Broadway Close Up takes you behind the scenes of musicals old and new with eye-opening interviews and inspiring performances by some of Broadway’s greatest talents. Meet the people who make musicals happen!

Liz-CallawayThe Fall 2013 performances kick off with the annual Bound for Broadway show hosted by Liz Callaway on October 7th, 7:30 p.m. For more than a decade, Bound for Broadway has been giving audiences a sneak peek at the best new shows being developed for the Great White Way! Broadway Close Up audiences were some of the first to hear songs and stories from shows like Next to Normal, Avenue Q and The Drowsy Chaperone. This year, Tony nominee and Emmy Award winner Liz Callaway will interview the writers of five new shows including My Life is a Musical by Lucille Lortel Award nominee Adam Overett; Nine Wives by the award-winning author Dan Elish and Drama Desk Award nominee Douglas J. Cohen; and Drive by Andy Monroe, composer of the acclaimed musical adaptation of Dan Savage’s The Kid.

Amanda-GreenTony-nominated composer-lyricist Amanda Green, with Music Director Matt Gallagher is next on October 28th, 7:30 p.m. So far Tony-nominated composer-lyricist Amanda Green has been represented on Broadway three times with High Fidelity and two of last season’s shows, the exuberant Bring it On: The Musical and the pioneering Hands on a Hardbody. She also happens to be the daughter of legendary lyricist Adolph Green and actress Phyllis Newman. Find out what it’s like to be a young composer-lyricist on Broadway today, and how Amanda’s generation is changing the musical. She will perform some of her songs and discuss her collaborations with Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, Pulitzer Prize winners Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife) and Tom Kitt (Next to Normal). Plus, find out what Amanda is up to next!

Coleman2An evening with the fascinating women from the musicals of Cy Coleman, kicks into gear on November 18th at 7:30 pm. with an enchanting exploration of duets, trios, quartets and ensemble numbers in a concert that will feature songs from a virtual Who’s Who of Broadway writers, including Stephen SondheimLeonard Bernstein and Irving Berlin among many others.

The great Broadway composer Cy Coleman wrote his first two shows with lyricist Carolyn Leigh and next two with Dorothy Fields, who were then practically the only female lyricists on Broadway. After that, he began working with another female lyricist, Betty Comden, as well as her partner Adolph Green. Maybe because of this, the songs from these shows, and the characters who sing them, seem to have a distinctly female perspective. Join us for a celebration of Cy’s early shows, including Wildcat, Little Me, Seesaw, On the Twentieth Century and the classic Sweet Charity. Hosted by Sean Hartley. Featuring Tony winner Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon), Isabel Keating (Tony nomination for The Boy from Oz), Christine Pedi (Talk Radio), Laura Marie Duncan (South Pacific), Gabrielle Stravelli, Josh Grisetti (Broadway Bound) and Jason Robinson. 

Heidi Blickenstaff

Heidi Blickenstaff

On December 9th at 7:30 pm Broadway really sings when its characters combine their voices in multi-part songs employing harmony and counterpoint. This buoyant celebration of ensemble singing on Broadway, performed by a cast of seven extraordinary singers and hosted by Sean Hartley, will offer an insightful history of the American musical theater through duets, trios, quartets, etc. Highlights will include Irving Berlin’s “You’re Just In Love,” Frank Loesser’s “Standing on the Corner” and the “Tonight Quintet” from Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s West Side Story as well as songs by Rodgers & Hart, Frank Loesser and William Finn. Featuring Mary Michael Patterson (Anything Goes), Lewis Cleale (The Book of Mormon), Alan Greene (Sister Act), Erin Mackey (Wicked), Heidi Blickenstaff ([title of show]), Matthew Scott (Sondheim On Sondheim) and Nick Verina (Follies). Directed by Noah Racey.