If your clients love real, old-fashioned Golden-Age Broadway musicals (i.e., they hate Rent, Phantom and just about anything written after Hair unless it's by Stephen Sondheim), encourage them to book their New York visit around the Encores! performances at New York City Center.
These concerts bring back rarely-performed musicals for one weekend per piece, always with a full orchestra and ensemble and, frequently, with as many original features as possible (often arrangements, frequently choreography). Because the concerts are so limited, they frequently get some of the best stars in the biz--Anne Hathaway, Kristin Chenoweth, Patti LuPone, Donna Murphy, Raul Esparza, Cheyenne Jackson, Sutton Foster and Kelli O'Hara have all graced its boards, and the current revival of Chicago (the longest-running revival in Broadway history) began its life as an Encores! production.
The 2012 season will range from classic Rodgers & Hammerstein (Pipe Dream) to smart satire (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the show that made Carol Channing a star and gave the world "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend") and one of Stephen Sondheim's most popular flops (Merrily We Roll Along, which lasted only two weeks on Broadway but has since been performed all over the world and has some of the composer's best beloved songs).
The schedule will be:
Merrily We Roll Along (February 8 – 12, 2012)
Based on the original play Merrily We Roll Along by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart
Opened on November 16, 1981 at the Alvin Theatre and played 16 performances
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by George Furth
Directed by James Lapine
Pipe Dream (March 28 – April 1, 2012)
Based on the novel Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck
Opened on November 30, 1955 at the Shubert Theater and played 246 performances
Music by Richard Rodgers
Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (May 9 – 13, 2012)
Opened on December 8, 1949 at the Ziegfeld Theatre and played 740 performances
Adapted from the novel by Anita Loos
Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by Leo Robin
Book by Anita Loos and Joseph Fields
Even better, new Encores! subscriptions will be available for the first time in three years and can be purchased starting August 1 through CityTix at 212-581-1212, or online at www.NYCityCenter.org. Single tickets for Encores! 2012 go on sale October 10.