The Town Hall has announced new dates for Broadway By The Year, created, written, hosted and directed by Scott Siegel, due to the current Omicron surge. Instead of beginning in February, this year’s series will begin in March, with the last concert being performed in September. This year, The Town Hall will set a new, exciting standard for its signature series, with each concert highlighting a major musical theater theme. They are: The New Wave that will feature the breakthrough new composers of the last twenty-five years; From The Ziegfeld Follies to Moulin Rouge, which will explore the remarkable history of jukebox musicals and the great age of musical revues; Almost on Broadway that, for the first time in Broadway by the Year history, tackles the great musical theater songbook that never reached the Great White Way; and, finally, the biggest, most ambitious concert in Broadway by the Year’s history, A One Night Only History of Broadway Song and Dance. Ross Patterson continues as the series’ musical director along with The Ross Patterson Little Big Band. Broadway by the Year © concerts open time capsules to some of the Great White Way’s most memorable seasons, and will continue to break new ground in its 21st season.
The concerts are:
March 21, 2022 at 8PM
Broadway by the Year: THE NEW WAVE
Songs from Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, The Book of Mormon, Rent, The Drowsy Chaperone and more
When Broadway historians look back at the early 21st Century, they may well call this era a new Golden Age, because right now it’s much like the 1920s when bright new composers like Irving Berlin, The Gershwins, Rodgers & Hart, and Cole Porter took a foothold on Broadway.
In the first concert of their 21st season, Broadway by the Year will celebrate the likes of Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights, Hamilton),
Benj Pasek and
Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen), Bobby Lopez (The Book of Mormon), and Lopez with Jeff Marx (Avenue Q), and so much more. An All-Star cast, drawn from performers who starred in these shows on Broadway, will be an extra, exciting attraction
May 23, 2022 at 8PM
Broadway by the Year: FROM THE ZIEGFELD FOLLIES TO MOULIN ROUGE
Songs from Jukebox and Revue Musicals
An extraordinary number of hit Broadway shows fit the description of “Jukebox or Revues Musical.” In our unique concert event at Town Hall, we will unearth the history of this much-maligned genre to reveal its importance in the resurrection of composers, songs, and styles. These Musicals have served everything from rock ’n’ roll (The Jersey Boys, Beautiful, All Shook Up) to classical music (Kismet), and from country (Ring of Fire) to Rhythm & Blues (Black & Blue, After Midnight). It has highlighted oftentimes forgotten composers, bringing their names back into the limelight, such as Eubie Blake with Eubie! and Fats Waller with Ain’t Misbehavin’. Our concert will highlight the history of these shows and give you the chart-topping songs from these shows, as well! Look forward to another All-Star cast delivering these songs with all the flair they deserve!
June 27, 2022 at 8PM
Broadway by the Year: ALMOST ON BROADWAY
Songs from shows that played off-Broadway and around the country
The world of theater music is full of songs that leapt to fame from shows that never actually made it to Broadway. For the first time in its 21-year history, Broadway by the Year will venture outside the confines of Broadway to honor the brilliant songs born Off-Broadway and in shows that played everywhere but Broadway. Just a small sampling of Off-Broadway shows that launched famous songs includes Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Bat Boy, Beehive and, of course, The Fantasticks. Then there are the shows that never made it to Broadway, like The Baker’s Wife, Zorro, and The Witches of Eastwick.
September 19, 2022 at 8PM
Broadway by the Year: A ONE NIGHT ONLY HISTORY OF BROADWAY SONG AND DANCE
It’s an awesomely big subject, but Broadway by the Year will bring it to you in an explosion of tap, ballroom, jazz, ballet, and more! From George M. Cohan, Fred &Adele Astaire, and the dancing feet of 42nd Street, right up to the brilliance of Andy Blankenbeuler’s choreography for In the Heights and Hamilton — and the world of Broadway dance that swirls in-between.
A cast of brilliant Broadway singer-dancers will be on display in this, Broadway by the Year’s most ambitious concert event in its 21 year history! In fact, this entire 21st season will set a new standard for Town Hall’s signature series. We hope you’ll be there to witness it all!
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Subscriptions for Broadway By The Year are currently available. For more information, please visit
www.thetownhall.org. The Broadway By The Year © concert series is part of The Town Hall’s presenting season.
MORE ABOUT BROADWAY BY THE YEAR ©
This unique, critically acclaimed series created, written, hosted, and directed by Scott Siegel is peppered with history-making events. Broadway by the Year introduced Stephanie J. Block to the New York City theater audience. And it was Broadway by the Year that starred Jessie Mueller in her first concert appearance in New York after she was first seen on Broadway in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Broadway by the Year pioneered the use of dance in a one-night only concert format and they have and continue to highlight the Broadway voice by introducing unplugged performances, using no microphones.
TOWNHALL
Town Hall has played an integral part in the electrifying cultural fabric of New York City for more than 100 years. A group of Suffragists’ fight for the 19th Amendment led them to build a meeting space to educate people on the important issues of the day. During its construction, the 19th Amendment was passed, and on January 12, 1921 The Town Hall opened its doors and took on a double meaning: as a symbol of the victory sought by its founders, and as a spark for a new, more optimistic climate. In 1921, German composer Richard Strauss performed a series of concerts that cemented the Hall’s reputation as an ideal venue for musical performances. Since, Town Hall has been home to countless musical milestones: The US debuts of Strauss, and Isaac Stern; Marian Anderson’s first New York recital; in 1945, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker introduced bebop to the world; Bob Dylan’s first major concert in ’63; and much, much more.
