Hammerstein’s Broadway: An Enchanted Evening of Stories & Song
Run Time: 90 min.
March 11, 2023 at 8pm
Main Theater
Tickets: $60 Regular, $75 Premium
Members: $51 Regular, $63.75 Premium
Oscar “Andy” Hammerstein III shares stories and memories of his famous show business family and narrates selections from the Hammerstein songbook performed in concert. These iconic shows and songs, all well-known standards, are presented in a new light sung by a talented cast under the musical direction of Emmy-award winner Jamie Lawrence.
Featuring Bruce Sabath, Robin Reitzes, Rita Neidich and Henry Thrasher.
Oscar Hammerstein II won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Many of his songs are standard repertoire for singers and jazz musicians of his day. Hammerstein was the lyricist and playwright in his partnerships and he co-wrote 850 songs; his collaborators wrote the music. Hammerstein collaborated with numerous composers, such as Jerome Kern, with whom he wrote Show Boat, Vincent Youmans, Rudolf Friml, Richard A. Whiting and Sigmund Romberg; but he is best known for his collaborations with Richard Rodgers, which include Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music.
Oscar “Andy” Hammerstein III is your master of ceremonies. A painter, writer, lecturer and family historian, Andy has devoted much of his life to studying and preserving his family’s heritage and its contribution to American culture. He lectures frequently at universities, institutes and theatrical and civic organizations on the Hammerstein family’s pivotal role in shaping the development of musical theatre and popular entertainment in this country.
Jamie Lawrenceʼs compositions and arrangements have been honored with five Emmy Awards and ten Emmy nominations. He has written all the original music for the Tony Awards broadcasts for the past twenty years as well as serving as its Associate Music Director/conductor and principal arranger. As an orchestrator and arranger he has penned arrangements for numerous musical luminaries such as Jessye Norman, Quincy Jones, Smokey Robinson, Audra McDonald, Adam Guettel, and
Herbie Hancock. He has been increasingly involved in record production and artist development, producing for the late Nora York, Joe Brucato, Mara Measor and MuMu. MuMu and Jamie’s edgy song Free the Nip recently topped 1.7 million views on YouTube and was featured on the animated show Big Mouth. Jamie is an adjunct professor and teaches film scoring to graduate students at NYU.
Rita Neidich couldn’t be happier singing Hammerstein! Credits include Off-Broadway in the world’s longest running musical The Fantasticks (directed by Tom Jones), and new plays Homer’s Odyssey and New York Circa 1909. Regional theatre: Tzeitel and Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof (Barrymore Award nomination) and The Immigrant (Leah) at Seven Angels Theatre; shows that mirror Rita’s own life as a Jewish refugee immigrant. Rita moved to the States from Ukraine as a young girl. Other regional: Johanna in Sweeney Todd at Portland Center Stage, Cinderella in Into the Woods, Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls, Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Jellylorum in Cats, Maria in West Side Story, Sister Mary Leo in Nunsense, and Kate Mullins in Titanic, and abroad at the Endinburgh Fringe Festival. TV: New Amsterdam (NBC), The Following (FOX), Shades of Blue (NBC), and Deception(ABC).
Professional singer and publicist Robin Reitzes is the lead singer of two local bands, Willin’, who opened for The Spin Doctors this past fall, and Reservoir Road. Known for her ability to cover everyone from Stevie Nicks and Lady Gaga to Pink and CeeLo Green, Reitzes also loves performing cabaret-style Broadway ballads that highlight her vocal ability. Reitzes, who started performing professionally in her early 20’s at clubs like Don’t Tell Mama and the Elbow Room in Manhattan, began singing at the age of five when she landed a spot in the prestigious St. Louis Children’s Choir. When she moved to Chappaqua at age 10, Reitzes continued singing and began classical vocal training with Berenice “Bunny’” Bramson at age 12. When performing, Reitzes’ goal is always the same: to entertain the audience with a memorable performance.
Bruce Sabath is a New York-based actor, working in theatre, TV and film. He played Larry in the 2006-07 Tony-winning revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Company (recorded for PBS Great Performances). In 2018, he originated the role of Leyzer Volf (while understudying Tevye) in the historic, award-winning production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, at the Jewish Heritage Museum in New York’s Battery Park, and in subsequent productions at Stage 42 (on 42nd Street) and New World Stages. Bruce starred as Jack Warner in the hit Off-Broadway musical, Cagney at the Westside Theatre (and at the York Theatre), Stephen Sondheim’s Follies (Astoria Performing Arts Center) and the award-winning revival of Michael John LaChiusa’s Hello Again. Sabath’s regional credits include Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, directed by John Doyle at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, the Southeast premier of Frost/Nixon at the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton (as Richard Nixon), the world premiere of Sabina at Portland Stage (playing Sigmund Freud) and his favorite role, Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof at Stages – St. Louis. Sabath has appeared on-screen in The Blacklist (NBC), Madam Secretary (CBS), FBI:Most Wanted (CBS), Elementary (CBS), Limitless (CBS), Ramy (Hulu), and The Rewrite, a rom-com starring Hugh Grant and Marisa Tomei.
Henry Thrasher is a New York based actor working in theatre and film and is thrilled to be a part of this celebration of the works of one of his favorite lyricists! Born and raised in NYC, Henry attended LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts where he had his first experiences being on stage in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Beast), Les Miserables (Javert), and A Little Night
Music (Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm) to name a few. Henry is a recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama and also studied classical acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Some of his favorite credits are Pierre in the regional premier of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, John Wilkes Booth in Sondheim’s Assassins, and Topher in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Recently, Henry had the opportunity to play Prince Christopher in Yorktown’s production of the enchanted version of R&H’s Cinderella.
Henry can also be seen in the Netflix series The Chair and Showtime’s American Rust.