NJPAC in Newark will be one of the partners in bringing the “Broadway by the Year” series — which has been presented at Town Hall in New York for the last 20 years — to a national audience via a virtual series, in late April and May.
The idea of the series always has been to celebrate songs that debuted on Broadway in one specific year, and share stories and facts about the musicals they come from. The virtual shows, though, won’t be devoted to individual years, but to individual songwriters and songwriting teams.
Each episode will feature about 10 songs, performed in the artists’ home, with — continuing a “Broadway by the Year” tradition — at least one additional dance number starring and choreographed by Danny Gardner. Scott Siegel will write and host the episodes, with direction and video editing by J.T. Doran. Each show will begin streaming at 7 p.m. and remain on the Town Hall website for 72 hours.
Here are the three episodes:
April 26: “The Cole Porter Years” with numbers from shows such as “Anything Goes,” “The Gay Divorce,” “Paris” and “Kiss Me, Kate,” performed by Alexander Gemignani, Lilli Cooper, Kenita Miller, Danny Gardner, Nicole Henry and Emily Larger.
May 10: “The Kander & Ebb Years” with numbers from shows such as “Chicago,” “Cabaret,” “Flora the Red Menace” and “Kiss of the Spiderwoman,” performed by Beth Leavel, Ute Lemper, Tony Yazbeck, Natascia Diaz and Danny Gardner.
May 24: “The Andrew Lloyd Webber Years” with numbers from shows such as “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” “Cats,” “Sunset Boulevard” and “The Phantom of the Opera,” performed by Max Von Essen, Liz Callaway, Ali Ewoldt, Ethan Slater, Danny Gardner and Emily Larger.
Joining Town Hall and NJPAC as presenting partners in the series are The Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia; The Palace Theatre in Stamford, Conn.; and The Playhouse on Rodney Square in Wilmington, Del.
Visit thetownhall.org.
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