Celebrating America’s birthday with century-plus of Broadway greats
On Sunday, June 28th, the Center for the Arts at Towson University will conclude its Summer at the Center Arts Festival performances with a remarkable look back at more than a century of musical theater greatness, celebrating not only the extraordinary creators–composers, lyricists, performers, producers, directors, and others–who helped to conceive and create this truly American art form, but also the breadth and depth of cultural, national, ethnic, and social backgrounds that they represented.
Conceived, created, directed (and in part performed) by Carolyn Black-Sotir as part tribute to America’s 250th anniversary commemorations and part tribute to the immigrant spirit of those who shaped “The Great White Way”–and with it, helped to craft the story the nation tells itself, of itself–My Regards to Broadway offers something for any and all fans of musical theater, or even just music itself. Featuring work by nearly every big name who ever put pen to musical staff or shaped a snappy lyric (many of them a bit of both), the show weaves more than 20 musical selections into a brisk 90 minutes that include narration, staging, projected images, and a torrent of talent to bring it all to life.
There’s more information, and tickets, online at https://tickets.tuboxoffice.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=231
The project highlights the idea that, from songs to shows, the significance of America’s musical theater goes beyond beautiful melodies or clever lyrics; it forms and even helped to craft an integral part of our heritage and our collective national identity. Regards to Broadway, in its salute to Lady Liberty and to the history and legacy of the form, aims to offer a way to connect with our past, add understanding to the present. and look ahead to a shared future. As it needs must, steeped as Broadway has always been in the music and words, ideals and experiences of a particularly American blend–immigrant, European, Jewish, African-American, and more–any such celebration also gives voice to our diverse national community.
The staged concert will feature iconic Broadway work spanning 130 years by the some of the theater’s most influential composers and lyricists such as Irving Berlin, Dorothy Fields, George M. Cohan, Jerome Kern, the Gershwins, Kurt Weill, Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Arlen and Harburg, Dietz and Schwartz, Lerner and Loewe, Flaherty and Ahrens, Jerry Hermann, Duke Ellington, Stephen Sondheim. And more.
Their music and lyrics will be showcased within the framework of a dramatic narrative and supported by projected images, working in harmony to provide historical and cultural context for the development of the Broadway musical as well as its subsequent (and continuing) role in reflecting and shaping social, political, and cultural trends and events.
Hear Carolyn Black-Sotir’s further observations on the piece in our conversation here:
And here is the link that takes you to the program page which also has the box office link: https://tickets.tuboxoffice.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=231
