Welcome to a new Musical Theatre Monday! This month, I’m a week early to celebrate the anniversary of a one-night-only celebration that occurred 40 years ago — on April 14, 1986.
Titled Broadway Applauds Lincoln Center, this all-star tribute to the performing arts featured an outstanding lineup: Bea Arthur, Jim Dale, Cleo Laine, Madeline Kahn, Marvin Hamlisch, Leslie Uggams, Shirley Jones, Kitty Carlisle Hart, Larry Kert, Christopher d’Amboise, Gregg Burge, Swoosie Kurtz, Stockard Channing, Maurice Hines, Mark Hamill, Karl Malden, Mason Adams, Loni Ackerman, Jerry Herman, David Shire, Howard McGillin, Hal Linden, Laurie Beechman, Ron Richardson, Charlotte Rae, André De Shields, Liliane Montevecchi, John Cullum, Liz Callaway, Jack Gilford, Beverly Lambert, Alaina Reed, William Daniels, Charles Dutton, Norman Lloyd, Ken Howard, Christopher Reeve, and Dick Shawn.
The song list from this performance:
*A group rendition of “Putting It Together” featuring special lyrics by Sondheim
*André De Shields with “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ The Boat”
*A Tap Lesson from Song & Dance
*Cleo Laine’s formidable “Bill”
*Madeline Kahn taking the company on “The Saga of Jenny”
*Hal Linden with Kiss Me, Kate’s “Where Is The Life That Late I Led”
*Liliane Montevecchi’s “Folies Bergères” from Nine
*Marvin Hamlisch conducting an eight-minute Overture for A Chorus Line
*Leslie Uggams saluting Jerry Herman with “If He Walked Into My Life Today”
*Maurice Hines singing and dancing to “Lady, Be Good!”
*Shirley Jones and Larry Kert duetting on “People Will Say We’re In Love”
*John Cullum introducing a song from an unproduced Captain America musical
*Liz Callaway paying tribute to David Shire with “The Story Goes On”
*Jim Dale with The Music Man’s “Ya Got Trouble”
*Howard McGillin, Beverly Lambert, and the company in “Make Our Garden Grow”
*Bea Arthur and Dick Shawn leading the star-studded cast in “Broadway, My Street”
It’s such a one-of-a-kind collection that I’m thrilled to share the full audio here with you, any subscriber who comments below to alert me of their private, non-commercial interest. And for those in doubt, here’s another delightful little sample of this magnificent concert…
Come back next month for another musical treat! And keep it here for more Community!