SEPTEMBER
19, 2004 --
One
of the good things about New York City is the annual Broadway
on Broadway presentation in Times Square, held this year on September
12.
Broadway on Broadway is put together by Jed Bernstein, president of the
League of American Theaters and Producers. (He
also gives us the annual Broadway Under the Stars concert in Bryant Park,
in June, at the end of the Broadway season.)
This Broadway on Broadway included numbers from two musicals that will
open this season, Brooklyn and Little Women, as well as such standbys as
The Producers, Lion King, Chicago, Hairspray, Beauty and the Beast Rent,
Mamma Mia and Phantom of the Opera.
Others shows represented included Bombay Dreams, Avenue Q, Wicked, Dracula,
and Wonderful Town --soon to star Brooke Shields.
LPR noticed that as the number from Rent was being performed on the Broadway
on Broadway stage, members of the audience were singing along. It would
be neat if a sing- along feature were formally included in the Broadway
Under the Stars concert in June.
2005 marks the 50th anniversaries of Damn Yankees, Silk Stockings, and
Plain and Fancy-- and perhaps the Bryant Park concert might also take note
of Broadway's golden anniversaries.
Looking ahead--2006 will mark the 50th anniversaries of My Fair Lady, The
Most Happy Fella, Li'l Abner, Bells are Ringing and Candide--with 2007
marking the golden anniversaries of West Side Story, New Girl in Town,
Jamaica and The Music Man.
One additional thought -- this for the Tony awards -- let's get outdoor
screens set up for the public to follow the proceedings -- Rockefeller
Center, Central Park or Bryant Park would, any of them, be suitable
venues. Indeed, similar screens might be set up at sites across the country,
as Broadway is, of course, not the sole "property" of New York,
but, rather, a
national asset.
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Three
appreciative Broadway on Broadway aficionados.
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Sutton
Foster, (Hunter's sister), of the forthcoming Little
Women
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The
Broadway on Broadway finale, seen through falling
confetti.
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