Tag Archives: George Gershwin

TO LIFE 3: STORIES & MUSIC CELEBRATING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF JEWISH COMPOSERS TO THE GREAT HOLLYWOOD MUSICALS – January 20 – February 5 at the Willow Theatre

29 Tuesday Nov 2022

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January 20 – February 5, 2023

“Music doesn’t argue, discuss, or quarrel. It just breathes the air of freedom.”
~ Harold Arlen

“Hooray for Hollywood!” ~ Johnny Mercer

“You ain’t heard nothing yet, folks!” ~ Al Jolson

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

November 29, 2022

BOCA RATON, FL:  George Gershwin.  Irving Berlin. Johnny Mercer. Harold Arlen. Sheldon Harnick.  Jerry Herman. These composers and many more will be highlighted in To Life 3: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to the Great Hollywood Musicals.  The production will run from January 20th through February 5th at The Willow Theatre in Boca Raton’s Sugar Sand Park. To Life 3 is a follow-up to two previous To Life productions – both of which sold out at the Willow Theatre in 2019 and 2020. 

Featuring amusing anecdotes and fascinating historical facts, along with tributes to some of the greatest Jewish performers in Hollywood history, including Eddie Cantor, Danny Kaye, and Barbara Streisand, To Life 3 will be performed by five of South Florida’s award-winning musical theatre artists:  Julie Kleiner, Bruno Faria, Michael Materdomini, Amy Tanner, and Shari Upbin.

Hy Juter

Hy Juter (Jupiter Theater Company, LLC) will produce the show: “We’re extremely excited about this iteration of our To Life series,” he says.  “This time we’re focusing on Hollywood and the outstanding talents that contributed to those great musicals we all remember. We have an amazing cast – their talent is extraordinary! Our director, Shari Upbin, has also written the show this year.  Her background in theatre and her extensive knowledge of the Hollywood musical made her a natural choice to continue our tradition of presenting audiences with a unique combination of history, music, and fun!”

Shari Upbin

Upbin will also direct the production, and Bobby Peaco will serve as music director and pianist.

“To Life 1 and 2 featured the Jewish composers of Broadway,” Upbin says. “But what most people don’t realize is first of all, how many of them transitioned to Hollywood, and secondly, that there were numerous Jewish composers who wrote primarily for ‘the movies’.  I had an amazing time writing the script for the show,” she continues. “I learned so much – there are so many fascinating stories involving these amazingly talented individuals I can’t wait to share with our audiences. And of course,  I couldn’t leave out some of the greatest Jewish stars who left their indelible marks – Eddie Cantor, Danny Kaye, Barbra Streisand… so many and so memorable.”

To Life 3 will run from January 20 through February 5 at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park.  Tickets are $43; group rates (6 or more tickets purchased in one transaction) are $38.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.sugarsandpark.org/life-3 or by phone at 561-347-3948.  The Willow Theatre is located at 300 South Military Trail, in Boca Raton’s Sugar Sand Park (33486).      

For more information about To Life 3: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to the Great Hollywood Musicals please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.    

~

Hy Juter (Jupiter Theater Company, LLC) presents
To Life 3: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to the Great Hollywood Musicals
January 20 – February 5, 2023
Written and Directed by Shari Upbin 
Tickets: $43 / $38 for groups of 6 or more tickets purchased in one transaction
For tickets:  561-347-3948 or
https://www.sugarsandpark.org/life-3
Showtimes:
Friday & Saturday at 8 pm
Saturday, & Sunday at 2 pm
All performances take place in
The Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park
300 South Military Trail,
Boca Raton, FL 33486

About The Willow Theatre:
The Willow Theatre, opened in 1998, is a beautiful 155-seat proscenium theater, located inside Sugar Sand Park Community Center and allows for a unique experience for theatre patrons. Before or after a show, you may wander the nature trails, visit the Children’s Science Explorium, look at the art exhibit on display, or picnic at one of our pavilions.

  • Shari Upbin
  • Bobby Peaco
  • Julie Kleiner
  • Michael Materdomini
  • Bruno Faria
  • Amy Tanner
  • Hy Juter

MY ONE AND ONLY – THE GERSHWIN MUSICAL – Opens at Stage Door Theatre on March 8th

25 Monday Feb 2019

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Stage Door Theatre
presents
My One and Only
The Gershwin Musical

March 8 – 24

“My One and Only is a Crazy Big, Tap-Happy Musical…”
Gail M. Burns and Larry Murray – Berkshire on Stage

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
Carol@CarolKassie.com / 561-445-9244


February 25, 2019:

LAUDERHILL, FL:   The timeless music of George and Ira Gershwin plus an aviator, a Channel swimmer, exuberant dance numbers, sparkling costumes, romance, comedy, and America in 1927 equals My One and Only, Stage Door Theatre’s upcoming production at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center (LPAC). The show will open on March 8th and run through March 24th.

Created to showcase the Gershwins’ marvelous music, My One and Only ran for two years on Broadway and won 6 Tony Awards and 3 Drama Desk Awards.

The plot is classic musical comedy:  Captain Billy Buck Chandler, a barnstorming aviator, falls for Edythe Herbert, a former English Channel swimmer and the star of Prince Nicolai Erraclyovitch Tchatchavadze’s International Aquacade. Billy, who plans to be the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, hopes to win Edythe’s hand by taking a crash course in sophistication at Mr. Magix’ Tonsorial and Sartorial Emporial. Billy’s wisecracking female mechanic, Mickey, adds a bit of sass as a series of escapades and misadventures keep the potential lovers from finding happiness.

Jonathan Van Dyke

Jonathan Van Dyke will direct the production: “My One and Only is the all singing, all dancing, all hilarity Gershwin musical comedy and it’s such a thrill to be able to present it with Broward Stage Door Theatre,” he says.  It was a giant hit in the early 1980’s with Tommy Tune and Twiggy and we have assembled a spectacular cast and creative team to tap this gem into the Lauderhill PAC. The song list is a treasure, and this feel good musical will have everyone “Kicking’ The Clouds Away”!”

Along with “Kicking the Clouds Away”, My One and Only features such Gershwin classics as “I Can’t Be Bothered Now”, “’S Wonderful”, “Strike Up the Band”, “Funny Face”, “Nice Work If You Can Get It”, and of course, “My One and Only”.

Van Dyke’s cast includes Derek Seay, who will play Billy Buck Chandler and Caiti Marlowe, who will ‘channel’ Edythe Herbert. Also cast are Larry Buzzeo as Prince Nikke, Colleen Pagano as Mickey, Michael Small as Reverend Montgomery, and Ben Bagby as Mr. Magix.  Bagby was in the original Broadway production of My One and Only.

Ben Bagby

“The year was 1983 and I had just gotten my Actors Equity card from a contract with DreamGirls,” Bagby reminisced recently. “I began going to Equity auditions for Cats, My One and Only, and other shows running on Broadway at the time. The night before I opened in My One and Only, I was offered a spot in the Broadway cast of Cats. Of course, I declined but it was nice to be asked.

“I went into the My One and Only cast in August ’83 as a replacement. This means I didn’t get to appear on the Tony Awards, but I did get to record the Original Cast Album (thus my Original Cast status).

“In 2013, I was invited and attended the 30 year MOAO Cast Reunion in NYC (on my birthday) where I was able to catch up with cast members I had not seen or spoken to in 30 years.

“This will be my first time performing in any production of My One and Only since performing in it on Broadway 36 years ago,” He continued. “I’ve always wanted to play Mr. Magix so I’m absolutely thrilled I will have the chance to with the Broward Stage Door at the LPAC. Charles “Honi” Coles, the Original Mr. Magix, was my friend and has forever influenced the way I tap dance. I’m happy to be presenting his original timeless choreography in this role.”

Other cast members are Raymond Bennett, Kaitlyn Casanova, Amanda Eisele, Alexandra Garcia, Luis Gomez, Melissa Jones, Aaron Kenisberg, Ellen Kilgo, T.J. Lamando, Dequan Mitchell, Samantha O’Donnell, Sarah Rose, Ashley Rubin, and Nicholas Winterowd.

David Taustine will serve as the production’s Musical Director and Danny Durr is My One and Only’s Choreographer. Set Design is by Johnny Blessed, Sound Design is by King Raymonvil, and Costume Design is by Lenora Nikitin.  The production’s Stage Manager is Nancy Clay.

My One and Only will run from March 8 – 24 at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center (LPAC). The theatre is located at 3800 NW 11th Place, Lauderhill (33311), in the Central Broward Regional Park on the North East corner of Sunrise Boulevard and 441 (State Road 7).

Tickets for My One and Only range from $48 to $58. (LPAC charges a $5 service fee per ticket, however if a package of four Stage Door shows is purchased the service fees will be waived.) Group rates are available, as are student prices (with valid ID). Tickets may be purchased by calling the box office at 954-344-7765 or 954-777-2055 (LPAC) or on line at www.stagedoorfl.org or on the LPAC website at https://lpacfl.com.

For more information about My One and Only and/or Stage Door Theatre, please visit www.stagedoorfl.org, or contact Derelle Bunn Executive Producer/Artistic Director, at DerelleBunn@yahoo.com / 954-344-7765 or Carol Kassie (carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244).

~

My One and Only
March 8 – 24, 2019
Music and Lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin
Book by Peter Stone and Timothy S. Mayer
Tickets:  $48 – $58
Tickets:  954-344-7765 / www.stagedoorfl.org
Showtimes:
Wednesday, Saturday, & Sunday at 2 pm,
Friday & Saturday at 8 pm
All performances take place at
The Lauderhill Performing Arts Center (LPAC)
3800 NW 11th Place
Lauderhill, FL 33311

www.stagedoorfl.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stagedoorfla/
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/stagedoortheatre/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/stagedoorfla

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TO LIFE: STORIES & MUSIC CELEBRATING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF JEWISH COMPOSERS TO THE GOLDEN AGE OF BROADWAY – Jan 18 – Feb at the Willow Theatre

27 Thursday Dec 2018

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Black Box Booking & Hy Juter
Present

To Life: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to The Golden Age of Broadway

January 18 – February 3, 2019

 “Musicals are plays, but the last collaborator is your audience, so you’ve got to wait ’til the last collaborator comes in before you can complete the collaboration.” 
~ Stephen Sondheim

“I think it is just as important to sing about beautiful mornings as it is to talk about slums. I just couldn’t write anything without hope in it.”
~ Oscar Hammerstein”

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

December 27, 2018
BOCA RATON, FL:  From Irving Berlin to Leonard Bernstein, and from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Stephen Sondheim, not to mention Fanny Brice, Zero Mostel, Jerry Orbach, and Barbra Streisand, Jewish composers and artists have contributed tremendously to Broadway.   Black Box Booking and Hy Juter will present To Life: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to The Golden Age of Broadway at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park from January 18th through February 3rd.

To Life: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to The Golden Age of Broadway is chock full of fascinating narrative and charming anecdotes about some of the greatest Broadway artists of the 20th and 21st century.  The production features five of South Florida’s top actor singers:  Jeffrey Bruce, Broadway’s Jodie Langel, two-time Carbonell Award-winner Wayne LeGette, Alix Paige, and Carbonell Award-winner Mark Sanders.

Producers Jerry Seltzer of Black Box Booking and Hy Juter have tapped Shari Upbin to direct the show, and Paul Reekie to handle To Life’s musical direction.

“Jewish contribution to the Broadway musical has been phenomenal,” Upbin says. “In fact, Jewish composers and lyricists created the Broadway musical. Children of immigrants, called outsiders – people who struggled for acceptance in mainstream society – created the greatest American shows in history. Show Boat, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy… and scores (pun intended!) more!

“Growing up in a household where my mother was a singer and my dad a writer for Jack Benny, I learned musical theatre songs early, and created dances for my parents to enjoy,” she continues. “I was encouraged by their enthusiasm for a good song, a good joke. Yes, my parents spoke Yiddish when they did not want me to understand what they were saying… but I always felt the warmth of the light in their eyes. I dedicate all the Jewish one-liners and the amazing songs heard in this show to my parents and grandparents. Immigrants who found their place in America urging me to continue their legacy. Tradition!”

To Life: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to The Golden Age of Broadway was created and written by Scott Siegel.  Siegel is a well-known pop culture critic who covers film, theatre, and cabaret with his wife, Barbara, writing “The Siegel Column” for TheatreMania.com, and “The Two of Clubs” column for Talkin’Broadway.com. He has created more than 300 major concerts that have been performed worldwide, he has written/produced/directed concerts for Michael Feinstein, and has created scores of nightclub acts that have played at major clubs around the globe. However, he is perhaps best known as the creator/writer/director/host of New York City’s Town Hall Theatre’s signature series, Broadway by the Year® and Broadway Unplugged.

Nicole Stav is the production’s Stage Manager, and Jason Pierre will serve as Assistant Stage Manager.  Technical crew includes Laura Fulton (Lighting) and Andrés Alessandro Beuses Casasanta (Sound).

To Life will run from January 18 through February 3 at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park.  Tickets are $35; group rates (6 or more tickets purchased in one transaction) are $30.  Tickets can be purchased on line at www.willowtheatre.org or by phone at 561-347-3948.  The Willow Theatre is located at 300 South Military Trail, in Boca Raton’s Sugar Sand Park (33486).

For more information about To Life: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to The Golden Age of Broadway please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.  To learn more about Black Box Booking please visit www.blackboxbooking.com, and for more information about Hy Juter please contact jupitertheater@yahoo.com.

To Life:  Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to The Golden Age of Broadway
January 18 – February 3, 2019
Created and Written by Scott Siegel
Directed by Shari Upbin
Tickets: $35 / $30 for groups of 6 or more
For tickets:  561-347-3948 or www.willowtheatre.org
Showtimes:
Friday & Saturday at 8 pm
Wednesday, Saturday, & Sunday at 2 pm
All performances take place at
The Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park
300 South Military Trail,
Boca Raton, FL 33486
www.willowtheatre.org

About The Willow Theatre:
The Willow Theatre, opened in 1998, is a beautiful 155-seat proscenium theater, located inside Sugar Sand Park Community Center and allows for a unique experience for theatre patrons. Before or after a show, you may wander the nature trails, visit the Children’s Science Explorium, look at the art exhibit on display, or picnic at one of our pavilions.

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Stage Door Theatre presents NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT – March 2 – April 15

13 Tuesday Feb 2018

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Stage Door Theatre
presents
Nice Work If You Can Get It

March 2 – April 15, 2018

“…a rowdy, dopey-smart, dance-driven screwball comedy…”
Kathleen Marshall ~ Newsday

For Immediate Release
Contact: Derelle Bunn
DerelleBunn@yahoo.com /954-344-7765
Contact:  Carol Kassie
Carol@CarolKassie.com  / 561-445-9244

February 13, 2018

MARGATE, FL:  Bootleggers and ‘business men’, duchesses and dancers, and senators and ‘servants’ will populate Stage Door’s Theatre 1 when Nice Work If You Can Get It opens on March 2nd.   The production will run through April 15th.

It’s 1927. Playboy Jimmy Winter is celebrating yet another marriage.  Three thugs are trying to figure out where to hide 400 cases of gin and their beautiful bootlegger boss Billie Bendix is looking for a place to stash the hooch and hide out from the Prohibitionists.  Add some chorus girls, a Vice Squad, and of course a romance or two to the mix; season this soufflé with the glorious music of George and Ira Gershwin, and voila! Nice Work If You Can Get It, the riotous multiple Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning musical comedy takes all these ingredients and creates the epitome of a 1920’s screwball comedy perfect for 21st Century audiences.

“Nice Work If You Can Get It, the ‘brand-new’ Gershwin musical, is a fun filled romp that harkens back to the days of prohibition and the speakeasies,” says the show’s director, Clayton Phillips. “Vice squads, rum runners, dancing girls, hi jinks and romance galore.  Audiences will sing along with the music and dance out of the theatre with a happy heart!”

Clayton Phillips is very pleased to be returning to Stage Door Theatre, where he last directed Deathtrap in 2013.  Phillips, who was Harold Prince’s assistant for the national tours of Kiss of the Spider Woman and Parade, is an award-winning director whose recent production of The Addams Family was nominated for 12 New Hampshire Theatre Awards and won 5.  He has also directed numerous national tours, including Ruthless, The Full Monty, The Mousetrap, Leading Ladies, Falsettos, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

Phillips has cast T.J. Lamando, Rebecca Tucker, Michael Small, and Emily Freeman to portray Jimmy Winter, Billie Bendix, Bootlegger Cookie McGee, and ‘Modern Dancer’ Eileen Evergreen.  Other cast members include Michael Schneider (Duke Mahoney), Jerry Weinberg (Senator Max Evergreen), Dalia Aleman (Duchess Estonia Dulworth), Haley Jones (Jeannie Muldoon), Michael Collins (Chief Berry), and Gail Byer (Millicent Winter). Also cast are Austin Carrol, Jamie Lyn Cleary, Evan Dolan, Jonathan Eisele, Jennifer Fain, Connor Hubbard, Barry Kramer, Natalie McPherson, Sarah Rose, and Kelly Ziegler.

The Musical Director for Nice Work If You Can Get It is Dave Nagy; Choreography is by Danny Durr. The show’s Scenic Designer is Randall Parsons. Lighting Design is by Ardean Landhuis, Sound Design is by Rushnay Henry, and Costume Design is by Jerry Sturdefant.  Nancy Clay is the production’s Stage Manager.

Nice Work If You Can Get It will run from March 2 – April 15 at Stage Door Theatre. The theatre is located at 8036 Sample Road, in Margate.  Tickets for Nice Work If You Can Get It are $48. (Student prices are also available with valid ID). Tickets may be purchased at the Broward Stage Door Theatre box office at 954-344-7765 or on line at www.stagedoorfl.org.

For more information about Nice Work If You Can Get It and/or Stage Door Theatre, please visit www.stagedoorfl.org, or contact Derelle Bunn Executive Producer/Artistic Director, at DerelleBunn@yahoo.com / 954-344-7765 or Carol Kassie (carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244).

Photos and graphics available on request.

~

Nice Work If You Can Get It
March 2 – April 15, 2018
Music and Lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin
Book by Joe DiPietro
Inspired by material by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse
Tickets:  $48
Tickets:  954-344-7765 / www.stagedoorfl.org
Showtimes:
Wednesday, Saturday, & Sunday at 2 pm,
Friday & Saturday at 8 pm
Stage Door Theatre
8036 W Sample Rd
Margate, Fl 33065
www.stagedoorfl.org
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The Delray Beach Chorale’s Spring Concert FESTIVE AMERICANA to feature Bernstein, Copland, Gershwin, and Porter

03 Tuesday Mar 2015

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DBC New logo
The Delray Beach Chorale’s Spring Concert
Festive Americana
to feature
Bernstein, Copland, Gershwin, and Porter

March 3, 2015

DELRAY BEACH, FL: The Delray Beach Chorale’s spring concert, titled Festive Americana, will celebrate some of America’s greatest composers. Now in its 33rd season, under the direction of new Artistic Director Dr. Patricia P. Fleitas, the 65-voice chorale will perform at the Duncan Theatre in Lake Worth on Friday, March 20th at 7:30 pm and at the First Presbyterian Church in Delray Beach on Saturday, March 28th at 3:00 pm.

FLEITASColor1-200x300

Dr. Patricia Fleitas

Dr. Fleitas comes to the Chorale with more than twenty years of experience as the Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Florida Atlantic University and years of serving as guest conductor of numerous musical organizations, including the Palm Beach Symphony. She is recognized for her excellence in teaching, performance and leadership and is a sought after choral judge and clinician.

“Our Spring 2015 concerts present an array of choral music by some of the great masters who define American music,” says Fleitas. “The diversity of styles will engage patrons in the kind of aesthetic exchange that only vocal music can offer.  From Howard Hanson’s setting of Walt Whitman’s poems, “Song of Democracy,” Aaron Copland’s “Old American Songs,” and other settings of great American poetry, to selections from Bernstein’s Candide, Gershwin and Porter songs, and patriotic arrangements, our Americana theme presents a program for all.”
2013-Delray-Chorale-23“This program is quite unique and exciting for us,” says long time Chorale member and board member Barry Ogrin. “It features the best of Americana, from Broadway show tunes from the great composers Leonard Bernstein and Cole Porter to a wonderful medley of Aaron Copland favorites.  It is guaranteed to entertain and make you just feel good about all that is great in this country.”

The Delray Beach Chorale’s mission is to promote and encourage the art of singing and to share the experience of great music with the community. Although their initial focus was on the classics of great choral literature, both traditional and contemporary, over the past several years they have broadened their musical scope.

The Chorale also operates a Music Academy Program, the only one of its kind in South Florida.  The young professional musicians selected as Artists-in-Residence perform as soloists with the chorale, act as section leaders, and provide instruction to a select group of talented high school singers who also sing with the chorale. These young performers will be showcased in the spring performances.

Tickets for the Delray Beach Chorale’s Spring Concert are $25 in advance and $30 the day of the concert.  $5 student tickets (under 25, with ID) are also available. Tickets can be purchased on-line at http://delraybeachchorale.org/ or by phone at 1-800-984-7282.
Special Group Rates (15 or more) are also available.

The complete concert program is available on request.

For more information about the Delray Beach Chorale, please visit http://delraybeachchorale.org/  or contact Carol Kassie at – 561-445-9244 / ckassie@gmail.com.

The Delray Beach Chorale Performs Festive Americana
Friday, March 20th
7:30 pm
The Duncan Theatre
4200 Congress Avenue
Lake Worth, FL 33461
1800-984-7282

The Delray Beach Chorale Performs Festive Americana
Saturday, March 28, 2015
3:00pm
First Presbyterian Church
33 Gleason Street
Delray Beach, FL 33483

 

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