Nicholas Rodriguez - The First Time... (2015)

'Tagged as ""spectacular"" by The New York Times, ""awesome"" by NPR, and ""outstanding"" by The New Yorker, Nicholas Rodriguez fuses his love of theatre with the music of jazz, blues, folk and pop on his debut solo album. Drawn and expanded from his one-man show, The First Time... unleashes Rodriguez's soaring yet sultry tenor on a mix of Broadway and pop tunes that lifts familiar favorites into exciting new territory. As he slides effortlessly from smooth lows to an arresting falsetto, Rodriguez tackles songs by Stephen Sondheim (a rare male recording of the Oscar-winner ""Sooner or Later""), Frank Loesser (a reinvented ""I've Never Been in Love Before"" that reflects Rodriguez's Mexican-American roots) and Rodgers & Hammerstein (an exultant jazz-waltz ""Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin',"" a nod to his acclaimed performance as Curly at D.C.'s Arena Stage) alongside pop hits like Joni Mitchell's ""A Case of You"" and Sara Bareilles' ""Brave"" -- then fuses the worlds of Broadway and pop with a knockout performance of Phil Collins' ""You'll Be in My Heart"" from Tarzan, the show in which Rodriguez made his Broadway debut. Rodriguez is perhaps best known for his breakthrough performance as Nick Chavez in ABC's One Life to Live, for which he received the GLAAD Media Award and the 2009 Visibility Award. Now, PS Classics proudly presents this dynamic performer's debut album, a portion of the proceeds from which will go to benefit the Broadway Dreams Foundation, where Rodriguez is the artistic director.