New York, New York. It's a helluva town.
The Hollywood Bowl will pay tribute to the great City of New York from Aug. 30 through Sept. 1 with three concerts at the famed theatre in Hollywood, California.
Headlining the evenings of song are former Phantom of the Opera star Davis Gaines, Broadway leading lady Rebecca Luker and singing policeman Daniel Rodriguez. John Mauceri will conduct The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in the evenings celebrating the magic of the Big Apple, and the performances will also feature show-stopping fireworks at the conclusion of each night's concert.
Davis Gaines received the Bay Area Critics' Award for Best Actor for his work as the Phantom in the West Coast production of The Phantom of the Opera, a role he repeated on Broadway. His other theatrical credits include the world premiere of Whistle Down the Wind as well as Encores! The Boys From Syracuse; Hello, Dolly!; Forbidden Broadway and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Gaines has sung with virtually every major symphony orchestra in North America, and his two solo recordings, "Against the Tide" and "All My Tomorrows: Songs of Sammy Cahn," are available on LAP Records.
Rebecca Luker was most recently on The Great White Way in the acclaimed revival of Meredith Willson's The Music Man. She received Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for her role as Marian, the librarian. This summer she will co-star with Judy Kuhn in the Kennedy Center production of Stephen Sondheim's Passion. Luker's other Broadway credits include roles in The Sound of Music, Show Boat, The Secret Garden and The Phantom of the Opera. Daniel Rodriguez first captured the public's attention with his stirring rendition of "God Bless America" shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. A seven-year veteran of the New York Police Department, Rodriguez's debut album is currently available on Manhattan Records. Entitled "Daniel Rodriguez: The Spirit of America," the 12-track recording features such classic tunes as the aforementioned "God Bless America," "Danny Boy," "Ave Maria" and "America, the Beautiful" as well as Broadway's "Shenandoah," "Bring Him Home" and "Into the Fire."
The Hollywood Bowl is located at 2301 Highland Avenue in Hollywood, CA. Tickets for the Bowl's tribute to New York go on sale May 4 at the theatre's box office or through Ticketmaster at (212) 307-4100. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 8:30 PM and Sunday at 7:30 PM.
—By Andrew Gans
