Previews: 1962 ON STAGE AND SCREEN at The Musical Theater Project

The Musical Theatre Project was formed about 25 years ago with the mission of preserving and honoring 20th-century American musical theater in songs, stories and social history through local live performances and in national radio broadcasts, online discussions and recordings. 

The organization’s next live program, 1962 ON STAGE AND SCREEN, is to be presented at 3:00 pm on Sunday, November 10, 2024, at Wiley Auditorium, 2181 Miramar Blvd in University Heights. 

It will feature selections from Stephen Sondheim’s A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, a musical farce which tells the tale of Ancient Rome in which Pseudolus, a slave, schemes to win his freedom by helping his young master Hero win a beautiful courtesan.   Songs of the delightful show include “Lovely, ““Everybody Ought to Have a Maid” and “Comedy Tonight.”

Another musical of 1962 featured in the program is Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse’s STOP THE WORLD—I WANT TO GET OFF, which places the spotlight on the much-put-upon Littlechap.  Each time something unsatisfactory happens in his life, he calls out "Stop the World!."  It features the classic song, “"What Kind of Fool Am I?" which won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

NO STRINGS is a Richard Rodgers and Samuel Taylor's romantic musical which broke new ground as the first Broadway musical to depict an interracial love story.  It centers on a successful Black American fashion model who, while in Paris, meets and falls in love with a Pulitzer Prize-winning white American writer.   The Broadway production starred Diahann Carroll and Richard Kiley and featured such songs as “The Sweetest Sounds” and the classic, “No Strings.”

THE MUSIC MAN, with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, concerns con-man Harold Hill, who sells band instruments and uniforms to naïve Midwestern townsfolk, promising to train the members of the new band. Prim librarian and piano teacher Marian sees through him, but when Harold helps her younger brother overcome his lisp and social awkwardness, Marian begins to fall in love with him.  He risks being caught to win her heart.  The libretto includes “Goodnight My Someone,” “Seventy-Six Trombones,” and “Till There Was You.”

GYPSY is a musical fable with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.  It is loosely based on the memoirs of strip tease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, and focuses on her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business mother.”

The musical contains many songs that became popular standards, including "Everything's Coming Up Roses," "Small World," "Together (Wherever We Go)", "You Gotta Get a Gimmick", and "Let Me Entertain You."  It is frequently considered one of the crowning achievements of the mid-twentieth century's conventional musical theatre art form.

The program will be co-hosted by Founding Artistic Director Bill Rudman and Nancy Maier and features Eric Fancher and Cindy Smith.

For tickets go to:  https://shop.musicaltheaterproject.org/products/1962-on-stage-and-screen

Next up:  A CHRISTMAS CABARET

From beloved Yuletide standards such as “Winter Wonderland,” “Let It Snow” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” to forgotten gems like Irving Berlin’s 106-year-old salute to Santa Claus that only The Musical Theater Project could dig up, every generation will be singing along with this joyous, warm celebration! Get in the spirit of the season as outstanding vocalists perform tributes to Rudolph, Frosty and that mean Mr. Grinch. With Founding Artistic Director, Bill Rudman, providing engaging and insightful commentary interspersed throughout.

December 13 & 14, 2024. Friday, December 13 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, December 14 at 2 pm, $20 per person.   Lorain County Community College, Stocker Arts Center, Cirigliano Studio Theatre, 1005 N. Abbe Road, Elyria, OH.

December 15, 16 and 17 at the Cleveland Skating Club there will be diner and a show for $95 per person. Dinner @ 7, show at 8.  For information and reservations go to:  https://musicaltheaterproject.org/a-christmas-cabaret-at-cleveland-skating-club/

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