Debbie Gravitte Will Lead BIG BAND BROADWAY at Westport Country Playhouse
Debbie Gravitte brings Broadway classics to life with a big band style this winter at Westport
By: Stephi Wild Jan. 21, 2026
“Big Band Broadway,” a concert of Broadway's greatest hits starring Tony Award winner Debbie Gravitte backed by a six-piece band, will be presented by Westport Country Playhouse for five performances, from Thursday, January 29 through Sunday, February 1. The show is part of the series, “Broadway Scores at the Playhouse,” an add-on to the 2025-26 mainstage season.
“Broadway has always been my first love and a very close second is big band music,” said Gravitte. “I wanted to wed the two together, so voilà.....'Big Band Broadway'!”
Delivered with sassy vocal style backed by powerhouse musicians reminiscent of the Big Band era, including piano, bass, drums, reeds, trumpet, and trombone, “Big Band Broadway” includes a repertoire of showstoppers. Gravitte will feature such favorites as “I Enjoy Being a Girl, “You Gotta Have a Gimmick,” “My Heart Belongs to Daddy,” and the song she performed in “Jerome Robbins' Broadway” that won her a Tony Award, “Mister Monotony.” “Big Band Broadway” has been presented from coast to coast, from New York's Birdland to a PBS “American Songbook” special at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
Debbie Gravitte, a resident of Redding, Connecticut, is the recipient of the Tony Award for her critically acclaimed performance in “Jerome Robbins' Broadway,” along with the New York Showstopper Award, Grammy Award, and a Drama Desk Award nomination. She made her Broadway debut in the original cast of “They're Playing Our Song,” and went on to appear in “Blues in the Night,” “Perfectly Frank” (Drama Desk Award nomination), “Zorba,” “Ain't Broadway Grand?,” “Chicago,” and “Les Misérables.” Gravitte appeared in London in Jerry Herman's “Mack and Mabel” at the Drury Lane Theatre. She's also been seen in the West Coast Premiere of “The Goodbye Girl,” “Love Life” (in Philadelphia), “Fiddler on the Roof” with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, along with the Encores productions of “The Boys from Syracuse,” “Tenderloin,” and “Carnival” at New York's City Center.
Gravitte has performed her nightclub act worldwide, from New York's Rainbow and Stars, Birdland, 54 Below, to London's Pizza on the Park. In Atlantic City, she's had the honor to open for George Burns and Jay Leno. She currently tours with her partner David Lawrence in “A Toast to Steve and Eydie.” Gravitte has sung with over 200 orchestras worldwide, including the National Symphony with Marvin Hamlisch, Cleveland Orchestra, The Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, Pittsburgh Symphony, Atlanta, San Diego, and St. Louis Symphonies. Overseas, she's appeared with the London, Aalborg, and Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, Stockholm Philharmonic, the Gotesborg and Jerusalem Symphonies, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, National Symphonica of Brazil, as well as the Munich Philharmonic. Gravitte is featured on many recordings including her four solo CDs: “Defying Gravity”, “The Alan Menken Album,” “The MGM Album,” along with “Big Band Broadway.” Film: “Isn't' She Great,” “The Little Mermaid.” Television: “Trial and Error” (CBS), “Pursuit of Happiness” (NBC). Numerous PBS specials (Emmy nomination). She is the president and founder of group5productions, presenting entertainment across the country. Her greatest achievement, she says, are her three beautiful children.
Music director is Tedd Firth, a New York City based musical director, pianist, and arranger. Recent highlights include being the musical director for the reunion of the original Broadway cast of "Into The Woods" at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA, as well as serving as musical director for Michael Feinstein's “Jazz and Popular Song” concert series at Jazz at Lincoln Center. New York appearances include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Blue Note, Birdland, the Iridium, the Algonquin, the Cafe Carlyle, and Feinstein's at the Regency. Numerous national appearances include a performance at the White House. As an arranger and orchestrator, Firth's work has been performed by all major American symphony orchestras. In 2013, he was commissioned by the New York Pops to create new orchestrations for “A Charlie Brown Christmas” which has had numerous performances across the country in subsequent years. Television appearances include "The Today Show," "Live from Lincoln Center" and "All My Children.”
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