. 鈥淣ow these kids are like, 鈥榃hat is this real song?鈥� and looking it up to find out what 鈥楥ell Block Tango鈥� is,鈥� explains Hall. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e a gay man and you haven鈥檛 seen 鈥楥ell Block Tango,鈥� you haven鈥檛 lived.鈥�
Hall鈥檚 ideas often combine Broadway, Disney and pop culture, and a small concept transforms into a big production video in a matter of days. 鈥淚f there was ever a time that we knew three days before we were filming a video that it was happening, that would be a miracle,鈥� says Hall. 鈥淏efore we even return the costumes [to the wardrobe house], sometimes the video is already out on YouTube.鈥� This also means that Hall鈥檚 time to write may be just a few hours.
In fact, Hall wrote 26 songs for the Straight Outta Oz stage show (13 of which are in the visual album) in a span of four weeks. The narrative is a combination of The Wizard of Oz, Hall鈥檚 own life story and social commentary inspired by Beyonce鈥檚 Lemonade, Disney鈥檚 Zootopia and Hamilton. 鈥淎fter seeing those three things, I was like, 鈥業 want to tell a classic story with pop and hip hop music, and I want it to have social messages like Zootopia and Hamilton both have and [a style like] Lemonade,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 wanted to put together an album that told a story from beginning to end with music that could sometimes stand alone 鈥� but in this story, it makes sense that it helps further the plot of the story of The Wizard of Oz.鈥�
From concept to timeline, Straight Outta Oz is Hall鈥檚 biggest undertaking yet鈥攁nd so are his dreams for it. As he said, he wants to bring it to the Main Stem in some form. 鈥淚 think it would be disrespectful to try to bring what I put on YouTube to Broadway, but I think the overall essence of it is something that could come there,鈥� he says. Yet Hall knows that another Wizard of Oz story must add something to the conversation to be viable. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to go to Broadway and do another Wizard of Oz show that doesn鈥檛 bring anything new to the community. I want it to be a show that changes people鈥檚 lives.鈥�
Hall also believes his show takes a step towards reuniting Broadway and pop music. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 what Broadway was to begin with,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he music that people were listening to on the radio was the same music that they were singing on Broadway. Somewhere along the line, people got this concept that Broadway had to be old-school and always tap dancing to old school music that sounded like it was in the 鈥�40s and 鈥�50s. I don鈥檛 know where that happened, and my goal is to play a very small part or whatever part I can play in making that not a fact anymore.鈥�
In the meantime, his tour of the current . Hall will continue to produce music videos, but he also says he 鈥渨ould love to come back to Broadway and do another show.鈥� We鈥檒l have to see what comes as Hall travels down his yellow brick road.
Watch the visual album:
