Segerstrom shows pay tribute to legendary Broadway composer Jerry Herman
“Before the Parade Passes By,” “It’s Today,” “If He Walked Into My Life.”
They’re all show tunes by Broadway composer Jerry Herman that stage and film personalities have belted out for more than five decades.
For three nights, theater lovers can celebrate the Tony Award-winning composer of words and music for Broadway classics “Hello, Dolly!” “Mame,” “La Cage aux Folles” and “Mack & Mabel” during “Jerry Herman: The Broadway Legacy Concert,” set for Thursday through Saturday at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa.
Six singers will take the stage to perform many of Herman’s beloved musical numbers.
The cast conducts master classes with a local school, college or university before the concert, focusing on Herman’s songs. From those classes, two students are chosen to participate in the concert each evening.
The students selected for the Segerstrom Center shows are Cailen Fu of UC Irvine and Allison Parker of Cal State Fullerton.
The performances are part of an effort by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Foundation to introduce classic musicals to a new generation of theater enthusiasts and performers.
The six professional singers are Karen Morrow, Debbie Gravitte, Scott Coulter, John Boswell, Jason Graae and Ron Raines.
Gravitte, a 1989 Tony Award winner for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for “Jerome Robbins’ Broadway,” first met Herman in London when she performed in “Mack & Mabel.”
She called Herman a “musical theater master” and said she hopes audiences understand how important his music is in the world.
“His music is just full of joy,” the Los Angeles-born Gravitte said from Connecticut during a break in the tour. “He has a simple way of wrapping you around his melodies, and they are infectious and wonderful.”
Coulter, a New York vocalist who has won several awards for his work in cabaret, said he first heard Herman’s work when his grandmother played the “Hello, Dolly!” album.
“They’re all songs about joy, either finding it, seizing it or looking for it,” Coulter said. “It’s about taking that chance and celebrating today with all these positive affirmations.”
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IF YOU GO
What: “Jerry Herman: The Broadway Legacy Concert”
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday
Where: Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
Cost: Tickets start at $79
Information: scfta.org or (714) 556-2787
Twitter: @KathleenLuppi
