The 24th season of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops will conclude in May with an all-star "Broadway Showstoppers" concert.
Those scheduled to take part in the Broadway celebration on May 16 (8 PM), May 17 (2 PM) and May 18 (3 PM) include Alice Ripley, Liz Callaway, John Barrowman and Ron Raines. The concerts will feature the tunes of the Gershwins and Andrew Lloyd Webber from such musicals as The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Strike Up the Band and Evita.
Alice Ripley earned a Tony nomination for her performance as conjoined twin Violet Hilton in the musical Side Show. She has also appeared on Broadway in The Rocky Horror Show, James Joyce's The Dead, Sunset Boulevard, The Who's Tommy, Les Misérables and in the City Center Encores! production of Li'l Abner as well as the concert run of King David. She recently portrayed Amy in the Kennedy Center mounting of Company, and she will return to the Center's Eisenhower Theatre in December to headline a production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Song & Dance. Ripley has also been offered the role of Audrey in the upcoming Broadway mounting of Little Shop of Horrors.
Liz Callaway made her Broadway debut in the original cast of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along, and she also took part in the recent anniversary concert of that musical. For her work in the short-lived musical Baby, she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, and her other Broadway credits include The Three Musketeers, Miss Saigon and Cats. With her sister Ann Hampton Callaway, she created "Sibling Revelry," an acclaimed cabaret act that the duo continue to showcase around the country.
John Barrowman portrayed Bobby in this summer's production of Stephen Sondheim's Company at the Kennedy Center. He starred on Broadway in the Sondheim revue Putting It Together and also made a guest appearance in the New York company of Sunset Boulevard, repeating his London role as Joe Gillis. Barrowman's other London theatrical credits include Grease!, Anything Goes (he will repeat his role in the upcoming National Theatre production of Anything Goes), The Phantom of the Opera, The Fix, Miss Saigon and Beauty and the Beast. He also starred on two U.S. television programs, "Central Park West" and "Titans." Currently appearing as Alan Spaulding in the CBS daytime drama "Guiding Light," Ron Raines' many stage roles include the Broadway and/or national tours of Chicago, Teddy & Alice, Show Boat, The Unsinkable Molly Brown and Can Can. Opera patrons have seen his work in Die Fledermaus as well as opposite Dame Cleo Laine in Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music. Raines has also performed with symphony orchestras throughout the country, and his solo recording is entitled "Ron Raines: Broadway Passion."
Tickets for the "Broadway Showstoppers" concerts range from $19 to $80 and may be purchased by calling (215) 546-6400. The concerts will be held in the Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which is located on Broad and Spruce Streets in Philadelphia, PA. For more information, go to www.phillypops.com.
—By Andrew Gans
