Tom Truhe, the executive producer of the “Broadway’s Best in the West” concert series at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, promises the shows offer audiences a chance to see “the fastest rising stars of today”—and the February and March shows will feature stars Jessica Vosk and Tony Yazbeck, respectively.
Vosk—whose Broadway roles have included Elphaba in Wicked and Jersey in Hell’s Kitchen—said her Palm Springs concert is the only one she has scheduled in 2026, because she’s soon starting rehearsals for the Broadway musical adaptation of Beaches. She’s playing Cee Cee Bloom in the show, opening in the spring at the Majestic Theatre.
Vosk’s performance is on Valentine’s Day, and she said she’ll “focus on dating horror stories and love stories.”
“I’ve been gifted with such terrible people that I’ve dated,” Vosk said. “It would be a bummer if I couldn’t share that with the world.”
Vosk sings a variety of songs, from Broadway tunes to her own spins on Taylor Swift, Whitney Houston, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Carole King and others. She said her ultimate goal is to offer her audiences a respite.
“As a community of people, no matter where we’re from, we’ve had a very rough time in the United States over the past year,” she said. “Bringing art is a form of healing for people. I found that in every city I was in … everybody was tense, and their shoulders were up near their ears—and by the end of the night, their shoulders relaxed, and they laughed. They left feeling a bit lighter than when they came.”
Vosk was raised in New Jersey, and she knew by the age of 3 that she had a passion for singing. She started in community theater at a young age, and her father, who played in a band, taught her harmony and how to sing. She had a backup plan, though: She graduated from Montclair State University with a degree in communications and public and investor relations, and then went to work on Wall Street, which her brought security, stability and health care.
But something was missing. “Part of me felt broken and sandwiched in,” Vosk said. “It manifested in anxiety and panic.”
She was laid off three years later, and decided to pursue what she loved.
“I took a giant leap of faith, jumped off the trampoline with no safety net, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best,” she said.
Her big break came in 2009, when she was a vocalist in the concert version of Kristina, the musical by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA, performed at Carnegie Hall. For the outspoken Vosk, the toughest part of the entertainment industry, she said, is working with old-school producers who don’t value her creative trajectory.
“People can make it very hard for you,” she said. “… I will just continue to try to keep knocking walls down and opening ceilings for people in the field.”
Her message to readers: “It is as important to allow yourself to be a little silly and free as it is to be polished and buttoned up. That’s the thing I love to do most. Come to my concert, and be exactly who you are, and feel like you’re in a safe place. I love to use my voice for people who can’t find (theirs). I’m a very big LGBTQ and women’s rights ally.”
One month later, on March 14, the series will welcome Tony Yazbeck—called a triple threat because of his talent in singing, dancing and acting.
Yazbeck’s credits include roles in the Broadway revival of On the Town (earning him a Tony nomination), Gypsy, Finding Neverland, Chicago, Prince of Broadway and, most recently, A Chorus Line. His TV appearances include American Sports Story, Billions and Smash.
His inspirations include Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and Gregory Hines.
“I love music like Gershwin and Bernstein, Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern, but I also do contemporary songs like Billy Joel or Elton John songs,” Yazbeck said. “Fred Astaire was the reason why I tap dance. I was glued to Fred and Ginger. It was the complication between grace and rhythm. … (It) looked effortless, and I thought, ‘Whatever this is, I want to do this.’”
During his show, Yazbeck said, he’ll take the audience on an emotional journey of life’s ups and downs, told through the lyrics of classic show tunes, stories and tap dancing.
“The themes of my songs have to do with being present in life and enjoying what we have—right now,” he said. “For so long in my personal life, I kept working toward the next thing, and not necessarily enjoying where I’m at and being grateful for that. … It’s a social media age where we’re so programmed to isolate ourselves; we don’t even realize that time is moving by, and we’re not soaking it in.”
Born just down Interstate 10 in Riverside, but raised in the Poconos with his divorced mom, Yazbeck made his Broadway debut at 11, playing a newsboy in the revival of Gypsy starring Tyne Daly.
“We didn’t have any money, so the only way my mom agreed to pay for dance classes was if I would practice 2 1/2 every day in our dark basement,” Yazbeck said. “And if I didn’t, she would take the classes away.”
He said he loves doing solo concerts.
“This is the stuff that keeps me going,” Yazbeck said. “I’ve gone through my own dark night, including divorce, so to be able to come out of that in a joyful way and love my life again … I have a weird, interesting philosophy, and I think that’s why my show is the way it is.”
Jessica Vosk will perform at 7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 14, and Tony Yazbeck will perform at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 14, at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, at 2300 E. Baristo Road, in Palm Springs. Tickets for each show start at $84.43. For tickets or more information, visit www.psculturalcenter.org/broadways-best-in-the-west.
What a lovely, well written article.
Both talents shows sound uplifting and inspiring!