Touring Broadway concert tries to ‘play to their strengths’
Jean Valjean, Roxie Hart and Christine Daaé will all be in one place, for one night.
“100 Years of Broadway,” one of the biggest touring Broadway concerts in the U.S., created by composer and lyricist Neil Berg, will feature Broadway stars Carter Calvert, Sandra Joseph, Ivan Rutherford, Chuck Wagner and Danny Zolli.
“When you deal with such incredible talent and people who are revered and known in the Broadway community for such specific roles,” Berg said, “I always try to play to their strengths.”
And the cast’s strengths are many:
Calvert is best known for originating her role in the Tony-nominated “It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues” on Broadway while Joseph starred as Christine Daaé, the female lead in “The Phantom of the Opera,” and holds the distinction of being “Phantom’s” leading lady on Broadway longer than any other actress.
For his part, Rutherford was nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of Jean Valjean in “Les Misérables” at the first annual National Broadway Theatre Awards.
Wagner’s many leading roles on Broadway include Rapunzel’s Prince in the original Broadway cast of Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods,” and others.
Zolli is known around the world for his monumental number of performances starring as Jesus and Judas in more than 23 productions of “Jesus Christ Superstar” onBroadway and in six national and international tours.
All of their achievements don’t just amount to a long list of accolades. The expertise shows up in the show.
“It’s not just some Broadway singers singing some Broadway show tunes. You know this is the crème de la crème singing their hit songs,” Berg said. “That’s what the audience can expect to hear.”
He also urges students not to miss out on seeing the show, which normally runs from $100-$125 in New York, but is available to students for only $5.
After the show, Berg and the cast will be available in the lobby and he urges students to come speak with them for questions, advice or even just to talk.
“We’d love to spend some time and answer any questions,” Berg said. “And, especially if they’re theater students or music majors — but really this is for anybody.”
The show will feature pieces that will not only connect with Broadway fans, but also people who never considered themselves fans of the theater. In fact, one of Berg’s friends in college played football for the University before going on to become a successful Broadway performer -— so Berg urges everyone, sports fans included, to come out to the show, if only for the talent.
“No matter what you’re into, people respect talent,” he said. “These are the best in the world at what they do. So, I would tell the students who maybe haven’t been to New York or Broadway, or who aren’t real theater lovers that this is not ‘Glee,’ not that we don’t like ‘Glee,’ but this has a lot more depth.”
