The magnificent music of Broadway for a Broadway musical lover is mesmerizing and enthralling. Brilliant music and clever lyrics tell a story that can stir the senses and take you to another place.
When Lerner and Lowe’s first notes of the overture from “My Fair Lady” play, you are transported. Bernstein’s music from “West Side Story” can match any symphony. “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Les Miserables” are also musical masterpieces, so when Neil Berg brings a concert of Broadway musicals to the stage with talented, skilled veterans singing from every era, be ready to be elated.
An onstage band adds to the delight, and you know you’re in for a grand evening of a potpourri of Broadway music and lyrics.
Berg, an award winning composer, lyricist and producer, has skillfully rescored and revived songs from some of the great musicals. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom Of The Opera”, Claude-Michel Schonberg’s “Les Miserables”, Henry Krieger’s “Dream Girls”, Steven Sondhein’s “Into The Woods” and Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story” are just a touch of the menu offered. (I mention the composers here because they are the genius behind every hit on Broadway.)
Actors and singers Ron Bohmer, Saundra Joseph, Chuck Wagner, Andrea Rivette and Lawrence Clayton recreate the roles they performed on Broadway and with touring companies. They give dazzling, energetic performances that warrant a standing ovation.
“101 Years of Broadway” is a jubilant gathering of great music and lyrics under one umbrella and they make a joyful sound that simply makes everyone feel good.
For a delightful, relaxing evening, “101 Years of Broadway” is the ticket.
Camille Bounds is the theatre and arts editor for the western division of Sunrise Publications.
