It’s hard to step off the plane at LaGuardia without hearing the song in your head. “New York, New York,” the theme song from the 1977 Martin Scorsese film of the same name, may be the best-known of all the show tunes written by the team of John Kander and Fred Ebb. Another song from the same film, “And the World Goes ’Round,” lent its name to a revue opening at Kravis Center this weekend.
“And the World Goes ’Round,” originally directed by Scott Ellis with choreography by Susan Stroman, opened off-Broadway in 1991 and toured the U.S. the following year.
It draws on music from “Cabaret,” “Chicago,” “Fosse” and the musical version of “Kiss of the Spiderwoman,” all Kander and Ebb shows. There were also dozens of songs made famous by Liza Minelli and Chita Rivera, including some written expressly for them. In fact, the team’s first Broadway musical was also Minelli’s Broadway debut: 1965’s “Flora the Red Menace.” The following year came “Cabaret,” the result of a long collaborative process that allowed actors to develop their characters and involved Harold Prince, who went on to work with Kander and Ebb on a number of shows.
The West Palm production is the fourth of a new production company, MNM Productions, a venture of two longtime South Florida theater veterans, Marcie Gorman-Althof and Michael Lifshitz.
“And The World Goes ’Round” opens Friday at the Kravis Center and runs through Aug. 21. A show on Thursday, Aug. 4, added to the run, benefits Metropolitan Community Church of the Palm Beaches, as well as a congregation in Orlando. Both churches specifically serve the LGBTQ community. The revue is being staged in the Rinker Playhouse with cabaret-style seating as well as risers. Cocktail table seating includes a free drink.
Heads up to opera lovers: For the first time, Met soprano Renée Fleming is coming to Stuart’s Lyric Theatre. It’s not until Jan. 31, but it’s never too early for a legend like Fleming. Right now, tickets are being sold to Lyric “members” only, and that involves paying $35, or $50 for a family membership, which lets you buy four tickets.
Others greats coming up this season are violinist Itzhak Perlman on March 7 – another Lyric first; and comedian Lily Tomlin on Feb. 6 and 7. Tomlin’s Lyric concerts have been sell-outs.
Later this month is another Lyric-based event, the Dancin’ in the Streets Music Festival featuring the Outlaws at 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20. Outside, there are four more stages with 20 bands playing until midnight, including Vero’s own Ben Prestage, the one-man band, and the Ladies of Soul, who played for the closing-day party of the Vero Beach Wine and Film Festival. The day-long music fest also features the Nouveaux Honkies, an excellent blues-oriented, roots-rock duo. The Treasure Coast can’t ever get enough of their music because they’re so busy touring out of their rebuilt RV.
I don’t have the singalong gene, but for people who kept at it beyond Girl Scouts summer camp and seventh-grade chorus, Riverside Theatre’s Howl at the Moon has turned into a major attraction. The two-piano, alcohol-fueled singalongs have been such a hit that the theater is extending them through October. Nearly all of the 10 performances so far have sold out, says management.
This weekend, Ken Gustafson returns to Riverside to play opposite Daniel Deal. I would suggest you pick your performance – early or late, Friday or Saturday – to try to tailor the playlist to your tastes. The pianists pick the songs from audience requests, so you might hear more Barry Manilow and less Pitbull at the 7:30 p.m. shows, and the other way around at the 9:30 p.m. shows.
Sadly, we’re all hearing less from Leon Russell of late: The ’70s singer-songwriter is recovering from surgery following a heart attack and has postponed concerts through mid-September. That means the upcoming King Center concert has been rescheduled for Nov. 16.
In the meantime, you could try to make do with Chris Stapleton’s concert Saturday night – at least he has the start of Russell’s copious facial hair, and prodigious talent besides. He’s performing at West Palm’s Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre with Hank Williams Jr. and his daughter Holly Williams. Stapleton, a Kentucky-born coal-miner’s son, wrote a half-dozen No. 1 hits on country charts, including Kevin Chesney’s “Never Wanted Nothing More.” He’s also written for Adele and Sheryl Crow. Then he exploded as a solo artist with 2015’s “Traveller,” winning CMA awards for Best Male Vocalist, New Artist of the Year and Album of the Year. He also won two Grammys.
