Interlude - April 15
April 15, 2021
Broadway field trip, livestream for kids, Donny Osmond and more
Welcome back to Interlude, which we hope you think of as a gentle spring shower that comes once a week to help the arts bloom in your world. Right?
Musicals sing America’s story
Musical theater has depicted countless aspects of American life and history. Founding Fathers? World War II? Choreographed street gangs? Check, check and check.
For the Center’s next Performing Arts Connect, a presenter from the Manhattan School of Music will take us on a virtual visit to Broadway to explore the historical context and sociocultural issues reflected in three celebrated musicals: Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific and, of course, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s recent smash Hamilton. Then we’ll put our new insights to use in writing our own historical rap, which might be a new experience for some folks.
Come Zoom with us! Get your ticket now for From Hamilton to West Side Story: Identifying Our American Experience through Song.
Visit the rainforest – no passport required
OK, it’s not a great time for international travel, but kids and their favorite grownups can take a musical trip to the jungle during the Faegre Drinker Peanut Butter & Jam session on April 24.
Rainforest Rhythm Jam is the theme, and percussion instruments are the gear for the interactive Saturday morning performance led by Ms. Lisa of Bongo Boy Music School, whom you may know from the Center’s Jungle Jams summer camp.
While the on-site performance is sold out, you can catch the show on Facebook Live at 10:30 a.m. next Saturday morning.
A soundtrack for your April
With the greenery of spring comes a new Shepherd Insurance Rewind Playlist for the month of April. Though it’s true there were no Center Presents performances in April 2020, there were nine previous Aprils that brought us such artists as Bobby McFerrin, the Charlie Daniels Band, Trisha Yearwood, Itzhak Perlman, Zakir Hussain, Debby Boone and so many more.
To relive those fabulous evenings, just listen to the list.
In the Archives with Michael, Donny and Andy
If you were a fan of NBC’s The Andy Williams Show, you might remember that Williams welcomed guests ranging from Bobby Darin to Eddie Fisher to Martha Raye to Judy Garland to you name it! It was a who’s who of show business. He also introduced a certain adorable 5-year-old who, alongside his talented brothers, became a staple of the show and went on to a lifelong career in entertainment. Yes, we’re talking about singer, actor and all-around entertainer Donny Osmond, who credits Williams as “my teacher, my mentor ... and a class act all the way!”
Mark your calendar to join Michael Feinstein in the Songbook Archives at 7 p.m. ET this coming Monday, April 19, as he explores a collection of arrangements and orchestrations written for Williams’ TV show and his studio recordings. The premiere will stream via the Great American Songbook Foundation's YouTube and Facebook channels.
But first, enjoy this special introduction from Osmond himself – recorded exclusively for the Songbook Foundation – about his personal experiences growing up on The Andy Williams Show and the lifelong lessons he learned from Williams.
This week in performing arts history
Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea receive a standing ovation at the Palladium in 2015.
April 11: On this date in 2010, Million Dollar Quartet – a musical about the legendary 1956 Sun Records recording session that brought together Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley – opened at Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre. The Center’s resident Actors Theatre of Indiana has produced the show twice, in September 2016 and in June 2018.
April 12: On this date in 1940, jazz keyboardist, composer and bandleader Herbie Hancock was born in Chicago, Illinois. Hancock has performed at the Palladium twice, in March 2012 and in April 2015 with Chick Corea (pictured above).
April 12: On this date In 1957, country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Vince Gill was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Winner of 17 Country Music Awards and 14 Grammy Awards, Gill has performed at the Palladium three times: March 2011, May 2015 and April 2017 with the Time Jumpers.
April 13: On this date in 1742, George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah premiered in Dublin. Now a holiday tradition, the piece has been performed at the Palladium by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra seven times over the past decade.
