Audience member steps in to rescue ‘La La Land’ concert after keyboard player falls ill

By Jack Guy, CNN

(CNN) — A 21-year-old university student stepped in to play piano during a performance of “La La Land in Concert” in Australia on Saturday, saving the show after the original pianist was taken ill.

Sterling Nasa was volunteered by a friend after Academy Award-winning composer Justin Hurwitz asked if there were any capable sight readers in the audience at Sydney’s Darling Harbour Theatre, CNN affiliate 7News reported.

The moment — halfway through the opening night of the show’s Sydney run — could have come straight from “La La Land,” the 2016 movie on which the concert is based, which tells the story of up-and-coming actress Mia and creatively hungry jazz musician Sebastian as they try to forge careers in Los Angeles.

Hurwitz, who won two Oscars for his score for the movie, told 7News that he had no idea what was going to happen when Nasa came on to the stage.

“Until he started playing I didn’t know how it was going to go,” he said. “Like, I was very nervous but I was trying to just, like, you know, trust it, have fun with it.”

“And as soon as he started playing, like, I was impressed,” he added.

“It’s always nice to, you know, get some applause, get some response,” Nasa told 7News on Monday.

“It’s an hour of music, you’re in an amazing orchestra with an amazing two-time Academy Award-winning conductor, so just enjoy it,” added the student, who is studying politics and international relations and also works as a bagpipes tutor, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Nasa also wrote about the experience in a post on LinkedIn on Monday.

“Crazy set of circumstances created a challenging but such a fun experience!” he said in reply to a former teacher praising his performance.

Audience member Maddie Corwin filmed the moment that Nasa took to the stage and uploaded it to her Instagram account with the caption: “The most INSANE concert experience ever last night in Sydney!! The show must go on.”

On Monday, Corwin told CNN that she had “never seen a professional production just stop and ask if anyone in the audience can step in and perform.”

“It was one of those moments where you realise that you are witnessing something completely unique,” she said, explaining that Nasa was asked to join the performance after a briefing that lasted only two or three minutes.

He “had a composure about him” and “played amazing,” added Corwin, even playing a solo at one point.

“You could really see that everyone was rooting for him,” she said.

“Everything completely flowed and meshed and you couldn’t tell really that there was any disruption,” said Corwin, who added that the episode “exemplified what ‘La La Land’ is about… artists chasing their dreams.”

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