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| Phoenix Symphony goes to Broadway | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| By Chris Page, Get Out | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| February 20, 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
What would the Broadway behemoths “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Miss Saigon,” “Evita” and “Les Miserables” be without their special effects? This weekend, the Phoenix Symphony, staging a pops tribute to those four musicals at Symphony Hall, is banking on the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber (“Evita,” “Phantom”) and Claude-Michel Schonberg (“Les Miz,” “Saigon”) standing as its own spectacle. Led by conductor Lawrence Golan, the symphony will play medleys from the four shows’ scores, while Valley singers Jenn Raithel-Newman and Ken Goodenberger will tackle vocal numbers. “The tunes themselves are quite memorable and they do stand on their own,” Golan says. “It’s not that we’re going to be missing anything without the chandelier.” The show, “Broadway Showstoppers,” replaces an originally planned pops concert tribute solely to Webber’s music; there was a snag in securing rights from the Webber camp. (Thus, perhaps thankfully sparing us from hearing any “Starlight Express.”) Returning for a second season as resident conductor, Golan is no stranger to Broadway musicals. In high school and college, the Chicago native logged time playing violin in the pit orchestras of touring productions that would come to town — including, he says, some of the shows he’ll conduct this weekend. He’s also no stranger to the poppier side of symphonic music: He debuted in 2006 with a revue of Alfred Hitchcock cinema scores, and next month he’ll lead a show titled “The Piano Men: The Music of Elton John and Billy Joel.” This time, he’ll modify his orchestra with the accoutrements of rock opera — circa the late 1970s and ’80s, when Webber seemingly ruled the Great White Way and London’s West End — which means bringing the drum kit center stage and plugging in synthesizers and electric guitar. Still, compared to full-fledged stage productions, “Broadway Showstoppers” does strip the musicals to their barest essences. Whether “Phantom” satisfies without its chandelier, its foggy candlelit gondola ride — heck, even a guy in a half mask — will be up to audiences. Though signs are pointing up. As of earlier in the week, the nearly 2,400-seat Symphony Hall had nearly sold out all three weekend performances. 'Broadway Showstoppers’ When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday Where: Phoenix Symphony Hall, 225 E. Adams St. Cost: $25-$74 Information: (602) 495-1999 or www.phoenixsymphony.org Contact Chris Page by email, or phone (480) 898-5656 |
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