Brendan Jacob Smith triumphs as Art Garfunkel in "The Simon & Garfunkel Story"

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One might ask, Kip, how do you know that "Brendan Jacob Smith triumphs as Art Garfunkel" when he hasn't played here with the show yet? Well, all it took was a little googling and checking out Brendan's social media to realize that he's been wowing audiences across the U.S. and Canada for over two years in The Simon & Garfunkel Story. And that's not the only gig he's been doing either, which is quite evident as you scroll through his Instagram posts and realize that Brendan's professional life is quite a busy one. 

I had the pleasure of speaking with Brendan today from his dressing room in Schenectady, NY. I even told him that I usually conduct my interviews in a more linear fashion, but I was so intrigued by several tidbits I came across in my research of him that I would probably just jump all over the place with our discussion if that was ok with him? Well it was, so let's commence with some jumping.

One of the other gigs Brendan is currently doing is performing with T3, a New York City based vocal group consisting of three tenors. They shot to fame on America's Got Talent in the summer of 2021 where they made it to the Quarterfinals before Simon Cowell voted them off the show. Well Simon's loss because T3 is playing Carnegie Hall next month! They certainly deserve it too just like that good old joke you might remember: "A pedestrian on 57th Street sees a musician getting out of a cab and asks, 'How do you get to Carnegie Hall?' Without a pause, the artist replies wearily, "Practice, practice, practice!' " Check out T3 on YouTube and you'll see that "practice makes perfect." My personal favorites are their renditions of "Into the Unknown" (Frozen 2), "Bring Him Home" (Les Mis) and "Defying Gravity" (Wicked).

But let's get back to The Simon & Garfunkel Story. Here are the crazy events leading up to Brendan starring as Art Garfunkel, as proven by his Instagram:
  1. March 6, 2020 - "The contract is officially signed. I will be playing Art Garfunkel on the USA/Canada tour of The Simon & Garfunkel Story."
  2. March 12, 2020 - All Broadway theaters and tours closed their doors because of COVID-19. And would remain closed for at least 18 months.
  3. October 30, 2021 - "After 20 months of waiting I finally made my debut in The Simon & Garfunkel Story national tour today."
  4. March 7, 2024 - Four years and 1 day since Brendan signed his contract for the tour, he will be playing the Von Braun Center Concert Hall as Art Garfunkel. 
I am so excited to see The Simon & Garfunkel Story next week and can't wait to meet Brendan in person! We have a lot to discuss because it turns out JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is his favorite musical. And as you know JCS will be playing here March 15-17.

Here are some more of the intriguing tidbits I discovered about Brendan:
  • Brendan and his pianist brother, Damon, have an album of original songs and it's called "The Brightmares."
  • Jonah Bobo is also on the tour and often plays Paul Simon opposite of Brendan's Art Garfunkel. Although Jonah won't be here in Huntsville next week, Brendan and him have a great story. They went to LaGuardia High (known as the "Fame" school) in NYC and used to harmonize to Simon & Garfunkel in the stairwells at their school and this all started when they were 13 years old.
  • As I mentioned above JCS is Brendan's favorite musical and Jesus is at the top of his list of dream roles to play someday. Brendan's dad introduced him to the Jesus Christ Superstar Original Concept Album (1970) when he was 7 years old. He loved it and that's what started it all!
  • Brendan has an adorable one-year old rescue kitty named Poppy. She has her own Instagram account of course. Obviously I'm going to follow her because I'm already slightly obsessed with the antics of Brendan's other kitties, Fatty and Skinny, from their social media in the family home.
I'm still always stopped in my tracks when I see something like Brendan's celebratory and hopeful post on March 6, 2020 announcing that he will be playing Art Garfunkel in The Simon & Garfunkel Story. Because we all know now, that a week later the world basically shut down and everything changed. Well do yourself a favor and check out Brendan's Instagram account @brendanjacobsmith.  Starting on March 12, 2020 he reframed the situation in the best way possible by releasing tons of collaborations with other artists and sharing these Quarantunes with us all. And I'm here for it!


Brendan Jacob Smith and Jonah Bobo in The Simon & Garfunkel Story









The Simon & Garfunkel Story
March 7, 2024
Thursday at 7:30pm

You might have seen me as Enjolras in Les Misérables, Munkustrap in Cats or Prince Charming in Cinderella. I used to perform in many Broadway Tours all across the country. Now I report on them and give you an insider's view into this unique little world. So, let's talk about all things Broadway!

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