Popular songs from The Phantom of the Opera, Cats and other hit musicals will fill Hodgson Concert Hall when the Performing Arts Center presents 100 Years of Broadway Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20-$42 with discounts available for UGA students.
Created by composer and lyricist Neil Berg, 100 Years of Broadway showcases songs from some of the greatest musicals, performed by the actual stars of award-winning shows such as Les Misérables, Aida, Jesus Christ Superstar and Chicago. The singers will be accompanied by an all-star New York band that features Berg as musical director and pianist.
100 Years of Broadway plays in more than 120 cities a year. The cast for the Athens show is scheduled to include Broadway luminaries Carter Calvert, Sandra Joseph, Ivan Rutherford, Chuck Wagner and Danny Zolli.
Calvert is best known for originating her role in the Tony-nominated It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues on Broadway. She also appeared in the world premiere of Forbidden Vegas and as the title character in Always, Patsy Cline. In 1993, Calvert was named best female vocalist of the year by Starsong Records, and Downbeat Magazine honored her as best female jazz vocalist while she was in high school. She is currently the voice of the Kindle Fire, and her husband, Roger Cohen, is the drummer in the 100 Years of Broadway band.
Joseph starred as Christine Daaé, the female lead in The Phantom of the Opera, on Broadway and on tour across the country. She holds the distinction of being Phantom’s leading lady on Broadway longer than any other actress in the show’s 22-year history.
Rutherford has performed the lead role of Jean Valjean in Les Misérables more than 2,000 times on Broadway and in national tours. He was nominated for best actor for his portrayal of Valjean at the inaugural National Broadway Theatre Awards.
Wagner’s many leading roles on Broadway include Rapunzel’s Prince in the original Broadway cast of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, Van Helsing in Dracula and The Beast in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. He is well known internationally for playing the title role in the 1980s science fiction TV series, Automan.
Zolli is internationally known for his performances starring as Jesus and Judas in more than 23 productions of Jesus Christ Superstar on Broadway and in six national and international tours. He also starred as Che in Evita and as Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Tickets can be purchased online at pac.uga.edu or by calling the Performing Arts Center box office at 706-542-4400.
