Stan’s Broadway debut at 61 highlights age as a footnote, not a title, to a life story.
-Playbill
Stan Brown, a 1984 and 1989 alumnus, reached this lifelong goal at 61 when he was cast as Camel in the 7-time Tony-nominated Broadway musical, Water for Elephants.
Eight times a week, Brown, originally from Harleyville, SC, graces the stage at the Imperial Theater in New York City, performing songs like “Anywhere/Another Town” and “I Choose the Ride.” The circus-themed musical, featuring acrobatics, a love triangle, humor, and tragedy, showcases Brown’s talent and dedication. He recently performed on the Tony Awards broadcast, further solidifying his place in the Broadway community.
Achieving this accomplishment is meaningful to Stan. “It sends a message that dreams don’t have an expiration date on them,” he said. His advice to aspiring musical theater students is simple yet poignant: “It is possible and don’t give up if it is a dream.”
Brown’s journey began in the early ’80s as a member of the School of Music’s Carolina Alive show choir, a group that includes alumni like Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish fame. Dr. Richard Conant, former Carolina Alive director, recalls Brown as someone destined for greatness. “You could tell he was going places,” Conant said.
“Carolina Alive was a wonderful group of people who bonded over the fact that we got special treatment for doing something we loved,” recounts Brown. “We met so many people and dignitaries including astronauts, presidents, celebrities, and international audiences. We traveled to and performed in Egypt, Romania, Greece, Russia and traveled throughout the state and region,” said Brown.
Recently, around 20 of Brown’s fellow members of Carolina Alive gathered from around
the country in New York to surprise Brown by attending one of his performances. Backstage
after the show, Brown embraced each member of the entourage as if they were long-lost
brothers and sisters.
Melody Morris, ’83 of Hollywood, SC recalled that Stan’s kind heart is truly evident today, as it was when they were signing together in the 80’s. “Stan’s talent then was far and above most everyone else’s in Carolina Alive,” said Morris. “He was extremely humble about it and treated everyone as a member of the same family.”
“Stan’s voice was on another level,” remembered Brown’s former roommate Reed Melton, ’86 who traveled from Chicago to see Brown perform. “Support of each other was the core of Carolina Alive, and Stan provided that to the other members of the group, which helped to build confidence in the ensemble as a whole.”
Carolina Alive was a wonderful group of people who bonded over the fact that we got special treatment for doing something we loved.
- Stan Brown, former Carolina Alive member
One of the trip organizers, Sherry Brown Carroll, ’84 of Irmo, resounded Morris and Melton’s sentiments, “Stan always had this unmistakable voice and was and is unbelievably talented. I am not surprised he made it to Broadway – not because of his talent, but his unrelenting hard work got him there,” Carroll said. “He always supported everyone else too and he never made you feel like he was as good as he was, as he was very supportive and wanted everyone to do well and achieve.”
Carolina Alive was like a family to many of those who participated, and who traveled to New York to surround Brown with support and adoration. “Carolina Alive was a family,” recalled Melton. “While in Carolina Alive, we did more than just sing, we traveled together, celebrated together, and loved each other like siblings,” he said. “These are my lifelong friends.”
“Being from out of state and not knowing anyone, joining Carolina Alive was like becoming a member of a new family,” agrees Morris. “It was the best time of my life, not just because of the music we made, but because it transformed me into another person. It gave me confidence and made me more outgoing.”
The trip to New York and reunion with Brown reminded Carroll of the feelings membership in Carolina Alive provided. “We have the kind of bond that picks up right where we left off,” she said. “Our time spent together was the majority of our time in school. In addition to class, rehearsals, and performing, this was our family away from home.”
Today, Carolina Alive is enjoying a resurgence under the tutelage of Aletha Jacobs, professor of voice in the School of Music’s jazz program. As the School of Music celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, Jacobs hopes to bring alumni back to perform with current students to show how membership in this group brings a lifelong connection to the University of South Carolina and the School of Music.
Pictured above, front row (l-r): Melody Brigman Morris, Karen Alexander Banks, Sherry Brown Carroll, Laura Taylor Tyler, Teresa Johnson Carter, Trudy Yonce Scurry. Back row (l-r): Judy Land Hobbs, Kari Dudley Brenizer, Chip Lowell, Reed Melton, Stan Brown, Marcia Cook Purday, Mark Dukes