Theater News

Guys Will Be Guys

Some of the Great White Way’s leading men shine in this year’s Broadway Under the Stars concert.

New York City

Last evening, some 15,000 people gathered for the fourth annual Broadway Under the Stars concert in Bryant Park. Presented by Time Warner and produced by NYC & Company and the League of American Theatres and Producers, this year’s concert featured some of Broadway’s top leading men performing the songs of two musical theater icons who died in 2004: composer Cy Coleman and lyricist Fred Ebb. One of the comedic highlights of the evening was Christopher Sieber singing the Fred Ebb-John Kander ode to “Sara Lee,” backed by some long-legged lovelies.

An audience favorite was newly-minted Broadway sex symbol Cheyenne Jackson (All Shook Up) in a strip-teasing performance of “I’ve Got Your Number” from the Cy Coleman-Carolyn Leigh musical Little Me. You can see and hear the number when CBS televises a one-hour version of the concert this Saturday, June 18 at 7pm.

Other highlights of the event: Chris Sieber and Tom Wopat in a white-hot performance of “You’re Nothing Without Me” from City of Angels (Cy Coleman-David Zippel)….

…Wopat in “Maybe This Time” from Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret…

…Brent Barrett in “Life Is” from Kander and Ebb’s Zorba…

…and Michael Cerveris in the title song from yet another great Kander and Ebb show, Kiss of the Spider Woman.

Here’s Chester Gregory II (Hairspray) putting over Kander and Ebb’s “But the World Goes ‘Round” from the Martin Scorsese-Liza Minnelli-Robert DeNiro film New York, New York…

…and here are Marc Kudisch and Raúl Esparza, two of the stars of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, in a gorgeous duet version of two Kander-Ebb ballads, “I Don’t Remember You” (from The Happy Time) and “Sometimes a Day Goes By” (from Woman of the Year).

For the evening’s big finale, wild man Mario Cantone came out to sing “New York, New York”…

…and was joined by the Radio City Rockettes! Also on the bill were Hunter Foster and Victor Garber, respectively performing Cy Coleman’s “Use What You Got” (from The Life) and “Real Live Girl” (from Little Me), plus Brian Stokes Mitchell and Dan Fogler, respectively delivering Coleman’s pop hits “The Best is Yet to Come” and “Witchcraft.” Throughout the concert, a 30-piece orchestra played gloriously under the direction of Phil Reno. Remember to tune in to CBS this coming Saturday at 7pm to enjoy Broadway Under the Stars 2005.