“The San Francisco Symphony is about to bring a taste of the Big Apple to the City by the Bay,” writes Georgia Rowe in Monday’s (5/16) Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.). “Leonard Bernstein’s ‘On the Town,’ about three sailors who land in New York City for a 24-hour leave before shipping out to fight in World War II, will be presented in a new semi-staged production May 25-29 at Davies Symphony Hall. With music direction by [SFS Music Director] Michael Tilson Thomas, stage direction by James Darrah and a stellar cast that includes members of the musical’s [2014] Broadway revival, these performances promise a first-rate look at an American classic.” The production will feature Clyde Alves as Ozzie, Tony Yazbeck as Gabey, Jay Armstrong Johnson as Chip, Megan Fairchild as Ivy, Alysha Umphress as Hildy, and Isabel Leonard as Claire. “On the Town” was “an instant hit” when in debuted in 1944, Rowe writes. “Dance is an integral part of ‘On the Town,’ and Alves—a Fred Astaire Award winner whose Broadway credits also include ‘The Music Man,’ ‘Hairspray’ and ‘A Chorus Line’—says there will be a fair amount of choreography from the Broadway production in the Symphony performances.”
Posted May 18, 2016
