What better way to celebrate New York's 100th anniversary than a musical revue, featuring four Broadway stars singing both contemporary pop and theatrical standards? And what better place to stage the show than at Rainbow & Stars, one of Manhattan's most elegant and famous cabaret venues?
Peter Ligeti's I Love New York starts previews June 2 and features songs exclusively devoted to life in The Big Apple. Composers featured in the show include Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart, George M. Cohan, Dubin & Warren, Jule Styne, Comden & Green, Leonard Bernstein, Peter Allen and Stephen Sondheim.
Starring in ILNY are Bryan Batt (Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back), Lewis Cleale (Once Upon A Mattress, Swinging on a Star), Heather Mac Rae (Falsettos, Falsettoland) and Janet Metz (Once Upon A Mattress, Falsettoland).
Peter Ligeti is the producer -- hence his name in the title. (Spokesperson David Lotz, of the Tony Origlio office, also explained that using Ligeti's name in the title helps head off risks of possible copyright infringements with the marketing song, "I Love New York.") Ligeti does the "Cabaret in Concert" series at the 92nd Street Y, and he's just taken out a lease for the season on Off-Broadway's Kaufman Theatre. There he'll produce a new cabaret series, Oct. 13-Dec. 13, featuring three stars doing three weeks each. Weslia Whitfield will open the series in Life Upon The Wicked Stage, followed by Steve Ross (Nov. 3-22), followed by an evening with David Shire, featuring Loni Ackerman (Cats; Starting Here, Starting Now).
As for I Love New York, Ray Roderick & James Hindman conceived the piece, which features musical arrangements by John Glaudini and vocal arrangements by Glaudini and Margaret Dorn. Glaudino will also play keyboards, with Paul Lindemeyer dueting on brass and reeds. For reservations ($40 for the show, dinner required at 8:30 PM performances) and information on Peter Ligeti's I Love New York at Rainbow & Stars, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, throughout the summer, call (212) 632-5000.
-- By David Lefkowitz
