Mark William Is Ready To ‘Dream’ Big On Stage And On Record This Holiday Season
Huffington Post | 22.11.2025 20:00
As he gears up for what could be his most prolific year to date, Mark William is eager to take his fans on a genre-traversing musical journey of Broadway favorites as well as classic pop.
The New York actor and singer unveiled his second album and first-ever live recording, “If I Can Dream,” in September. The 13-song collection captures William’s May 10 performance at the Manhattan nightspot Green Room 42 and finds him putting his unique spin on songs made famous by Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand and others, alongside original tunes.
“This album marks a significant moment,” William writes in the album’s liner notes. “I finally feel like I’m no longer imitating the great singers I grew up listening to, but have found my own voice. And I am elated to share it.”
Other highlights include a medley by late singer-songwriter Peter Allen, including “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” and “Not The Boy Next Door,” as well as songs from “Dorian’s Wild(e) Affair,” William’s forthcoming stage musical which sets Oscar Wilde’s 1891 novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” in New York during the disco era of the 1970s.
Describing “If I Can Dream” as his response to classic records by Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli, William told HuffPost, “There’s an energy on a live album that you just can’t duplicate in a studio, and that’s the interchange between musicians and the audience.”
“My first album [2019’s ‘Come Croon with Me’] was very much a classic crooner, Great American Songbook and Broadway album,” he said. “With this new show and this album, I wanted to be open to some rock-and-roll stuff, and also share some of my own writing. It’s really something special that I’m proud of.”
As in previous years, William performed his May concert before a host of stage and screen stars, including Sandy Duncan and “Ozark” actor Ben Rappaport.
It’s no surprise, then, that New York’s film and theater communities have begun to take notice. William recently wrapped shooting on his first-ever short film, “Do You...?,” in which he portrays a groom-to-be facing an unusual dilemma on his wedding day.
He’s also at work on a second short, “Good, Isn’t It?,” a tale of self-discovery set in a small-town library, and is co-writing the screenplay for a feature film, which he describes as “a campy slasher set during the opening night party of a new Broadway musical.” The first full-fledged staging of “Dorian’s Wild(e) Affair” is also set to take place in the latter half of the year at a theater in New Hampshire.
The release of “If I Can Dream” comes just weeks before William kicks off a busy holiday season. He recently returned to Walt Disney World for the third year to appear alongside Brendan Fraser, Sheryl Lee Ralph and other A-list celebrity hosts in the Orlando, Florida resort’s Candlelight Processional event.
He’s also set to perform with singer Sarah Brightman, best known for originating the role of Christine in the Broadway smash “Phantom of the Opera,” for five stops on her Winter Symphony Tour across the Sunshine State in December.
William was introduced to Brightman two years ago, when he was tapped to sing backup for her at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The pair met unexpectedly, with Brightman stepping onto an elevator in the resort wearing “a caftan and her hair up in pin curls,” he said.
Once Brightman stepped onstage, however, she was every inch the “glamour goddess” William had hoped for. Since then, he’s come to view his time with the Broadway veteran and global recording artist as a learning experience he hopes will pave the way for the next chapter in his career.
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“Life may be crazy and the world may be crazy, but ... keeping hope and continuing to reach out is what’s going to get us through,” he said. “Whether it’s romantic love or brotherly love or friendship, there’s so much of it out there to give and receive. So just being open to that is my goal.”
