New York City
”The Music Man” composer will be honored by the Ziegfeld Society in celebration of his Tony-winning musical’s 60th anniversary.
Tony Award winner Jim Dale (Barnum) and Tony nominee Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll & Hyde) are set to headline the opening event of the Ziegfeld Society’s ninth season, honoring the 60th anniversary of Meredith Willson's The Music Man. Titled Here's Love to the Music Man: A Celebration of Songwriter Meredith Willson, the show will be presented for one performance only on December 9 at 3pm at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Theater.
The concert event will be hosted, written, and directed by Tony nominee Walter Willison, artistic director of the Ziegfeld Society. Performances will include songs from Meredith Willson’s Broadway musicals Here's Love (the musical version of the film Miracle on 34th Street), The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and Willson’s popular songs including "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You," "You and I," "I See the Moon," and "It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas," as well as songs from The Music Man "Till There Was You" and "Seventy-Six Trombones." One of the highlights will be "Ask Not," the rarely heard tribute composed by Willson in memory of his friend President John F. Kennedy.
Joining Dale and Cuccioli for the concert will be Cheryl Ann Allen, Aaron Lee Battle, Katie Dixon, John Drinkwater, Matthew Drinkwater, Shana Farr, Elise Godfrey, Melinda Hopkins, Joanna Rush, Cynthia Thomas, Sheila Wormer, Carole & Paula, "The City Sliders" (Alex Jeun, Nate Sutton, and Gina Trombetta), and "The Gotham Four" (Anderson Daniel, Rafi Hasib, B.J. Hillnick, and Richard Townsend).