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.

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)

8/9-11 & 8/14-18: MARY POPPINS

Next up: I play the irascible George Banks in the regional premiere of MARY POPPINS at Musical Theatre of Wichita. The Disney Company, in partnership with Cameron Mackintosh, has agreed to allow MTWichita to be one of the first theatres in the world to develop its own production of this all-family classic. The beloved songs from the film, including “Chim Chim Cheree,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” “Feed the Birds,” and “A Spoonful of Sugar,” have been expanded and enhanced with new material from George Stiles and Anthony Drewe (the creators of HONK!).

Music Theatre of Wichita’s production of

Disney’s and Cameron Mackintosh’s

MARY POPPINS

August 9 – 11 and August 14 – 18

MTWichita

Century II Performing Arts and Convention Center

225 W Douglas Ave  Wichita, KS 67202

A Musical based on the stories of  P.L. Travers and the Walt Disney Film

Original Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman

Book by Julian Fellowes, New Songs and Additional Music and Lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe

Co-Created by Cameron Mackintosh,  Originally Produced by Cameron Mackintosh and Thomas Schumacher for Disney

UPDATE: The Wichita Eagle's Bob Curtright writes of the production:

"Music Theatre of Wichita’s ‘Mary Poppins’ brings out the kid in all of us":

"And this super—okay, okay, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocius”—production that caps the 42nd season for Music Theatre of Wichita, cheers and enthralls the kid in all of us with its colorful, whimsical imagination...but it also touches our hearts in a satisfying way that the film often glossed over in favor of surface fun... Directed with exuberant flair but an underlying emotional sensitivity to the subtler themes by MTW’s Wayne Bryan, this show is a regional premiere and one of only eight productions this year licensed by Disney."

For a "Sneek Peek" of the cast, visit MTWichita.org.

Photo: © Christopher Clark Designer Portraits 

Edward Sturm as Michael Banks, Damon Kirsche as George Banks, Claire Gerig as Winifred Banks,
 Londen Peebler as Jane Banks. Photo: © Christopher Clark Designer Portraits 

Mary Poppins (Lindsey Bliven) arrives at #17 Cherry Tree Lane. Edward Sturm and Londen Peebler as Michael and Jane Banks, Claire Gerig and Damon Kirsche as Winifred and George Banks  in Music Theatre of Wichita's production of MARY POPPINS (Photo: Jaime Green / The Wichita Eagle)

Karen L. Rob as The Birdwoman, Lindsey Bliven as Mary Poppins, David Elder as Bert
 in MTWichita's MARY POPPINS. (Photo: Jaime Green / The Wichita Eagle)