Fans who go to one of singer Sunny Ozell’s shows may get a surprise if they buy a T-shirt — actor Sir Patrick Stewart could be selling it to them.
Ozell, 36, is married to the 73-year-old star and is planning to launch her career as a singer in the UK, describing her music as “authentic, roots-based Americana”.
The couple met at a restaurant in Brooklyn where she was a waitress in 2008 and married last year. He came to support her at an intimate show at 12 Bar Club in Soho last night, where she showcased tracks from a record she is hoping to release. Star Trek and X-Men star Sir Patrick joked: “I’ve already signed up to be a roadie.”
Ozell added: “He has been doing theatre pretty solidly for a while and I’ve been support staff, so I think it’s my turn. He is going to be my ‘merch bitch’. We’re going to put him in the van and he’s going to get us some T-shirts sold.”
The singer, who was born in Reno, Nevada, but has been based in New York for 10 years, said she was aware aspersions may be cast because of her husband, but insisted: “However anybody knows me is neither here nor there as long as they like what they hear.”
Describing when they met, Sir Patrick said: “It was the only time in my life that I have given someone I’ve just met my cell phone number. I was in Macbeth which had just transferred to Broadway and she said, ‘I would love to see it.’ It took a couple of weeks — she played it very cool. She not only came to the show but had the balls to come backstage and agreed to have dinner with me that night. About two weeks later I heard her sing for the first time. I had frankly never been in that environment before.”
He added: “I am learning so much. I’m learning about being relaxed, not being stressed, not being nervous about things and interaction between the artist and audience. I envy that.”
