Musical revue, Irving Berlin’s “I Love a Piano” to be staged Nov. 11 at the Community Concert Hall
DURANGO, Colo. – “I Love a Piano,” the nostalgic musical journey that spans seven decades of American history as seen through the eyes of Irving Berlin, comes to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, 7 pm.
When asked where Irving Berlin ranked in American music, fellow music legend Jerome Kern is reputed to have said, “Irvine Berlin has no place in American music. He is American music.” Indeed, the vast talent, as well as the perceptive and hopeful nature of Berlin is celebrated in “I Love a Piano.”
The cast of six, plus a live back-up band, offers more than 60 of Berlin’s tunes. The unifying device? The piano. Cleverly, the revue tracks a piano with one sour key through four generations of owners and vocalists who perform on and with it, beginning in the Tin Pan Alley era, circa 1911, when Berlin launched his career, and ending during a late-1950s summer stock casting session for Berlin’s 1946 musical, “Annie Get Your Gun.” The structure facilitates logical song groupings, including a World War II segment showcasing Berlin’s “God Bless America” and additional patriotic songs.
“I Love a Piano” was conceived and written by Ray Roderick and Michael Berkeley, who have incorporated Berlin’s timeless classics such as “Puttin’ On the Ritz,” “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “White Christmas,” “You’re Just in Love,” “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” and much more.
Wrote David C. Nichols for the “Los Angeles Times,” “I knew 15 minutes in that I was thoroughly enjoying ‘I Love a Piano’ – by the ending, I was in love. Blame it on Berlin, and Roderick and Berkeley, and everyone else connected with this enchanting entertainment.”
View a short YouTube video of the show
Tickets for “I Love a Piano” ($25-Balcony, $29-Orchestra and $35 Plaza) are available on the web at www.durangoconcerts.com or by calling 970.247.7657 or 877.282.9992, or at the Ticket Office in Downtown Durango at 7th and Main Ave. All sales final.
Curtain is 7pm, with doors to the Concert Hall and concessions, serving beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, opening at 6:30 pm.
The Community Concert Hall is located in the growing arts complex of Fort Lewis College. It operates through a partnership with the college, a state-supported, independent institution of higher education, as well as the city of Durango, and with financial and in-kind contributions from generous members of the community.
