A Grand Night for Singing - Grosse Pointe Theatre presents memorable Broadway classics in a Rogers & Hammerstein revue

Grosse Pointe Theatre's 66th season continues with the delightful Rogers & Hammerstein musical revue, A Grand Night for Singing, opening with a matinee on Sunday, January 19, 2014 at 2:00 p.m.  Additional shows are January 23-26, 30, 31 and February 1, 2014. Sunday shows are at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows are at 8:00 p.m. A Grand Night for Singing is staged in the Fries Auditorium of the Grosse Pointe War Memorial, 32 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan 48236.

Tickets for A Grand Night for Singing are $24. Group rates are available. For tickets and information call 313-881-4004, buy tickets in person at Grosse Pointe Theatre, 315 Fisher Road, Grosse Pointe (Monday -Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.), or purchase tickets on line at www.gpt.org. (There is a $3 per ticket surcharge for online ticket purchases.)

Originally produced by New York’s Roundabout Theatre Company in 1993, A Grand Night for Singing showcases the music of Richard Rodgers and the lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II, the legendary partners who brought to Broadway some of the most memorable and favorite musicals of all time. The show’s musical arrangements are by Fred Wells, originally orchestrated by Michael Gibson & Jonathan Tunick, and conceived by Walter Bobbie. 

The audience is bound to hum along during this enjoyable presentation of well-known, classic melodies, and be inspired by selected works from other Rogers & Hammerstein shows.  Over 30 songs, including the title song, The Surrey with the Fringe on Top, Hello, Young Lovers, Shall We Dance?,  Some Enchanted Evening, Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin', and It Might as Well Be Spring and many more, provide a satisfying evening of the best of American musical theatre. The melodic vignettes are from ten Rogers & Hammerstein shows: Carousel, Oklahoma!,  The King and I,  South Pacific,  Cinderella,  Flower Drum Song, and State Fair,  as well as lesser known shows:  Allegro,  Me and Juliet, and Pipe Dream.

Jan Michael of St. Clair Shores directs the music and choreography, presenting five talented vocalists who bring to life these timeless songs with all the romance, pathos, joy, and laughter they inspire. The cast includes (pictured above) Katie Crombe, of Troy, David A. Roberts of Mt. Clemens, Annie Kordas of Grosse Pointe Farms, Keith Austin Brown of Mt. Clemens and Ellen Purrenhage Taber of St. Clair Shores.  

The show’s staff includes, from Grosse Pointe Woods: Lyndsey Briggs (Producer), and Bill Tuthill (Sound); from St. Clair Shores: Rick Hawley (Technical Director), Arlene Marie Schoenherr (Stage Manager), and Denise Hawley (Properties & Set Dressing);  from Grosse Pointe Park, Tom Archinal (Lighting);  from Harrison Township, Mary Kay Sogge (Costumes);  from Royal Oak, David Hertzberg (Sound); and from Grosse Pointe Farms, Donna Di Sante (Makeup).

Photos by Dale Pegg