Gulf Coast Symphony will present the Best of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Richard Rodgers
The Gulf Coast Symphony will present the Best of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Richard Rodgers at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall on Sunday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m.
Broadway stars Nat Chandler and Rachel York join the Gulf Coast Symphony in performing the Best of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Richard Rodgers paying tribute to two of Broadway’s most revered composers. Enjoy enduring classics from dazzling Broadway shows such as music from Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Evita, Oklahoma, South Pacific and more. The Best of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Richard Rodgers is sponsored in part by Florida Shores Bank.
Single tickets are $28, $34, $39 and $51, with half-price tickets for children under 18. Tickets are available online at www.gulfcoastsymphony.org, by calling (239) 481-4849, or in person at the Barbara B. Mann Box Office one hour prior to the concert. For more information email: info@gulfcoastsymphony.org
NAT CHANDLER is well-known to theater and concert audiences around the country. On Broadway, he was seen in the title role of Sir Percival Blakeney in the Tony nominated musical, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and played many performances to great acclaim. Recent roles include Fred/Petruchio in Kiss Me Kate, distict attorney Frederick Katzmann in Anton Coppola’s new American opera, Sacco and Venzetti, and Shaunard in La Boheme. He played the role of Roy Darwin in Off-Broadway’s Counsellor at Law starring John Rubinstein and toured nationally as Lancelot in Camelot starring Robert Goulet. Chandler starred as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera directed by Harold Prince and toured with Sarah Brightman in The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Other National Tours include Sondheim’s Into the Woods, and Mr. Chandler’s first professional job in musical theatre, Lun Tha in The King and I starring Yul Brynner. Other Off-Broadway venues include the prestigious 92nd Street Y’s Lyrics and Lyricists series, City Center Encores! production of The Ziegfeld Follies of 1936 (cast recording on Sony Records), and created the role of Tony Toscanini in the fabled Tales of Tinseltown. Recently, Chandler has performed the roles of Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, Miles Gloriosus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for which he received a Kevin Kline nomination for Best Actor in a Musical, and a very special Carousel in which he played Billy Bigelow with Shirley Jones as Nettie Fowler, all to critical acclaim.
RACHEL YORK is a dynamic and versatile actress, singer, dancer and comedienne. She got her first big break playing the seductive and playful role of Mallory in the original Tony Award-winning production of City of Angels. Her performance won critical acclaim. Since then Rachel has gone on to give inspiring theatrical performances as Fantine in Les Misrables; Rachel in Putting It Together (Drama Desk nomination) opposite Julie Andrews; Irene St. Claire in The Crucifer of Blood with Billy Crudup; Norma Cassidy again with Andrews in Victor/Victoria (Drama Desk Award); Marguerite in The Scarlet Pimpernel; Lilli/Kate in the national and London tours of the Tony Award-winning revival of Kiss Me, Kate (Helen Hayes nomination); Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes (Ovation nomination); Dorothy in Summer of ’42; Miss Fancy with Richard Dreyfuss in Sly Fox; Ruth Sutton with LaChanze in Dessa Rose (Drama Desk and Drama League nominations); Mother in Ragtime; Christine Colgate with Jonathan Pryce in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels; Edith Herbert in My One and Only; Guenevere opposite Michael York in the national tour of Camelot (Carbonell Award); and Cecily Pigeon in the Reprise! staged reading of The Odd Couple with Jason Alexander and Martin Short. Most recently Rachel earned rave reviews in the world premiere of the new Broadway-bound Brickman-Elice musical Turn of the Century co-starring Jeff Daniels and directed by Tommy Tune.
The Gulf Coast Symphony is Southwest Florida’s community orchestra. It draws its membership from Naples to Port Charlotte and has performed to sold-out audiences. Its 14th season features its highly popular Symphonic Sensations Concert Series at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall (Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber & Richard Rodgers, April 5), three Magic Carpet Family Concert Series around the county, outdoor pops concerts at Estero Park and Cape Coral Cultural Park, and its ACCESS Classical Concerts at Bishop Verot’s Anderson Theater. The Gulf Coast Symphony sponsors a comprehensive arts education program, Musical Gateways, dedicated to providing ongoing educational opportunities for adult and youth alike, that includes in depth artist residencies for its partner schools and the entire community. The Gulf Coast Symphony rehearses weekly from October through May. For more information on orchestra membership call the Gulf Coast Symphony office at 277-1700 or email us at info@gulfcoastsymphony.org
“Performing these songs is as exciting for the symphony as it is for our audience,” Music Director Andrew Kurtz said in a prepared statement. “We anticipate that this will be our best Broadway themed show ever!”
Before the concert, at 6 p.m., the Gulf Coast Symphony will hold its annual Gala Dinner. Guests of the Gala will enjoy a private reception with the Broadway stars, a full dinner, entertainment and a VIP ticket to the concert. Gala tickets are $125 or $90 for attendees who already hold concert tickets. Seating is very limited. To make a Gala reservation, please call (239) 277-1700 or make a reservation online at www.gulfcoastsymphon.org/events.htm
The Gulf Coast Symphony’s music director and founder is Andrew Kurtz. Kurtz also is the general and artistic director of the Center City Opera Theater of Philadelphia and Music Director of the Florida Jewish Philharmonic Orchestra. He is the international tour conductor of CANTORS: A Faith In Song, featuring three of the world’s leading Cantors performing an evening of popular and religious Jewish songs. Kurtz’s 2008-09 season included concerts with the Gulf Coast Symphony, leading six operas, including the North American premiere of Edward Rushton’s comic opera The Shops with the Center City Opera Theater. He is the 2007 recipient of the Angel of the Arts Performing Artist of the Year. In 2001 Kurtz won first prize in the Accademia Dell’Arte International Conducting Competition and made his European debut in Florence, Italy. Kurtz also is a respected and talented arts educator, and serves as a Resident Music Director and teacher at the Luzerne Music Festival. He received his doctorate from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore.
The Gulf Coast Symphony’s 2008-2009 sponsors include the Southwest Florida Community Foundation, Lee Memorial Hospitals, the Bireley Foundation, the City of Fort Myers, Advanced Pain Management and Spine Specialists, Arts Estero 2009, Terrasi Media, Southwest Florida Business Alliance, Estero Medical Center & Urgent Care Centers, 21st Century Oncology, FineMark Bank, Ameriprise Financial, Target Stores, Florida Shores Bank, and Symphonia Medicus: “Doctors Dedicated to Classical Healing”.