One of the most exciting and technically challenging productions ever attempted by BCP is on the horizon! The X-Team (Amelia Stroup, Susie Brymer and Lane Suarez) have assembled a massive cast and team of production staff of over 50 people to bring Boquete theater lovers the BROADWAY REVUE on September 2, 3 & 4 at the BCP Theater & Events Center. The stage will not only be alive with non-stop entertainment, but creative and exciting Pre-Play events are planned for all three nights.
Here is just a taste of what you’ll be seeing (and hearing)!
Annie Get Your Gun
This fictionalized version of the life of wild west sharp shooter Annie Oakley was written especially for Ethel Merman and opened at the Imperial Theater in 1946. The New York production ran for 1,147 performances and was the biggest hit of Merman’s career. A movie version starring Betty Hutton as Annie, with Howard Keel as her leading man, screened in 1950, taking Annie Get Your Gun to a massive audience that today can still sing the rousing songs from the hit musical film. In 1999 the play was revived, with Bernadette Peters in the starring role. Sandi Stephens stars as Annie Oakley and Tom Werder plays Frank….her leading man.
Annie
Popular comic strip Little Orphan Annie is the foundation of the broadway musical, with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin. This crowd pleaser ran for nearly six years on Broadway, setting a record for the Alvin Theater (now the Neil Simon Theater), and spawned many versions performed in several countries as well as national tours. Annie won the Tony Award for Best Musical, and it will return to Broadway in 2012. Ana Elisa will star as Annie, singing You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Song and the award winning favorite, Tomorrow.
A Chorus Line
This wildly popular musical opened in 1975 on Broadway at the Shubert Theater and ran for 6,137 performances, holding the record as the longest running musical in history, for many years. While all shows are a collaboration, A Chorus Line particularly owed its success to its true creator, Michael Bennett, who was the most dominate director-choreographer to ever stage a show. He knew that it would have commercial audience appeal, and he wanted the show to spotlight the life of chorus dancers (“gypsies” in theatrical terms)….he wanted to honor a dancer’s life and this he did with flair and originality! Boquete favorite, Dana Applegate will perform Hope I Get It and Dance 10, Look 3.
Phantom Of The Opera
Everybody loves Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical version of The Phantom Of The Opera, which holds the prestigious record as the most successful piece of entertainment of all time, produced in any media. Stage plays, movies and millions of copies of the amazing score have been enjoyed by people the world over for many years. Phantom opened at Her Majesty’s Theater in London, England on September 27, 1986, and is in its 24th year on the same stage. In January of 1988 Phantom opened at the Majestic Theater in New York City. It is the longest running show in theater history and is the only Broadway production to ever reach its 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st and this January, it’s 22nd birthday on Broadway. It is estimated that Phantom has been seen by more than 100 million people in 149 cities in 25 countries, in no fewer than 14 different languages, around the world. BCP will thrill to Bob Moyle singing the wildly popular Music Of The Night and Shawn Pope will perform Believe In Me, and Rachel & Katherine Olsen will perform Angels of Music.
Chicago
Prohibition era Chicago is the setting for this Bob Fosse choreographed hit that first appeared on Broadway in 1975, and ran for 936 performances. Based on actual criminals and crimes of this historic era, the play was revived in 1996 and holds the record for the longest running musical revival on Broadway. in 2002, Hollywood released the film version, which received numerous Academy Awards, and starred Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere and Queen Latifah. Our stage will present Lane Suarez & Dana Applegate performing All That Jazz and Nowadays. The show’s hit song Cell Block Tango, is directed by BCP’s Membership Manager Erin Ross, has a huge cast, featuring Leara Clausing, Yella Werder and Sandi Stephens.
Saturday Night Fever
Who can forget John Travolta’s heart stopping dance in his snow white three piece suit and black open collared shirt? This musical featured songs by The Bee Gees that keeps people on their feet even today, 23 years after it appeared on screen. Inspired and adapted by many, based on a book by Nan Knighton, and New York Magazine’s 1975 article “Tribal Rights of the New Saturday Night” by Nik Cohn, Norman Wexler’s 1977 screenplay focuses on Tony Manero, a Brooklyn youth whose weekend is spent at the local Disco. He’s admirerd by the crowd and adored by Stephanie Mangano, his dance partner. On Saturday Night Tony can forget his dead-end job at the paint store and his gang of dead-beat friends to become King….of the Disco! Directed by Arlene Phillips, the stage adaptation premiered at West End’s London Palladium in 1998. The award winning musical was supported by a cast album released by Polydor Records. The BCP stage proudly presents Calixto Moreno as Tony and features Mary & Vern Lloyd in a solo disco dance.
Funny Girl
Funny Girl holds its place in the hearts of millions, with a tremendous musical component. Based on a book by Isobel Lennert with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Bob Merrill, the semi-biographical plot is set in and around New York City just prior to and following WWI. It follows the life of Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice, who is awaiting the return of her husband, Nick Arnstein, from prison. The story is told as a flashback and reflects on their life together. Its original title was My Man. The musical was produced by Ray Stark, who was Brice’s son-in-law via his marriage to Brice’s daughter, Frances. The original Broadway production starred Barbra Streisand, and was nominated for 8 Tony Awards. It faced strong competition from Hello, Dolly! starring Carol Channing, so it failed to win in any of the categories for which it was nominated. Yella Werder directs and performs the favorite number from the musical, Don’t Rain On My Parade.
Snoopy!!! The Musical
Based on the Charles Schultz much-loved cartoon character Snoopy, this musical premiered in 1975 in San Francisco and was directed by Arthur Whitelaw. In 1982 it was produced Off-Broadway, and in 1983 in London’s West End Dutchess Theatre. It was revived in 2003 in London and was the basis of a prime-time animated TV special which aired on CBS in 1988. This number is special, because it gives Boquete kids a chance to perform….and perform they do!!! Director of this piece Yella Werder now knows what it’s like to herd cats! You’re gonna love this one!
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