It’s June, and people, especially television weather-people, just can’t “believe it.” We don’t know why not; it happens every year around this time, so that means we’re going to celebrate it on this week’s Dress Circle (6/7 7:00 p.m.) with pieces from ten of the shows that opened in New York in June.
Now, June has always been a weak month for openings. Since the Tony Awards moved to June, we’ve not had as many of the “recent” shows from which to choose, and this has been compounded by the fact that the last two, “Once Upon a One More Timie” (2023) and “Holler if Ya Hear Me” (2014) did not do well, and there were no real cast recordings. Also, since we’re focusing on overtures and opening numbers, the show before that, “Spider-Man – Turn Off the Dark” (2011) was changed so much during it’s awkward run that we’re not quite sure what to use as an opening number.
With all of that said, we still have some great music for you this week. We’ve got overtures from “Pal Joey” by Rodgers & Hart, “Camelot” by Loewe and Lerner, and “Wish You Were Here” by Harold Rome.
Our “overture – opening number” combinations come from “Chicago” by Kander and Ebb, “The Music Man” by Meredith Willson, and “She Loves Me” by Bock and Harnick.
Finally, our scene-setting opening numbers include Carol Hall’s “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” “By Jupiter” by Rodgers and Hart, “Seventeen” by Kent and Gannon, and the 2011 revival of “Godspell” by Stephen Schwartz that includes a truly interesting vocal arrangement of “Tower of Babble,” the opening that is often cut from performances.
We hope you’ll join us this Sunday evening for another happy hour of excellent music from the Broadway stage.
