Friends and fellow performers gathered Monday to remember the Broadway actor who died over the weekend in what police call a tragic accident. NY1's Lori Chung filed this report.
Friends summing up what it's like to have to mourn Kyle Jean-Baptiste said it's hard to imagine that the budding Broadway actor with so much to live for is gone.
"It's very heartbreaking. It's very heartbreaking,” said Brandyn Day, Jean-Baptiste’s best friend.
"He was just the gentlest, kindest soul," said one friend.
Friends and fellow performers gathered for a memorial in Central Park where they also remembered his talent.
The 21-year-old was the first African American to play Jean Valjean in Les Miserables on Broadway, and the youngest in the role as well.
He fell to his death from a fourth floor fire escape in Brooklyn on Saturday.
Officials call it a tragic accident.
"No one will ever forget Kyle and the person that he is—but even in Broadway history, he has written a page in the book for himself in one summer," Day said.
Day said he remembers when Jean-Baptiste won the role, just one day after graduating college.
“He and I cried in each other's arms, I was so proud of him," Day said.
Now, tears of sadness and flowers flow for a young performer whose future was so bright.
"Kyle was... he stood out in a group of standouts,” one woman said.
“Really…He was game for anything," said another.
He was a friend many say they'll remember forever.
"Kyle didn't know a stranger. Every single person he knew was his friend," one woman said.
"I hope everyone is touched a little bit to continue his legacy of living every day like it's your last and smiling every minute," Day said.
Lights will be dimmed at the Imperial Theater on Tuesday night.