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THE GOLDEN AGE OF BROADWAY
2 0 1 8 G R AN T PA R K MU S I C F E S T I VA L
The Golden Age of Broadway
presented in two special 8 PM performances
on Friday, July 13, and Saturday, July 14
THIS SUMMER, BROADWAY MUSIC
DIRECTOR KEVIN STITES RETURNS
for his
sixth time on the podium, leading the Grant
Park Orchestra in “I Could Have Danced All
Night,” a program of unforgettable music from
legendary songwriting team Alan Jay Lerner
and Frederick Loewe. Stites and the Orchestra
will be joined by the Grant Park Chorus and
Broadway stars Sierra Boggess (Ariel of
The
Little Mermaid
fame), Ben Crawford (the
current Phantom in
Phantom of the Opera
)
and Ryan Silverman (
Sideshow
) in selections
from five beloved musicals:
My Fair Lady,
Camelot
,
Brigadoon, Gigi
and
Paint Your Wagon
.
It’s been a long time since Rockford native Stites conducted
My Fair Lady
at
the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, but he still calls it his favorite show by
Lerner and Loewe. “I believe it’s the perfect marriage of book and score—and
you can’t beat George Bernard Shaw as source material,” he says. “Every
one of that team’s shows has a couple of songs that have lived on and will
continue to do so.”
Stites has worked with all three soloists before—on Broadway, in
workshops, in concerts at Carnegie Hall and venues across the country—
and looks forward to having them join the Grant Park Orchestra and
Chorus in his hometown. “It is always the greatest pleasure and honor to
work with this first-rate orchestra and chorus,” Stites maintains. “And to do
so in such a beautiful venue is magnificent.”
So don’t miss this tribute to one of the most revered duos from Broadway’s
Golden Age.
Top: Kevin Stites. Above, left to right: Ben Crawford, Sierra Boggess, Ryan Silverman