We’re beginning a new series on this week’s Dress Circle (10/25 7:00 p.m.) dedicated to musicals with which many people might not be familiar. This time, we’ll look at four works. We’ll begin with a 1939 work by Ivor Novello entitled “The Dancing Years” by the most well-known and produced British composer before Andrew Lloyd-Webber came on the scene. It tells the story of a penniless Jewish composer and his love for two women in a Vienna being threatened by the Nazis. The second work is a forgotten television musical from 1957 by Jule Styne and Leo Robin based on the popular book “Ruggles of Red Gap.”
Our third musical is “Bring Back Birdie,” the sequel to “Bye Bye Birdie” which, even though it starred Chita Rivera and Donald O’Connor, only lasted for four performances after 31 previews. Our final show in this first outing is a one-woman look at the relationship between Cole and Linda Porter as seen through the eyes of Linda. “Love, Linda” was written and performed by Stevie Holland and features many familiar and unfamiliar songs by Cole.
