“In the heart of May, the maypole stands tall, ribbons and laughter, a colorful sprawl…” There may be some laughter on this week’s Dress Circle (5/5 7:00 p.m.), but there’ll also be some excellent music as we look at some of the shows that opened in New York this month.
May is a relatively quiet month for musicals opening on Broadway because the cut-off for Tony nominations is at the end of April, and most shows don’t want to be forgotten by the following year. Because of this, our latest opening comes from 2016 in the form of Cirque du Soliel’s “Paramour.” Since we’re beginning with a show from 1916, “Step This Way,” we’re looking at 100 years of Broadway history.
There will probably only be one show with which you may not be familiar, and that’s Irving Berlin’s “Louisiana Purchase.” Most of the rest of the playlist is filled with more well-known fare.
We’ll have the original production and one of the revivals of “Gypsy” and the original cast of “The Pajama Game.”
More “recent” shows include “The Drowsy Chaperone,” “The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee,” and “The Will Rogers Follies,” and we’ll also be turning to two off-Broadway hits as well, “Godspell” and “The Fantasticks.” The latter still holds the record for the longest running musical in history.
All in all, we think we have a happy mix of songs that are sure to give you a pleasant evening of listening.
