FLASH FRIDAY: John Kander Takes Over New York, New York - THE VISIT, ZORBA!, CHICAGO, CABARET, New Musicals & More
By: Pat Cerasaro May. 08, 2015
Today we are celebrating the many recent, current and upcoming productions on Broadway and beyond featuring the music of John Kander.
Out Of The Darkness "New York, New York". "All That Jazz". "Cabaret". "Maybe This Time". "My Coloring Book". "How Lucky Can You Get?". "And The World Goes Round". "Yes". The hits from iconic Broadway and Hollywood composer John Kander's song catalog come fast and furious when looking back at his astonishing 60-plus year career, and, now, at 88, Kander appears to be having one of the most harried and productive periods ever - very likely more than any other composer anywhere, as a matter of fact. The facts of his ubiquity in New York and beyond speak for themselves when looking back at the last several months and taking a purview of the current scene. First, there was the recent hit revival of his canonical musical theatre classic CABARET starring Alan Cumming and Michelle Williams (with subsequent replacement Sally Bowleses including Emma Stone and Sienna Miller), which returned to the Roundabout Theatre Company's Studio 54 last year in a revival of the acclaimed Sam Mendes- and Rob Marshall-directed iteration of the show which ended its limited run near earlier in 2015. Then, there is the longest running musical by an American composer in history still packing them in nearly 20 years into its run - CHICAGO, now featuring pop superstar Brandy as the alluring recently unveiled billboards all over Times Square showcase. And, of course, there is the recent Washington, D.C. world premiere of Kander's latest musical, penned with his frequent 21st century collaborator Gregory Pierce, titled KID VICTORY. To add to all of those, there is the brand new Encores! ZORBA! at City Center starring John Turturro, Santino Fontana, Zoe Wanamaker and Marin Mazzie which opened earlier this week and plays through this weekend. But, more than any of these, perhaps the most buzz-worthy and exciting of all of Kander's recent endeavors is the Broadway bow of the final musical penned with his iconic associate, friend and indelibly matched lyricist Fred Ebb, THE VISIT. Highlighted by a lead performance tailor-made to legendary Kander & Ebb interpreter and Broadway legend Chita Rivera, THE VISIT is a striking, provocative and refreshingly singular theatre experience - and the shocking and breathtaking theatrical coups throughout, accented by several musical moments that are impossible to dislodge from memory, align it with the finest of their canon; which, given their incomparable resume, is saying something significant. Yes, indeed, it's all about those yellow shoes - and the spectacularly powerful and moving songs that go with them.
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