Amanda Kloots’ life was turned upside down when her husband, Broadway star Nick Cordero, was diagnosed with COVID-19 in March. The world watched as this young family battled with the unknown and unpredictable virus.
Tragically, Nick lost his battle with COVID-19 last month at age 41, leaving behind his wife and their one-year-old son, Elvis.
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Since Nick’s death, Amanda has been working on keeping her husband’s dreams alive and has announced the release of the recording of his one-man show into an album for fans to enjoy.
Recently, Amanda sat down with Diply and discussed details about the upcoming album and her philanthropic t-shirt line, HOORAY FOR.
With one-year-old Elvis cooing in the background, Amanda described the creative process her husband went through to create his one-man show.
“He put together this huge list of songs and was basically narrowing that list down day to day, working with his music director, figuring out what songs make sense, what songs sound great with his voice, then piecing it together,” Amanda explained.
“It was always just something that Nick had talked about doing.”
She laughed that Nick had forgotten how much work goes into a one-man show and how overwhelming the process seemed at first.
She told Diply how Nick had the most extensive music knowledge out of anyone she knew, and that narrowing his show down to just 15 songs wasn’t easy.
Amanda recalls her husband sitting in front of his computer for hours, sorting through songs. Since his one-man show was a story about his life, he selected certain songs to represent major milestones.
“He wanted to do so many. He loved rock and roll, Broadway, standards.”
Despite having such a wide array of knowledge, Nick was still able to make the songs and story blend together beautifully.
“What I love about the show is it flows really nicely. It’s a great mix of music, I think the listeners will really enjoy hearing Nick’s story in between each song.”
Amanda described the feeling in the room during Nick’s two night stint at 54 Below, right in the heart of the Broadway district.
“The energy was so amazing, he was super natural on stage,” she explained.
“I remember Nick being so nervous about it.”
She explained that she had to remind her Broadway star husband of who he was— a wonderful performer who feeds off the electricity of a crowd.
About 54 Below, Amanda described it as “small but kind of large, that perfect setting. The tables are right near the stage. It’s intimate.”
Listeners will feel like they’re right there in the venue with Nick and his closest friends, family, and fans.
When asked how she thinks Nick would react to the news of his one-man showing being turned into an album, Amanda assured us it would have been a dream come true for her husband.
“I know that would have just made him so incredibly happy.”
Amanda described the moment she was told Nick’s one-man show would be turned into an album for fans, how she was sitting right beside Nick at the hospital when she got the call.
While she says she doesn’t know how much Nick actually heard, she knows he would have been overjoyed.
“I can’t even imagine what he would have said.”
She explained that the album is a dream come true for many Broadway principal actors, and with the help of Nick’s musical director Michael Moritz , that dream has now become a reality.
Finally, we discussed Amanda’s HOORAY FOR t-shirt line that she started with her sister Anna in an effort to bring joy to herself and many others struggling amidst this pandemic.
She laughed at the origin story of the HOORAY FOR line, saying she got the inspiration while watching Nick during his “Rock Of Ages” run back in January.
One of the actors was wearing a “Hooray for Boobies” shirt, which made Amanda laugh as a breastfeeding mom.
Anna was the one who came up with the idea of a t-shirt line with different HOORAY FOR slogans.
At the time, neither sister had the spare hours to create a clothing line, so the idea was left dormant for a few months.
However, when Nick got sick, Anna and Amanda were in need of something to take their mind off their devastating situation.
“In a time when you don’t feel like celebrating anything, to have something happy and positive to focus on… it’s been really great.”
The HOORAY FOR line has already raised $30,000 for charity!
Each month features a new design with 50% of the proceeds going to different charities, including the COVID-19 Response Fund.
Amanda says the HOORAY FOR line has many new slogans coming up, and with the adorable design and amazing philanthropic efforts, what’s not to love?!
To learn more about the HOORAY FOR line, please click here .
Nick’s album is now available for pre-order and will be available on September 17th, his 42nd birthday.
