Music ReviewsMUST SEEREVIEWSREVIEWS BYTom Williams

Hollywood’s Greatest Hits

Music Direction & Conductor Linda MadoniaHollywood-page2

Directed by Rudy Hogenmiller

produced by Light Opera Works

At Nichols Concert Hall, Evanston

Nostalgic revue of Hollywood’s Greatest Hits features four terrific female voices

It is unusual to have an all-female cast  for a song revue, but director Rudy Hogenmiller’s choices made it work musically. The four performers each possess excellent voices and the ability to sell their songs in the spirit of that number’s context. The quartet produced fine harmonies in several songs: “Puttin’ on the Ritz, ” ‘The Lullaby of Broadway,” ‘”Moon River,” and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” among others. Alicia Berneche, Amanda Horvath, Sarah Larson, and Mary Robin Roth got our memories sizzling with their sweet rendition of classic Hollywood tunes.

Hollywoods Greatest Hits - Light Opera Works - 9/29/15 Photo by Chris Ocken Copyright 2015 - http://www.ockenphotography.com/

Each performer had their moments: especially from Mary Robin Roth’s fabulous knockout renditions of  “The Man That Got Away,” “Charade,” and “The Rose.” I also enjoyed Alicia Berneche’s classically trained operatic vocals in numbers like “I Will Wait For You” and “My Heart Will Go On.”

The selection of sangs came from Art Deco Hollywood to Film Noir to the Forties and Fifties in act one. Act Two features songs from The Swinging Sixties to Hollywood power ballads ending with the most beloved Hollywood tune of all-time “Over the Rainbow’ marvelously performed by all four woman.

This is a fine trip down memory lane with many of the “tunes of our lives.” Checkout the complete song list to whet your appetite for the Hollywood Greatest Hits that will only play through October 11 at Nichols Concert Hall in Evanston. Don’t miss it.

Light Opera Works

THE PROGRAM

ACT ONE

ART DECO HOLLYWOOD

“Hooray for Hollywood”…from HOLLYWOOD HOTEL (1937)

(music by Richard Whiting, lyrics by Johnny Mercer)

“Puttin’ on the Ritz”…from PUTTIN’ ON THE RITZ (1930)

(music and lyrics by Irving Berlin)

“The Lullaby of Broadway”…from GOLD DIGGERS OF 1935

           (music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Al Dubin)

FILM NOIR AND BEYOND

“Laura”…from LAURA (1944)

           (music by David Raksin)

“As Time Goes By”…from CASABLANCA (1942)

           (music and lyrics by Herman Hupfeld)

“Blues in the Night”…from BLUES IN THE NIGHT (1941)

           (music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Johnny Mercer)

“Stormy Weather”…from STORMY WEATHER (1943)

           (music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Ted Koehler)

“The Man That Got Away”…from A STAR IS BORN (1954)

           (music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Ira Gershwin)

“Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend”…from GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953)

           (music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Leo Robin)

FORTIES AND FIFTIES FAVORITES

“Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”…from BUCK PRIVATES (1941)

           (music and lyrics by Don Raye and Hughie Prince)

“Three Coins in the Fountain”…from THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN (1954)

           (music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Sammy Cahn)

“An Affair to Remember”…from AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER (1957)

           (music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Leo McCarey and Harold Adamson)

“Love is a Many-Splendored Thing”…from LOVE IS A MANY-SPLENDORED THING (1955)

           (music by Sammy Fain, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)

“Unchained Melody”….from UNCHAINED (1955) and GHOST (1980)

           (music by Alex North, lyrics by Hy Zaret)

“Secret Love”…from CALAMITY JANE (1953)

           (music by Sammy Fain, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)

“Get Happy”…from SUMMER STOCK (1950)

           (music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Ted Koehler)

“The Trolley Song”…from MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944)

           (music by Hugh Martin, lyrics by Ralph Blaine)

“Swinging on a Star”…from GOING MY WAY (1944)

           (music by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Johnny Burke)

“Ac-Cen-tchu-Ate the Positive”…from HERE COME THE WAVES (1944)

           (music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Johnny Mercer)

“That Old Black Magic”…from STAR SPANGLED RHYTHM (1942)

           (music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Johnny Mercer)        

“Something’s Gotta Give”..from DADDY LONG LEGS (1955)

           (music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer)

Fifteen-minute intermission

ACT TWO

THE SWINGING SIXTIES

“Goldfinger”…from GOLDFINGER (1964)

           (music by John Barry, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley)

“The Look of Love”…from CASINO ROYALE (1967)

           (music by Burt Bachrach, lyrics by Hal David)

“Alfie”…from ALFIE (1966)

           (music by Burt Bachrach, lyrics by Hal David)

“Charade”…from CHARADE (1963)

           (music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Johnny Mercer)        

“I Will Wait For You”…from THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1964)

           (music by Michel Legrand, lyrics by Norman Gimbel)

“More (Than the Greatest Love)”…from MONDO CANE (1962)

           (music by Riz Ortolani, lyrics by Norman Newell)

“Born Free”…from BORN FREE (1966)

           (music by John Barry, lyrics by Don Black)

“Moon River”…from BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S  (1961)

           (music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Johnny Mercer)        

“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”…from BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)

           (music by Burt Bachrach, lyrics by Hal David)

HOLLYWOOD POWER BALLADS

“The Way We Were”…from THE WAY WE WERE (1973)

           (music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman)

“Evergreen”…from A STAR IS BORN (1976)

           (music by Barbara Streisand, lyrics by Paul Williams)

“Wind Beneath My Wings”…from BEACHES (1988)

           (music and lyrics by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley)

“Looking Through the Eyes of Love”…from ICE CASTLES (1978)

           (music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager)

“I Will Always Love You”…from THE BODYGUARD (1992)

           (music and lyrics by Dolly Parton)

“Nobody Does It Better” …from THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977)

           (music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager)

“My Heart Will Go On”…from TITANIC (1997)

           (music by James Horner, lyrics by Will Jennings)

“The Rose”…from THE ROSE (1979)

           (music and lyrics by Amanda McBroom)

 

FINALE

“When You Wish Upon a Star”…from PINOCCHIO (1940)

           (music by Leigh Harline, lyrics by Ned Washington)

“Over the Rainbow”…from THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)

           (music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E. Y. Harburg)      

Highly Recommended

Tom Williams

At Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston, IL, call 847-920-5360, www.musictheaterworks.com, tickets $30- $60 ages 21 and younger 1/2 price,  Sat. Oct 3 at 2 & 8 pm, Sun. Oct 4 at 2pm, Wed Oct 7 at 2pm, Thur. Oct 8 at 2pm, Fri Oct 9 at 8pm, Sat Oct 10 at 2 & 8 pm, Sunday,Oct 11 at 2 pm, running time is 1 hour, 55 minutes with intermission.