Broadway

Many of us grew up with the soothing songs of Burt Bacharach who has been called “The King of Easy Listening.” At the time of his passing in 2023, he had amassed 73 Top 40 hits in the U.S. and 52 in the United Kingdom. His songs also appeared in eight productions on Broadway as well as in 772 film and television soundtracks, and on this week’s Dress Circle (8/30 7:00 p.m.) we’re going to sample just a few of them.

In “The Prates of Penzance,” Kate sings: “Let us shut our eyes and talk about the weather” in order to avoid a “complication.” On this week’s Dress Circle (8/2 7:00 p.m.), we’ll approach the weather with eyes wide open as we look at the recent spate of storms the easter seaboard has been facing this summer through thirteen musical storms.

Shakespeare seems to get credit for a great many things, but this time, he deserves it even if the quote is a bit “off.” We’re “Gilding the Lily” on this week’s Dress Circle (8/16 7:00 p.m.), well, we’ve amassed songs about beauty and its secrets, dressing to impress or excess, and a few make-up tips from a variety of musicals.

People want a great many things, and we’re back to some songs that showcase that on this week’s Dress Circle (8/9 7:00 p.m.). However, these “I want” songs are in disguise as the “want” doesn’t appear in the title.

We actually heard several people say, “Can you believe it’s August already?”, and to be honest, we certainly can. As always, we’re starting off the month on this week’s Dress Circle (8/2 7:00 p.m.) with pieces from some of the shows that opened in New York this month, and we’re continuing with our look at them through overtures and opening numbers.

July 26 is National Aunt and Uncle Day! Who knew? We found out before it was too late, so this week’s Dress Circle (7/26 7:00 p.m.), we’re going to be celebrating some aunts and uncles through stage and screen musicals along with at least two television series. Since there were actually so few songs dedicated to aunts and uncles, we’ve gone far afield and found some interesting and forgotten/rare pieces.

We’re going a bit “colloquial” on this week’s Dress Circle (7/19 7:00 p.m.) as we continue with our look at “I want” songs by turning to songs from a dozen shows that say “I wanna,” and as former English teachers, it really pains us to “wanna” do this.

On this week’s Dress Circle (7/12 7:00 p.m.), we’re going to look at an important aspect of a musical: the “I want” song. An “I Want” song appears in many musicals and is usually within the first 20 minutes or so. It lets the audience know the inner-workings of a character, usually the lead, and generally establishes the reasons for why that character does what he or she does throughout the evening.

Can you believe it’s July already? (We’ve heard that just about every month so far.) Well, it is. July always seems to come around about this time of year, and to celebrate that certainty on the Dress Circle (7/5 7:00 p.m.), we’re going to be sampling a few of the shows that opened in New York this month through overtures and opening numbers.

Once again, summer came early with two heatwaves already and a third one looming in the next week. To cool things down a bit, we’re turning to the musicals for songs about “summer” on this week’s Dress Circle (6/28 7:00 p.m.), and we’ve been able to cull together fourteen pieces even though, oddly enough, there aren’t as many songs about summer as you might have thought.