BBTY 1964 Part 2 on Monday, June 18

[do_re_milla]

Posted: 6/4/07 at 2:58pm

Am looking forward to Scott Siegel's Part 2 of BBTY 1964. My dear friend, Ken Richards was a replacement in FUNNY GIRL, so this year has a special place in my heart.

Add to the pot, Hello, Dolly!, What Makes Sammy Run?, Anyone Can Whistle, High Spirits, Fiddler on the Roof, Golden Boy, I Had a Ball and I'll just be in pig heaven!

The performers for the evening include Stephanie J. Block, Beth Leavel, Liz Callaway, Scott Coulter, and Sean Martin Hingston. Am looking forward to seeing whoelse lands on the stage, as well.

Upcoming in July is Town Hall's new Summer Broadway Festival also created and hosted by Scott Siegel, featuring operetta, rising stars and a feast of Broadway music and dance styles.

This is the final BBTY of the season, so if you haven't been & are curious, hi thee down to Town Hall:

THE TOWN HALL (123 West 43rd Street, NYC - 212-997-1929 - http://www.the-townhall-nyc.org/)

Double Yummy!

Milla
BBTY 1964 Part 2

[do_re_milla]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 4:46pm

bump

[kooky]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 7:05pm

I will be there too - - - these evenings are always so wonderful. The year 1964
was an exceptional musical year - - - OH YES, I remember it well!

CAN'T WAIT to hear it all again.

[stella985]

Posted: 6/17/07 at 7:08pm

bumping this up because it's tomorrow!

And because I have a question: Where is the stage door at Town Hall, and do people usually wait to get autographs after these types of things (I've never been)?

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 6/17/07 at 7:10pm

I wish there were tickets that were less than $40! Does anyone know if they have a student price?

[Words&Music]

Posted: 6/17/07 at 7:19pm

Will this be recorded for a CD like past BBTY concerts have been?

[stella985]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 9:44am

I don't think they have student tickets (I could be wrong but I remember hearing people complain about that), but I know they aren't sold out so maybe you can find cheaper tickets somewhere.

[broadwaybaby086]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 11:21am

I saw the lineup for this on a flyer somewhere and was excited and considered getting tickets until I realized that I had already made a reservation for Tom Kitt. Enjoy the show tonight; I bet it'll be great. Aren't they always?

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 11:24am

Can't wait for tonight!

I don't think they have student rush, but when tickets first go on sale for Broadway By the Year, it's usually on TDF.

[GYPSY1527]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 11:41am

exactly infinite! I always wait for them to pop up on TDF before I buy them through the box office. Can't wait for tonight. I'm hoping Beth Leavel sings something from Hello Dolly since she performed the title character in college! Check out the link for a pic of Beth as Dolly!
http://www.uncg.edu/ure/news/stories/2006/May/LeavelNominatedforTony053106.htm

[Popular]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 11:45am

Should be a fun night! Looking forward to hearing about it from those going. :)

[do_re_milla]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 12:52pm

Re ticket pricing, I feel that $40-$45 dollars is a great deal to see Broadway leads in these shows. Something that I would save up my pennies to see.

Can't wait til the summer series of shows re operetta, etc. goes up.

Milla

[Craig]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 1:02pm

Milla

I think that the price is a GREAT deal as well. Let's hope they don't raise it! lol

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 11:45pm

So, I sucked it up and bought a ticket. It was great!

Some highlights for me:

Liz Callaway was phenomenal. I'd never seen or heard her before, but she's got a real way with lyrics, not to mention a beautiful voice. I couldn't keep my eyes off her while she was singing. She was a crowd favorite.

Devin Richards sang a song, I don't remember which, and I don't think it's in the playbill, "unplugged" in honor of the year that Broadway "plugged in"- 1964. (It was Carol Channing's fault, apparently.) He brought the house down with that. AMAZING projection.

Sarah Uriarte Berry sang a really cute song about elbows, also not in the program, that I really liked. Can anyone remember the name and the show?

Beth Leavel sang a gorgeous rendition of the cut song from "Funny Girl", "Funny Girl".

Stephanie J. Block was fantastic. She was my favorite part of the show. (I'm going to include lots of details for Popular and other SJB fans .)She sang her first song perched atop the piano. I'm sorry, I forget the name of the song. Then she sang You are Woman, I am Man, from Funny Girl, which was sort of staged around a piano bench. She and Beth Leavel sang the cut song "There's Always a Woman" from "Anyone Can Whistle", in which they came out in almost matching dresses and had a little love/hate relationship feud thing. It was cute. She ended the show (except for the final group number) with "Don't Rain on My Parade", which was phenomenal. She brought down the house. Lots of "Bravo!"s after that one. While waiting at the stage door (she didn't come out, unfortunately), there were some older women waiting for her as well, RAVING about her. "They have found the next Fanny Brice", they said. "She was incredible." Something along those lines. She wore three beautiful dresses, for anyone who cares.

Everyone was fantastic, but the above were the highlights for me. I learned a lot about the year 1964, both about Broadway and off. I'm really glad I decided to go. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

Updated On: 6/18/07 at 11:45 PM

[Popular]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 11:50pm

Thanks, Elphie! Sounds like a fun night :)

I love going to these types of things because I'm always introduced to someone new. See - and now you know Liz Callaway!

Do you know what show the 1st song Steph sang was from?

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 6/18/07 at 11:59pm

Arg, I'm really not sure, because I forgot to encode the name of the song in my memory. The program they gave us is not at ALL the same as what was performed, lots of cuts, and some additions, so I really couldn't say. My best guess from what I have in front of me is "Anyone Can Whistle", but I'm not sure. I know it's not three of the songs they did from that show, but it *could* be one of the other two. Sorry, that's not helpful at all. But it was a very pretty song.

Also, Scott Siegel told a little story about her: How in 2002, there was a blizzard or something during BBTY, and Stephanie was supposed to perform, but she lived in New Jersey, so they thought she wouldn't make it. However, she did make it, and he was so glad. He called her "The Ice Queen" for that (tribute to PQ).

[stella985]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 9:16am

The song that Stephanie sang on the piano was called "You'd Better Love Me" and it's from a show called "High Spirits." I thought it was REALLY good- glad to know I'm not alone in that :)

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 9:21am

"Liz Callaway was phenomenal. I'd never seen or heard her before, but she's got a real way with lyrics, not to mention a beautiful voice. I couldn't keep my eyes off her while she was singing. She was a crowd favorite."

I saw Liz Callaway perform with the Boston Pops. She really enjoys the 60s - her concert segment was all 60s songs. She sang a song from Hair as well as "The Beat Goes On" and a few other songs I cannot remember.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 9:24am

Thanks for the reviews! I really wanted to go, but I also had already made reservations for Tom Kitt (which was also fabulous).

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 11:30am

Wait, so they *did* perform a song from High Spirits? Why do I not remember Scott Seigel mentioning anything about the show or the writers, as he did for the others? That's wierd. But thanks!

[stella985]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 11:35am

Yeah, they did, but I think you're right and he didn't say much about the show just how a lot of people had done covers of this one song.

[Popular]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 11:37am

ELphie, here is what someone else who went told me...

To Life - Fiddler
You'd Better Love Me - High Spirits
You are Woman, I am Man - Funny Girl (was it with Greg Edelman?)
There's Always a Woman - Anyone Can Whistle (with Beth Leavel)
Don't Rain on My Parade - Funny Girl
Keep the Home Fires Burning - Oh, What a Lovely War (featuring Liz Calloway)

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 11:46am

I think it was Greg Edelman. I'm pretty sure.
To Life and Keep the Home Fires Burning were ensemble numbers.

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 12:21pm

I agree with everyone. SO many highlights. The evening was fantastic.

For those newfound Liz Callaway lovers out there, check out her CDs! They are among the best recordings I own. I LOVE The Beat Goes On, The Story Goes On, her Frank Loesser album... She is WONDROUS.

SJB singing Don't Rain on My Parade was mindblowing. What a great concert! I did wish they'd included more from Fade Out- Fade In. Anyone know if they did in the first edition of Bway Musicals of 1964? I would've loved to hear Block take on "Lila Tremaine" or "Go Home Train" or even "The Usher in the Mezzanine".

[Popular]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 6:14pm

In case some people haven't heard it before...
Don't Rain On My Parade