The New Jersey Performing Arts Center's 'American Song' series continues with three March shows: Donna McKechnie and Andrea McArdle perform songs by Hamlisch and Sondheim during two shows on March 10 and Seth Rudetsky hosts a night of 'Broadway's Best' on March 16.
Few people know Broadway better than Seth Rudetsky, who hosts two Sirius/XM Satellite Radio shows that flaunt his vast historic knowledge, his gift for gossip and storytelling and his insider credibility that leads the stage’s biggest stars to sit down with him for interviews. So who better to host an evening of “Broadway’s Best” at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center?
“The whole evening’s going to be about amazing music and my insider stories, which are hilarious and often feature somebody falling in a pit, somebody’s wig blowing off, somebody peeing on stage,” Rudetsky predicted of his March 16 show featuring Broadway veterans Andrea Burns, Manoel Felciano and Rachel York. “I really love for people to come to my shows and be entertained and then to walk out with, not really bragging rights, but ‘Did you know that…’ and then tell some great story.”
Rudetsky’s revue — which will include songs from “Wicked,” “West Side Story,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Funny Girl” and “classic, classic, classic,” he said — is part of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s American Song series.
The art center introduced the series in 2012 and it’s been a crowd-pleaser ever since.
” The American Songbook series is an integral part of our season at NJPAC ,” said Julia Kraus, NJPAC’s Producer of Artistic Development. “We feature up-and-coming young artists as well as those who have been on the stage and in the public’s eye and ear for decades. Audiences can expect diversity and a wide range of styles from the artists we’re presenting this year. But all of the artists have one thing in common — they each play a critical role in the propagation of this art form, past and present.”
Two more “American Songbook” performances are scheduled for this season: My Funny Valentine with Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley on May 12 and An Afternoon with Audra McDonald on June 3.
The popularity of so-called “American song” and tunes from Broadway has ebbed and flowed over the last 25 years, reaching a low point in the 1990s, Rudetsky believes. It’s been gaining steam since then.
“Broadway’s popular again,” he said. “It’s become something Americans do.”
Rudetsky doesn’t like to overanalyze. Asked how he would define “American song,” he groaned and said, “I wouldn’t. That’s the kind of thing that makes me bored. … It’s like in college, academia, when they take something so interesting and make it so boring.”
To someone interested in studying theater, he would say, “Watch this performance. Why do you think this performance is amazing? Why do you think this performance is not amazing? Where do you think it came from?”
To someone considering buying a ticket to his show, he would say, “If you love Broadway, you’re probably going to hear a song you really like, and if you love stories about people falling off the stage, you’ll probably hear that, too.”
American Song Series at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center
March 16
1 Center St., Newark
Broadway’s Best with Seth Rudetsky
Tickets: $ 59-69, available online at www.njpac.org.
Natalie Pompilio is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. She can be reached at nataliepompilio@yahoo.com. Find her on Twitter @nataliepompilio. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.