All tagged Jule Styne
Two recent productions of classic musicals get first-class treatment at New York City Center, Encores! presentation of “High Button Shoes”, which runs through May 12th, and MasterVoices’ concert production of “Lady in the Dark”, which ran for three performances in April.
Carmen Cusack shines in Encores! revival of its 1995 landmark revival of Irving Berlin’s “Call Me Madam” (1950), originally written as a vehicle for Ethel Merman. A topical piece of light satirical fare that’s more about comedy and songs than plot, this simple but well-performed production is Encores! at its truest: a concert revival of a classic musical that would not otherwise be seen on stage again.
Last night at Carnegie Hall, the New York Pops presented “Song and Dance: The Best of Broadway”, a concert celebration of musical theatre’s finest orchestral selections, featuring the Essential Voices USA chorus and dancers from New York Theatre Ballet.
"Subways Are for Sleeping", Jule Styne and Comden and Green's 1961 flop musical, triumphantly closed out the York Theatre Company's 3-musical "Musicals in Mufti" celebration of lesser-works by composer Jule Styne. Bizarre, but pure musical comedy joy, "Subways" contains several gem songs.
"Bar Mitzvah Boy" was the second offering in the York Theatre Company's annual "Musicals in Mufti" series dedicated to composer Jule Styne; not performed in New York since 1987, this sweet and charming musical received an excellent production using a 2016 revised book, but could benefit from some musical trimming.
Two songs from "Mack & Mabel" steal the show at Encores! 25th anniversary concert “Hey, Look Me Over!”—an original concert pulling overtures, songs, and scenes from nine different, lesser-known musicals—overshadowing middling material from the other eight musicals celebrated. A fun experiment after 25 years, hopefully Encores! sticks to full concerts of single shows at a time in the future.
Jule Styne, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green's 1968 Tony Winning Best Musical "Hallelujah, Baby!", now largely forgotten, receives an excellent concert production as part of the York Theatre Company's annual "Musicals in Mufti" series, which is dedicated to composer Jule Styne this year.
