On Saturday, July 20, “Story Time” with actor and musician Marcus Coloma (“General Hospital” fame) took place at Michiko Studios in New York City.
Coloma was known for playing the role of Nikolas Cassadine on the ABC soap opera “General Hospital” from 2019 until 2023.
Music set
Coloma kicked off his piano-driven set with a cover of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down,” which he slowed down in a rendition that was more reminiscent of Sam Smith’s “Stay with Me” and he tipped his hat to The Eagles with “Desperado.”
It was followed by a soaring version of Sam Cooke’s “Cupid” and he threw in his own original tune, “Hold On,” where his dedicated fans were singing along with him. Being a huge fan of Tom Perry, he also sang “Free Fallin'” in his honor.
Particularly impressive about each song choice was that Coloma shared his personal connection to each tune, and he analyzed the lyrics and semantics and shared how he interpreted them.
Coloma also participated in duet piano performances with the audiences for such songs as “The Weary Kind” by Ryan Bingham, which is featured on the “Crazy Heart” soundtrack starring Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges (that Coloma sang with this journalist), as well as Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror,” Extreme’s “More Than Words” and Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer.”
Coloma continued with a cover of Tracy Chapman’s signature song “Fast Car,” The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer,” The Doors’ “Light My Fire,” and Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.” Coloma allowed his rich, crisp vocals to shine over the course of the event.
If that weren’t enough, he added some country in the mix by covering “The Man in Black” Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” and LANY’s recent hit “cowboy in LA,” which matched his voice, key, and tone.
As a group singalong, everybody joined Coloma on Journey’s inspirational classic “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
Coloma remembers the late ‘General Hospital’ actor Johnny Wactor
Coloma also took some time to pay tribute to his dear friend and former co-star, the late “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor, who was tragically murdered on May 25th after an attempted catalytic converter theft.
“There are so many people left brokenhearted as a result of his death, myself included,” Coloma admitted. “We had good adventures together; Johnny was such an adventurous guy.”
“Johnny was one of the best people I’ve ever met in my life,” Coloma underscored. “Johnny was very authentic, genuine, bold, and caring guy. Coming to New York, it stings a little bit because Johnny was the first guy I did events in New York with. I miss him,” Coloma acknowledged.
To learn more about actor and musician Marcus Coloma, follow him on Instagram and on X (formerly known as Twitter).
