Mar. 4 & 5: American Showstoppers: An Evening with Cole Porter, featuring The Fred Barton Orchestra

 American SHOWSTOPPERS: 

 An Evening with COLE PORTER 

featuring
THE FRED BARTON ORCHESTRA

Friday, March 4 at 7:30 PM

The Schimmel Center for the Arts at PACE
3 Spruce Street, New York, NY 10038
Box Office: 212.346.1715

Saturday, March 5 at 8:00 PM
Leon M. Goldstein Center for the Arts
2001 Oriental Blvd., Brooklyn, NY 11235-2398
Box Office: 718.368.5596 

Following last season’s tremendous Evening with Irving Berlin and Evening with Johnny Mercer Fred Barton and his 14-piece Orchestra, headlined by a cast of Broadway’s best, will present a collection of Cole Porter’s most distinctive showstoppers. From Broadway to Hollywood, memorable numbers such as "I Get A Kick Out Of You," "Too Darn Hot," "I’ve Got You Under My Skin," "Night And Day," and "Let’s Do It" will be featured alongside hidden gems and numbers that haven’t been heard with Broadway-style orchestration since their debuts up to 90 years ago.  

A TIME OUT Critic’s Pick!

The cast includes:

Tony Award©-winner Beth Leavel (Baby, It’s You, Mamma Mia!, 42nd Street); 

Karen Murphy (A Little Night Music, Titanic, Les Miserables); 

John Bolton (Dames At Sea, Curtains, Spamalot); 

Sean McGibbon (Million Dollar Quartet, The Buddy Holly Story); 

Lisa Howard (It Shoulda Been You, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee); 

Damon Kirsche (On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, Strike Up The Band, Paradise Lost); 

Jesse Luttrell (Bawdy, Meet Me In St. Louis); 

Paula Leggett Chase (On The Twentieth Century, Bye Bye Birdie, Curtains, The Sound of Music live NBC broadcast). 

Scott Thompson directs and choreographs, incorporating his sensational Broadway dancers.

This evening promises to be a song and dance extravaganza in celebration of one of the all-time greatest American songwriters!

“Mr. Barton raised the level of the evening from mere entertainment to great entertainment…this evening was a great success!” – TheaterPizzazz.com

“Absolutely spine-tingling!” – Times Square Chronicles

Highlights from “American Showstoppers: An Evening with Irving Berlin"

Fred Barton (Wikipedia)

FRED BARTON is a musical director, orchestrator, and conductor whose credits include the Broadway production of Cabaret (with Joel Grey), Camelot (with Robert Goulet), Zorba (with Anthony Quinn), Carnegie Hall, and The New York, Boston, and California Pops Orchestras.  Previous “Showstoppers” performers include Tony Award©-winners Beth Leavel, Karen Ziemba and Lauren Worsham, Tony Award©-nominees Brent Barrett and Lee Roy Reams and Drama Desk Award-winner Toni DiBuono.

Mar. 6 & 7: American Showstoppers presents An Evening of Irving Berlin with the Fred Barton Orchestra

March 6 and 7, 2015 at 7:30 PM

American
SHOWSTOPPERS:

An Evening of IRVING BERLIN

Friday, March 6 at 7:30 PM
The Schimmel Center for the Arts
Pace University, 3 Spruce Street, New York, NY 10038
Box Office: 212.346.1715

Saturday, March 7 at 7:30 pm
Leon M. Goldstein Center for the Arts
2001 Oriental Blvd., Brooklyn, NY 11235-2398
Box Office: 718.368.5596 

Damon Kirsche (Photo: Kevin Yatarola)

Join Broadway's Fred Barton, his 14-piece orchestra, and a fleet of first-rate Broadway performers in a celebration of the legendary Irving Berlin. The concert will span over 100 years, beginning with Berlin's Russian-Jewish origins through his earliest American hit ("Alexander's Ragtime Band," which played on the Titanic) to the entire 20th-century evolution of the Broadway musical. Fred Barton will bring Berlin's greatest songs to life the way they were meant to be heard and seen, on stage with a full orchestra and cast of expert Broadway singers!

starring: 

BRENT BARRETT (Chicago, Kiss Me Kate, Annie Get Your Gun, Grand Hotel)

HANNAH DeFLUMERI (Legally Blonde)

DAVID ELDER (Titanic, Curtains, 42nd Street, Encores' Strike Up The Band)

DAMON KIRSCHE (Encores' On A Clear Day, Encores' Ziegfeld Follies of 1936, Carnegie Hall, Disney Hall)

JESSE LUTTRELL (Bawdy, Cabaret, Peter Pan, Rocky Horror Show)

KAREN MURPHY (A Little Night Music, 42nd Street, 9 To 5, All Shook Up, NYC Opera's Most Happy Fella)

LEE ROY REAMS (42nd Street, Applause, Hello Dolly!, La Cage Aux Folles, Beauty and the Beast, The Producers)

NATASHA YVETTE WILLIAMS (Porgy and Bess, The Color Purple, Chicago, A Night With Janis Joplin)

KAREN ZIEMBA (Contact, Steel Pier, Never Gonna Dance, Curtains, Bullets Over Broadway)

With appearances by 8 of Broadway's finest dancers!

Directed and Choreographed by JASON WISE

*  *  *

"Absolutely spine-tingling" - Times Square Chronicles

"One show-stopping number after another. Sensational!"  - TheaterPizzazz.com

Clockwise from upper left: Fred Barton / Brent Barrett, Lee Roy Reams, Karen Ziemba /
Bruce Landry, David Elder, Damon Kirsche, Karen Murphy, Jesse Luttrell / The Schimmel Center audience and Company a standing ovation / Natasha Yvette Williams / Damon Kirsche (Photos: Kevin Yatarola / Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts.) 

Fred Barton (Wikipedia)

FRED BARTON is a musical director, orchestrator, and conductor whose credits include the Broadway production of Cabaret (with Joel Grey), Camelot (with Robert Goulet), Zorba (with Anthony Quinn), Carnegie Hall, and The New York, Boston, and California Pops Orchestras.  Previous "Showstoppers" performers include Tony Award©-winner Beth Leavel, Tony-nominee Lee Roy Reams, and Drama Desk Award-winner Toni DiBuono.

Mar 1: American Showstoppers: AN EVENING OF JERRY HERMAN, featuring the Fred Barton Orchestra

On Saturday evening, March 1st at 7:30pm Pace University will present American Showstoppers, with the 13 piece Fred Barton Orchestra, AN EVENING OF JERRY HERMAN. The evening is directed and choreographed by Scott Thompson and produced, orchestrated and hosted by Fred Barton. Herman’s epic contributions to Broadway and Hollywood will be celebrated in an evening exploring his career from his early revue days to his heyday of mega-musicals such as HELLO DOLLY!, MAME, DEAR WORLD, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, MACK AND MABEL, and many more.

Klea Blackhurst, Toni DiBuono, Jeffry Denman, Tari Kelly, Damon Kirsche, Beth Leavel, Karen Murphy and the inimitable Lee Roy Reams lead the cast which features Lianne Marie Dobbs, AJ Hunsucker, Jesse Luttrell and the Scott Thompson dancers.

Fred Barton's orchestrations are played regularly at Carnegie Hall and by symphony orchestras around the country and Canada. He's conducted Broadway and national tour productions of City of Angels, Hal Prince's Cabaret, Zorba with Anthony Quinn, and Camelot with Robert Goulet. He was co-creator of the original Forbidden Broadway, and for television co-composed "The Magic Schoolbus," orchestrated and conducted "Wonder Pets!," and music-supervised "HBO's Cathouse: The Musical" and the children's show "Olivia."

March 1st at 7:30pm
AMERICAN SHOWSTOPPERS:
An Evening of Jerry Herman

FEATURING THE FRED BARTON ORCHESTRA

TICKETS: $25 | $35 | $45
3 Spruce Street New York, NY 10038 | (212) 346-1715
Map and Directions | More details at BroadwayWorld.com.

10/12: American Showstoppers: An Evening with Richard Rodgers, featuring the Fred Barton Orchestra

On October 12, I return to the "American Showstoppers" series at Pace University to celebrate the music of Richard Rodgers:

"Fred Barton, his 12-piece orchestra and star-studded cast of performers are back to celebrate the legendary Richard Rodgers! The extraordinary icon’s career spanned six decades, during which he composed 40 Broadway musicals. Fred’s tribute to the versatility of Richard Rodgers will prove a revelation to those familiar with his biggest hits: Oklahoma!, South Pacific, Carousel, and The Sound of Music. You’ll hear Richard Rodgers from his razz-ma-tazz roots to his later masterworks, created with a number of star lyricists. Join us as we journey from Broadway to Hollywood and back, celebrating the incredible music and tales of Richard Rodgers!"

Pace Presents: AMERICAN SHOWSTOPPERS

An Evening with Richard Rodgers

FEATURING THE FRED BARTON ORCHESTRA

$45 | $35 | $25

Starring: Nora Mae Lyng, Tari Kelly, Anastasia Barzee, Karen Murphy, Damon Kirsche, David Elder, Joshua Henry, Jeffry Denman, and Jesse Luttrell. Directed and Choreographed by Scott Thompson.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Schimmel Center site or call toll-free (866) 811-4111. Visit Facebook,  BroadwayWorld.com and Playbill.com for more details.

Here's an excerpt from a previous American Showstoppers concert, celebrating the music of Harold Arlen, "That Old Black Magic," in a duet with Anastasia Barzee.

"Be My Host" from NO STRINGS;  Joshua Henry, David Elder, Tari Kelly, Jeffry Denman, and Damon Kirsche (Photo: Kevin Yatarola)

Fred Barton and company at the American Showstoppers tribute to Richard Rodgers. (Photo: Kevin Yatarola)

Mar. 9: American Showstoppers: An Evening with Jule Styne

This Saturday, I return to the "American Showstoppers" series at Pace University, this time presenting the music of Jule Styne. Noted arranger and producer Fred Barton conducts his orchestrations of Styne's Broadway and popular songs, and featuring singers Patrick Boyd, Tari Kelly, Damon Kirsche, Jesse Luttrell, Nora Mae Lyng, Karen Murphy, Pamela Myers and Vivian Reed.

Pace Presents: AMERICAN SHOWSTOPPERS

An Evening with Jule Styne

Featuring The Fred Barton Orchestra

Saturday, March 9 at 7:30 PM

Tickets: $30 to $55

Student rush tickets are available on the day of the performance after 12pm with a valid student ID or use discount code "Friends" for $20 tickets.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Schimmel Center site or call toll-free (866) 811-4111. More details at BroadwayWorld.com and Playbill.com.

UPDATE: Tony Award-winning writer/director Gerard Alessandrini gives the concert a glowing review; Photos from the evening:

Damon sings "My Fortune Is My Face" from FADE OUT/FADE IN
(Photo: Kevin Yatarola ©)

Damon Kirsche and Tari Kelly: "Call Me Savage" from FADE OUT/FADE IN
(Photo: Kevin Yatarola ©)

Vivian Reed sings "I Wanted to Change Him" from HALLELULJAH, BABY!
with Damon Kirsche (Photo: Kevin Yatarola ©)

"Penniless Bums" from SUGAR: Damon Kirsche, Fred Barton and Jesse Luttrell
(Photo: Kevin Yatarola ©)

Vivian Reed, Damon Kirsche, Fred Barton, Tari Kelly and Patrick Boyd greet the fans. (Photo: Kevin Yatarola ©)