Broadway Diva Defends Marriage Equality In A Powerful New Song

Karen Mason is channeling her passion for equal rights into her music.  

The Broadway singer-actress, who is best known for her roles in “Mamma Mia! ” and “Sunset Boulevard, ” croons a tender ode to marriage equality on her new album , “It’s About Time.” “Feels like we have wait 20 lifetimes, wishing for this moment to be real,” Mason sings on the title track, as seen in the video above. “And now we’re stepping into the spotlight to celebrate the way we truly feel.” 

Mason told HuffPost she first performed “It’s About Time” at the wedding of two gay friends shortly after same-sex couples won the right to legally marry in New York state in 2011. Given the challenges that the LGBTQ community is currently facing, she felt it was appropriate to reprise the song on her album , which hit retailers March 7. 

“Equality is important to me, as it should be to everyone,” Mason said of the song, which was written by her husband, Paul Rolnick , and Shelly Markham . “Marriage is such an intimate relationship and has been guarded so preciously by some heterosexuals in our society as the last bastion of ‘normalcy,’ whatever that word means. I refuse to make those judgments, especially when it concerns love.” 

The album also features a number of standards most associated with Judy Garland , including “The Man That Got Away ” and “Over The Rainbow .” Mason, who has performed much of the Garland songbook in concert, said she felt her new tune fit in perfectly with the “storytelling” feel of the classic repertoire. Ultimately, she hopes listeners will view “It’s About Time” simply as a poignant reminder that “it is really just all about love” rather than a political gesture.

“If someone listens to the words of this song, they will hear a beautiful song about the chance to finally say ‘I love you’ to the world,” she told HuffPost. “How can anyone deny and refuse wanting to love someone else? I’ve never understood that.” 

Karen Mason will perform songs from “It’s About Time” at New York’s Don’t Tell Mama every Sunday and Monday through May 29. She’ll also appear at Davenport’s Piano Bar and Cabaret in Chicago through May 20 and at The Rrazz Room in New Hope, Pennsylvania on June 10. 

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