STAGE TUBE: Beth Leavel, Damon Kirsche and More Perform in AMERICAN SHOWSTOPPERS: AN EVENING OF JERRY HERMAN

On Saturday evening, March 1st at 7:30pm Pace University presented American Showstoppers, with the 13-piece Fred Barton Orchestra, AN EVENING OF JERRY HERMAN. The evening was directed and choreographed by Scott Thompson and produced, orchestrated and hosted by Fred Barton, and starred Klea Blackhurst, Toni DiBuono, Jeffry Denman, Tari Kelly, Damon Kirsche, Beth Leavel, Karen Murphy and the inimitable Lee Roy Reams. The cast also featured Lianne Marie Dobbs, AJ Hunsucker, Jesse Luttrell and the Scott Thompson dancers. Click below to watch some of the evening's performances!

Most theatergoers when asked to name a Jerry Herman show immediately suggest Hello, Dolly!, Mame and maybe La Cage Aux Follies. All three musicals were represented in this evening. But to Fred Barton a show stopper isn't only in the most popular of musicals. Parade was Jerry Herman's 1960 off-Broadway revue that starred Charles Nelson Reilly and Dody Goodman. Three songs from Parade were performed including The Antique Man which Barton believes is one of Herman's best and which hasn't been performed in New York (and never orchestrated) since 1960.

The evening also showcased "Las Vegas", from Miss Spectacular, an unproduced musical intended to be the feature attraction at the Mirage in Las Vegas. When the hotel was sold, the project went into limbo, although a concept album was produced.

This was the fourth in Pace's series of "American Showstoppers" concerts at the Michael Schimmel Center. Previous concerts covered the show songs of Harold Arlen, Jule Styne, and Richard Rodgers.