Carly Honfi to Join California Pops Orchestra for MAGICAL BROADWAY HITS

California Pops Orchestra, the country's only all-request pops orchestra, begins the new year with "Magical Broadway Hits" at Cupertino's Flint Center, featuring guest vocalist Carly Honfi.

Part of the Pops' 28th season, "Magical Broadway Hits" performs one time only on Sunday, February 12, 2017, at 3 p.m. For tickets ($20-$55, standard ticket service fees apply), the public can visit www.ticketmaster.com or call (650) 856-8432.

Decades of Broadway hits are brought to life: everything from surreys with fringes to phantoms with operas! The Pops delivers an afternoon full of Tony Award-winning, spotlight-stealing songs and Broadway musical stylings of Rodgers & Hammerstein, Rodgers & Hart, Jerome Kern, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and more!

"Magical Broadway Hits" will include such beloved tunes as "In the Still of the Night," "Some Enchanted Evening," "Sunrise, Sunset," "Phantom of the Opera," "Night and Day," and "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" as well as many other stage gems like "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," "There is Nothing Like a Dame," and an entire medley from "Wicked."

Singer and Sunnyvale resident Carly Honfi first performed with California Pops Orchestra in 2013, and has been a favorite of Pops audiences since then, singing not only Broadway and musical hits but holiday songs as well. She's also been seen locally with South Bay Musical Theatre in "Jerry's Girls" and as the lead character of Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl," as well as singing in their annual musical showcase, Broadway by the Decade, for the past several years. She was also seen in "Snoopy, the Musical" at Sunnyvale Theatre and in "Three Little Words" at San Pedro Square.

Musical theater has been touching hearts for hundreds of years - whether it's the lighthearted melodies of "Oklahoma!" or the soul-stirring choruses of "Les Miserables," the classic "Guys and Dolls" or the latest Broadway sensation "Hamilton," musical theater has the ability to linger in people's consciousness long after the curtain goes down. Among performers, it's often said that songs occur in a musical when the emotion of the characters becomes too large to be expressed in mere speech, and the emotive power of many of our favorite Broadway songs is what makes them near and dear to our hearts.

Although recent musicals have benefitted from well-known pop icon composers such as Cyndi Lauper and Elton John, revivals of more traditional musicals from the 30s, 40s, and 50s hit Broadway each season and continue to draw audiences. Some of the longest-running Broadway musicals include: Mary Poppins, Hairspray, My Fair Lady, Hello Dolly, Fiddler on the Roof, Grease, 42nd Street, Miss Saigon, Jersey Boys, Rent, Wicked, Beauty and the Beast, Mamma Mia, Oh Calcutta, A Chorus Line, Les Miserables, Cats, The Lion King, Chicago, and Phantom of the Opera.

California Pops Orchestra has spent nearly three decades proving that orchestral performances by highly trained and talented musicians do not have to be stuffy affairs! The Pops includes many of the Bay Area's leading musicians with training from very distinguished conservatories including Oberlin, Julliard, and the Eastman School of Music. The Pops also draws from talented musicians who also happen to be scientists, educators, engineers, marketers, technology leaders, and other highly creative individuals. This diversity in background plus a single-minded purpose makes the Pops a delight to play with and a never-ending source of ideas, inspiration, and humor. California Pops Orchestra's musicians and featured guests bring fun, family-friendly shows to the live stage with selections from the full range of the popular music repertoire. Every one of the Pops performers loves the music of Broadway musicals, television, Hollywood movies, jazz, pop, comic novelties, and big band. This popular music is often scored for a unique set of instruments found in movie and recording studios but not in classical symphony orchestras: so concerts often include flugelhorns, a saxophone section, harmonicas, congas, whips, theramins, accordions, and other colorful instruments. For more information, visit www.calpops.org.

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