Broadway’s Golden Age comes to life in a fabulous tribute to the legendary Rodgers and Hammerstein, as A Grand Night for Singing plays in Stamford beginning April 8.
Many of the most beloved, uplifting, and romantic songs in musical theatre history have one thing in common: the incomparable writing team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Curtain Call’s production playing in The Kweskin Theatre features thirty-two of Broadway’s greatest songs written by this enduring partnership. A Grand Night for Singing is a celebration of both the hits and hidden gems — showing off Rodgers’s exquisite melodies and Hammerstein’s evocative lyrics that celebrate the humanity that binds us together – all with a modern twist!
“I grew up with the albums of R&H shows spinning on our record player, so these songs are all so very familiar to me – almost like comfort food,” said Curtain Call executive director and producer for this show. “When covid protocols forced us to cancel the previously announced, large-cast production of The Wizard of Oz – which also features dozens of young performers – I turned immediately to this Tony nominated musical,” Ursone added.
Featuring favorites from Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I and more, audiences will experience these classics anew through artful arrangements and clever interpretations – it’s “something wonderful” for any lover of classic musical theatre! Walter Bobbie, who created this wonderful combination of musical theatre gems, selected classic loves songs and comedy numbers and put a clever twist on them, one of which features a man singing “Maria” from The Sound of Music, rather than a group of nuns as presented in the show.
“I was very fortunate that I was able to keep the artistic team in place as we switched gears and changed the opening night – all of them long-time members of the Curtain Call family,” Ursone noted. That team includes Jeffrey Bianco as director, Benjamin McCormack as music director, and Kelly Nayden as choreographer. Lighting design is by Peter Petrino and stage management is by Jan Ursone with Katie Imholt and Beth Jackson. The cast of five includes Jenna Colavito, Meaghan Elliot, Duane Lanham, Zully Ramos and Mark Silence.
Performances will be held Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00pm and Sunday afternoons at 2:00PM, from April 8 to 23. There is one Thursday evening performance at 8:00pm April 14. (No show Easter Sunday, April 17.)
The Kweskin Theatre is located at The Sterling Farms Theatre Complex, 1349 Newfield Avenue, Stamford, CT. Doors open one half hour before show time. Tickets are $35 for adults, $25 for senior citizens and $20 for children under 21. (Discounted Flex Pass subscriptions offer savings of 25% and more.) Box Office: 203-461-6358 or on the web at www.curtaincallinc.com.
A Grand Night for Singing is produced in cooperation with The City of Stamford with support from the CT Office of the Arts and funding from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. The show is sponsored by Britta & Denis J. Nayden Charitable Foundation Ltd. It is produced through special arrangement with Concord Theatricals, NY, NY. Tuxedos are provided by Zemo Men’s Store, Stamford.
Curtain Call was voted Fairfield County’s BEST LOCAL THEATRE GROUP ten years running in the Annual Readers’ Poll of the Fairfield County Weekly and has received similar BEST OF awards from Stamford Plus magazine and Stamford Magazine for 2008 through 2022. Curtain Call received The Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2011 and the ACE Award for Excellence in Arts & Culture from the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County in 2016.
