101 Years of Broadway will open the University of Central Arkansas’s Broadway Series with a 7:30 p.m. performance on Thursday, Sept. 29 in the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall.
101 Years of Broadway recreates the biggest moments from the finest shows of the century featuring the actual stars of shows such as The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Evita, Cats, Wonderful Town, Jesus Christ Superstar and Fiddler on the Roof. These performers light up the stage with songs from the hit shows in which they starred. Neil Berg presents brilliantly revived arrangements of Broadway classics as well as thrilling songs from Broadway’s newest hit shows.
“101 Years of Broadway is a great show because it combines the best moments of some of the most loved Broadway shows,” said Catherine Markenke, director of marketing and development for the College of Fine Arts and Communication. “Audience members are going to hear music that they know from their favorite shows, and they will probably also hear something new that they will fall in love with. It will be a wonderful show for families and also a great show for a date night or girls night out.”
Past productions of this popular show have featured Betty Buckley, Liz Callaway, Ben Vereen, and Alex Santoriello, among others. Along with musical director and pianist Neil Berg, the Reynolds performance will feature Ray McLeod (Wreck, Wonderful Town), Rita Harvey (Christine, The Phantom of the Opera), Carter Calvert (It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues), Danny Zollii (Jesus, Jesus Christ Superstar) and Erick Buckley (Marius and Jean Valjean, Les Miserables).
Berg is the composer/lyricist of the hit off-Broadway musical The Prince and the Pauper, which ran for two years at the Lamb’s Theater in New York City. The New York Times described it as “…soaring on the wings of theatrical fun.” Berg is currently writing the music for the Broadway-bound musical Grumpy Old Men, based on the hit film. Two of Berg’s new musicals have been selected for the prestigious New York Musical Theater Festival: The Man Who Would Be King, a musical realization of Rudyard Kipling’s novella, and Tim and Scrooge, the sequel to A Christmas Carol.
Tickets, available at the UCA Ticket Central Box Office, are $30-$40 for adults, $27-$37 for senior citizens, $25-35 for UCA alumni, $28-$33 for UCA faculty and staff, and $10 for all students. For tickets, call (501) 450-3265 or toll free from anywhere in Arkansas at 1-866-810-0012, Monday–Friday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. or visit www.uca.edu/reynolds.
For more information, contact Jerry Biebesheimer, director of UCA Public Appearances, at (501) 450-3682 or jerryb@uca.edu or Marhenke at (501) 450-3406 or cmarhenke@uca.edu.
