Inside Broadway, the educational theatre company targeting families and children, is celebrating the music of Richard Rodgers in a new show, Richard Rodgers' Broadway!, as part of a weekend series at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in Greenwich Village.
A troupe of Equity performers will sing famed Rodgers songs beginning Nov. 30, in celebration of the 100th anniversary year of the late composer's birth. For many children, the show will mark the first time they hear classic show tunes from Babes in Arms, Oklahoma!, The King and I, Carousel, Cinderella and more.
Richard Rodgers' Broadway! continues weekends to Dec. 15, playing 9:15 AM and 10:45 AM Saturdays and Sundays. The 50-minute revue includes songs Rodgers wrote with lyricists Oscar Hammerstein II and Lorenz Hart. Expect to hear "The Sweetest Sounds," "Johnny One Note," "Whistle a Happy Tune," "Do-Re-Mi" and more.
The show is presented by special arrangement with the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization and the Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation. The latter is committed to offering not-for-profit theatres a haven to present, at the historic Lortel Theatre on Christopher Street.
Marlo Hunter directs and choreographs Richard Rodgers' Broadway!, with musical arrangements by Daniel Harris. The cast includes Dean Nigro, Christopher Sloan, Joy Suprano and Suzannah Taylor. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased through Tele-charge at (212) 239-6200, or at the Lortel, 121 Christopher Street, 45 minutes before curtain. Visit www.insidebroadway.org.
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The 9:15 AM Dec. 1 performance is a pay-what-you-can show. Admission for that performance is only available 45 minutes before curtain.
In spring 2003, Inside Broadway will offer a special 50 minute cutting of the popular revue, Smokey Joe's Cafe on weekends, March 29-April 13, at the Lortel.
Inside Broadway was founded in 1982 by executive director Michael Presser at the invitation of Bernard B. Jacobs, the late president of The Shubert Organization, Inc., as an effort to establish a student ticket program for Cats. Inside Broadway now bills itself as one of the largest producers of theatre for young audiences in New York City.
The company presents workshops, touring performances and seminars for 50,000 students, children and families in the city. Last season, 100 performances of Sophisticated Ladies and an Irving Berlin show, Land That I Love, were staged.
— By Kenneth Jones
