Monday, January 26, 2009
Contact: Van Ackerman, Director of Marketing & PR (513) 977-4108 /vackerman@cincinnatiarts.org
FEATURES FIVE DAZZLING BROADWAY STARS
Cast includes Cincinnati natives and friends of the Cincinnati Zoo
Sing on stage at the AronoffCenter with these Broadway Stars
by submitting your online audition
CALENDAR INFORMATION
WHAT:Neil Berg’s 100 Years of Broadway
WHEN:Friday, February 20, 2009 • 8:00 PM
WHERE:AronoffCenter for the Arts – Procter & Gamble Hall
PRICES:$45.00 • $35.00 • $25.00
INFO:Direct from the Big Apple, 100 Years of Broadway features a dazzling cast of five Broadway stars – Cincinnati natives Ron Bohmer and Carter Calvert, plus Rob Evan, Rita Harvey, and Brad Little – accompanied by an all-star New York band. This acclaimed musical revue recreates the greatest moments from the finest Broadway shows of the century, featuring the actual stars of musicals such as The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, CATS, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Jekyll & Hyde. These amazing performers light up the stage with songs from the Broadway classics and the latest hit shows in which they’ve starred.
CINCINNATI, OH – Curtain up!Light the lights!! Neil Berg’s widely acclaimed 100 Years of Broadway – a musical revue of Broadway’s most celebrated shows that features a dazzling cast of five Broadway stars accompanied by an all-star New York band – is coming to the Aronoff Center’s Procter & Gamble Hall on Friday, February 20 at 8:00 PM.
Tickets are now on sale at www.CincinnatiArts.ORG , (513) 621-ARTS [2787], or the Aronoff Center Ticket Office. Group discounts are available by calling (513) 977-4157.
100 Years of Broadway recreates the greatest moments from the finest shows of the century, featuring the actual stars of shows such as The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, CATS, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Jekyll & Hyde. These amazing performers light up the stage with songs from the hit shows in which they starred. Neil Berg presents brilliantly revived arrangements of Broadway classics as well as thrilling numbers from Broadway’s newest hit shows.
Past productions of this popular show have featured Betty Buckley, Liz Callaway, Ben Vereen, and Alex Santoriello, among others. Along with musical director and pianist Neil Berg, the Aronoff Center performance will feature Ron Bohmer(The Phantom of the Opera, The Scarlet Pimpernel), Carter Calvert (It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues), Rob Evan (Jekyll & Hyde), Rita Harvey (The Phantom of the Opera, Fiddler on the Roof), and Brad Little (The Phantom of the Opera).[Cast is subject to change based upon possible Broadway and touring developments.]
The AronoffCenter cast includes a few Cincinnati connections. Ron Bohmer and Carter Calvert both grew up in Cincinnati (Ron was born here; Carter moved here at the age of nine), and both are proud graduates of the School for Creative and Performing Arts, where they majored in musical theater.
In 1997, Brad Little co-created and starred in Angels of Music – a popular fundraising event for the Cincinnati Zoo’s Angel Fund, which is dedicated to saving the endangered Cheetah.The fundraiser has been held five times since 1997 and has raised more than a quarter of a million dollars.Brad’s friend and fellow Phantom, Ron Bohmer, has performed in four of these events, and Neil Berg has been the event’s musical director.Ron, Carter, and Brad have performed on Cincinnati stages (including the AronoffCenter and the Playhouse in the Park) numerous times.
NEIL BERG is the composer/lyricist of the hit off-Broadway musical The Prince and the Pauper, which ran for two years at the Lamb’s Theater in New York City. The New York Times described it as “...soaring on the wings of theatrical fun.” Berg is currently writing the music for the Broadway bound musical Grumpy Old Men, based on the hit film. Two of Berg’s new musicals have been selected for the prestigious New York Musical Theater Festival: The Man Who Would Be King, a musical realization of Rudyard Kipling’s novella, and Tim and Scrooge, the sequel to A Christmas Carol.
RON BOHMER is a Cincinnati native and graduate of Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts. He has starred on Broadway and national tour as some of the musical theatre’s most memorable heroes and villains – the Phantom in The Phantom Of TheOpera, Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard(Jefferson Award nomination), the swashbuckling heroThe Scarlet Pimpernel (National Broadway Theatre Award nomination), Alex in Aspects Of Love(L.A. Robby award), the evil Sir Percival Glyde in The Woman in White, Enjolras in Les Miserables, and Fyedka in Fiddler on the Roof.Ron most recently created the role of Coach Bolton for the world stage premiere of Disney’s High School Musical.
CARTER CALVERT grew up in Cincinnati since the age of nine, and is a graduate of Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts. New York credits include starring roles in the original Tony Award-nominated Broadway production and National Tour of It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues (as well as the Original Broadway Cast Album), Forbidden Broadway, and The Thing About Men. Ms. Calvert toured Europe in Smokey Joe's Café, played Grizabella in the national tour of Cats, and appeared as the title role in Always, Patsy Cline.
ROB EVAN starred in the original Broadway cast of Jekyll & Hyde, playing the title roles for three years and over 600 performances. He regularly stars around the world in the all-new Jekyll & Hyde: The
Concert, and enjoyed a 16-performance run of the show in Seoul at South Korea's Olympic Hall last
spring. Other Broadway credits include Kerchak in Disney's Tarzan, Jean Valjean in Les Miserables (he was chosen to lead the critically-acclaimed National Tour to its history-making stop on Broadway), the sadistic Orin Scrivello D.D.S. in Little Shop of Horrors, and Count von Krolock in Jim Steinman's Dance of the Vampires. As a vocalist and recording artist, Rob is a member of the platinum-selling rock band, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and has played in arenas across the country for up to 20,000 people.
RITA HARVEYRita’s Broadway roles include all three daughters (Fredel, Tzeitel, and Hodel) in the Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof starring Rosie O'Donnell and Harvey Fierstien, and Christine Daee (her Broadway debut) in The Phantom of the Opera, after two years performing the role with the second national tour. Regional and stock productions include Laurey in Oklahoma! and Johanna in Sweeney Todd (both at Marriott's Lincolnshire Theater), Julie Jordan in Carousel, Christine in Maury Yeston's Phantom, Amalia in She Loves Me, Fiona in Brigadoon, Ann Collier in 1940's Radio Hour, and Katrin in I Remember Mama.Operatic roles include Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Rose in Street Scene, Laurie in The Tender Land, Marcelline in Fidelio, and Monica in The Medium.
BRAD LITTLE has played the role of the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera more than 2,000 times in theaters across America, on Broadway, and in Asia since 1997. Before playing the Phantom, he was performing on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre in the role of Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera. His other Broadway and National Tour credits include Captain De Castel Jaloux in Cyrano, the Musical; Fiddler on the Roof with Topol; and the LincolnCenter production of Anything Goes, directed by Jerry Zaks, in which he understudied and played the role of Billy Crocker opposite Leslie Uggams. Brad won international acclaim for his portrayal of Jesus in the European Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, and Tony in West Side Story.
SINGING WITH THE BROADWAY STARS
How would you like to have the opportunity to win a chance to sing with five Broadway Stars in front of family and friends?Well, here’s that chance of a lifetime! The five Broadway stars are giving away the chance to join them on stage in Neil Berg’s 100 Years of Broadway. You can win the opportunity to sing on-stage in this all-star Broadway concert AND win a pair of tickets for family and friends.
To enter the online auditions, you need to upload a 90-120 second video of yourself singing a Broadway show tune to YouTube, MySpace, or Facebook. Then a panel of industry professionals will choose a winner and up to four runners-up to participate in the show.Runners-up will sing one chorus number with the five stars, and the winning entry will get to sing a solo part in the show finale.
All runners-up and winners will receive a pair of tickets, a free CD of the show and the opportunity to perform with five of the finest voices on Broadway, stars of such hit shows as Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Jekyll and Hyde, Fiddler on the Roof, and many more.
To submit an audition:
1)Entrants must be 15 years or older.
2)No purchase is necessary.
3)Entrants must be available to be at the AronoffCenter by 5:00 PM on the day of the performance for sound check and rehearsal.
4)There is an automatic 15% discount on tickets to the show for all entrants.
The deadline for submitting audition videos is Friday, February 6 at 5:00 PM (EST).The panel will announce the winners on Monday, February 9. Winners will receive notification by email or phone.
Additional Praise for Neil Berg’s 100 Years of Broadway
“The Great White Way stretched all the way to Bass Performance Hall Wednesday night via Neil Berg’s 100 Years of Broadway – a breezy, sprawling revue that romped gleefully through the American musical theater’s greatest hits. Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Frank Loesser and (reflecting recent trends on Broadway) Billy Joel and Frankie Valli among many others, all got the nod. The three men and two women carrying the vocal load boasted impressive musical stage credentials, and the all lived up to their bios.
– Punch Shaw, Ft.Worth Star-Telegram
100 Years of Broadway is two-and-a-half hours of fun! Whenever Neil Berg is putting on his 100 years of Broadway within a two-hour radius – I’m there! Neil puts on these hit-filled concerts featuring a bevy of Broadway performers singing some of the theater’s most well known tunes. It brought down the house, and it doesn’t get much better than that.” – Robert Diamond, Broadwayworld.com
Cincinnati Arts Association 2008-09 SEASON SPONSORS
2008-09 Season Sponsors:The Union Central Life Insurance Company (Founding Season Sponsor), Cadillac (Official Vehicle), Duke Energy, The P&G Fund ofThe Greater Cincinnati Foundation, LOCAL 12 WKRC, Fifth Third Bank (Lifetime Endowment Partner)
2008-09 PRESENTING SPONSORS:CityBeat, The Cincinnatian Hotel, Premier Pianos, Natorp’s
