When the orchestra for “Avatar: The Last Airbender In Concert – 20th Anniversary Tour” takes the stage at Broward Center on Sept. 20, taking the podium will be a young but seasoned musician who is essentially the production’s own avatar.
Just as the iconic TV series’ titular character maintains harmony in an Asian-inflected animated world by telekinetically manipulating or “bending” the natural elements, Emily Marshall harmoniously blends the musical and visual elements of the stage production. As conductor and musical director, Marshall synchronizes the orchestra’s faithful performance of the Nickelodeon series’ score with the scenes from its three seasons that are projected on a full-size cinema screen. And just as in the TV show the Avatar serves as the link between the physical and spirit worlds, the conductor connects the live audience with the show’s anime world of fantasy.
Marshall’s burgeoning career has already been something of a fantasy itself. A couple of years ago, she shared the stage with the Who, playing keyboards and serving as associate conductor for “The Who Hits Back” tour of North America and Europe. She was also part of singer Josh Groban’s Harmony Tour, and has been conductor/music director of such other “live in concert” tours as “Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse,” “Naruto” and the previous iteration of “Avatar: The Last Airbender In Concert.”
Her career first took off on Broadway and off-Broadway, where she earned various credits for Be More Chill, Jagged Little Pill, Elf, Ain’t Too Proud, Beautiful, School of Rock, Mean Girls, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Waitress and Annie, including several tours of Broadway shows such as the first national tour of We Will Rock You.
Perhaps we should mention here that Emily Marshall is only in her mid-30s.
“I always knew that I wanted to be involved in music,” she says. “I played piano since I was 7 so I always loved that. I trained classically all throughout middle school and high school doing piano competitions. But I’ve always loved the creative, behind-the-scenes work as well and being part of the creative process and creative teams in that way.”
Her introduction to the “behind the scenes work” came at Ithaca College, where she studied audio production and classical performance. “But classical wasn’t where my heart lay either,” she says. Then she got asked to music-direct a musical at college — and the stars aligned.
“I didn’t know what music direction meant because I hadn’t been aware that it was even a job,” she says. “But I liked the word ‘music’ and I liked the word ‘direction.’ So I said ‘yes’ and from there I really focused on musical theater for a while.”
Despite the breadth of her bona fides, Marshall cites her work with the Who as a career centerpiece.
“I mean, it’s kind of the best gig ever, right? It was such a different experience than I had had before.”
The opportunity came via a Facebook message sent by the band’s music director, Keith Levinson, with whom she’d worked years earlier.
“It was just very cool to be able to see kind of the origin of rock ’n’ roll in that way, to be able to play with such amazing musicians and at some of the best venues in the whole world,” she says. “It was one of the only gigs I’ve ever done that once you’re up on stage doing the show you don’t want it to end every night. The crowd was incredible.”
She says the best part, though, was being able to play with and learn from that level of musicians — “and the fact that I can call those people my friends now too, as well as colleagues.”
She describes her work with the legendary rock group as “the best of both worlds.”
“We’d do a pickup orchestra in each city. We’d pick up 33 musicians and I would conduct them through the rehearsal during the day and then I would play keyboards during the show at night. I was using over 150 different sounds in the keyboard book that was built specifically for me and for that show — all meant to supplement the orchestra.”
Marshall says the Who gig “reignited the touring fire” in her that had begun years earlier as a member of touring Broadway shows. “It kind of was a snowball effect,” she says, which took her through the Groban tour in 2022 and then the orchestral work for the string of film/concert productions such as “Avatar.”
The conductor says she wasn’t a regular viewer of the Avatar TV series. “I was familiar with it but I wouldn’t say I knew all of the episodes like I do now. It’s been really cool to work with the original creative team. The creators and the composer, Jeremy Zuckerman, are all working congruently with each other on the show, so that’s pretty special.”
Marshall says that type of collaboration is not always the case with these shows. “I think that makes this one even better,” she says. “The fans who have been enjoying the show for 20 years come out of it loving what they just saw and heard because it’s done with such care.”
Marshall would certainly know, having already performed over 200 shows with the previous version of the tour that since its 2024 debut has sold 400,000 tickets worldwide. Opening in September, the new 20th anniversary tour is a reimagined production that combines newly expanded musical highlights with favorite moments from the series and never-before-seen visuals created just for this production. Though the TV show’s music track is performed live, the original spoken audio track and sound effects are untouched.
“Definitely, it’s not an easy show,” Marshall says. “The last iteration had zero breaks in music for 85 minutes for the first act and about 40 minutes for the second act. There was maybe like 10 seconds in the first act where if I really had to I could get a drink of water, but really quickly. So it’s an intense show.”
The 18-piece tour orchestra features string and brass sections, three percussionists and four vocalists. There is also a complement of Asian instruments, including a guzheng (a Chinese zither), a pipa (a traditional Chinese plucked instrument), Asian flutes and other woodwind instruments.
“Everyone’s working and playing pretty much the whole time to make sure there’s no musical gaps,” Marshall says. “So one of the things with the show is building up the stamina and making sure you have that focus for a good two and a half hours every night so you can bring the show to life for a new audience in a new city every day.”
Marshall, who has played for South Florida audiences on previous tours, does have a “personal” connection to the area: One of her favorite bands is from Boca Raton — Dashboard Confessional.
“I kind of call the genre that I listen to ‘sad girl music,’” she says. “I grew up with a lot of pop punk and emo music. My little sister and I are big fans of Dashboard Confessional, and we have some concerts lined up to see them.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Avatar: The Last Airbender In Concert – 20th Anniversary Tour
WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 20
COST: $53.10-$194.70
WHERE: Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave.
Fort Lauderdale
INFORMATION: browardcenter.org/events/detail/avatar-the-last-airbender-in-concert-2025
WHEN: 2 p.m., 7 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 21
COST: $60-$115
WHERE: Dennis C. Moss Cultural Center, 10950 SW 211 St., Cutler Bay
INFORMATION: mosscenter.org/mc/eventDetail.page?id=371
