When it comes to show tunes, Meg McGarry has a soft spot for the old school.
More Top Picks Stability Balls
“I love the old classics. They are the reason I fell in love with Broadway,” the Plano resident said. “Listening to my dad’s records with him — shows like ‘Carousel’ and ‘Oklahoma’ — just awakened my love for musical theater as a child. They are near and dear to my heart.”
It’s those classics that will be in the spotlight when Fox Country Players presents its fifth annual “A Night of Broadway” fundraiser at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 at Yorkville Congregational United Church of Christ in Yorkville. Doors open at 6 p.m.
“This year we are celebrating the Golden Age of Broadway with classic hits from the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s,” said McGarry, who is directing the concert. “What we consider the core of the musical theater repertory, so we have beautiful classic songs from Rogers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Kander and Ebb, Lerner and Loewe — all the classic composers that people know and love.”
Among the songs features are those from favorite musicals including “South Pacific,” “Guys and Dolls,” “The Music Man” and “Gypsy.”
“A lot of these songs changed entertainment culture. Not only making musicals accessible to all social groups, but they were the first of their kind to top musical pop charts and reach worldwide audiences,” McGarry said. “There’s a reason they call it the Golden Age of Broadway.”
In the past the group performed a wide range of contemporary and classic show tunes, and last year’s event featured songs from Disney musicals, McGarry said.
“I felt like as director this year, I really wanted to focus on a specific group of songs to make it a little more cohesive, that way we could all be celebrating the same era together,” she said.
McGarry, along with musical director Nan Grommes of Yorkville, selected the songs to be performed — many of them her favorites.
“I have a feeling they are songs everybody loves,” McGarry said.
Songs include “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” from “Gypsy” and “On the Street Where You Live” from “My Fair Lady.”
“For the most part, we stay true to the traditional theme of the songs,” McGarry said of the evening’s program. “There will be a few surprises we put in to mix it up a little bit. I won’t reveal that. We do have a couple of fun surprises with how we cast songs, which I think will be a real treat for the audience.”
Thirty-six cast members will perform throughout the night, for an hour and a half of music, with intermission. Many of the vocalists are from the Fox Valley area, with some coming from neighboring communities and Chicago. Several are professionals and area music teachers. The cast also features a children’s chorus.
“We have our largest ever cast for ‘Night of Broadway,'” McGarry said. “And that leads us to have opportunity for really wonderful big choral numbers, which we will feature the entire cast in multiple songs, as well as an all-men’s chorus number. We’re very excited.
“It seems to be a community theater issue trying to find lot of men who are available and interested in being involved in musical numbers, so when we were able to do an entire number with a large men’s chorus, all of us are very excited,” she said. “There’s a lot of wonderful talent.”
Monies raised by “A Night of Broadway” help fund Fox Country Players’ annual Theatre Arts Academy, a two-week summer workshop offering children in first through 12th grades an opportunity to learn all aspects of theater. McGarry said the Academy is close to her heart, as she and her children have participated in it, and she has also directed in it.
“It’s really a beautiful program,” she said.
The evening of Broadway will also feature a silent auction including entertainment and dining packages. The auction begins at 6 p.m., with the winning bids announced at the end of the show.
Even though cost for the Academy is low for the students, it is expensive to produce, McGarry and board member Doug Earnest both said. That includes purchasing supplies, securing the rights to the shows the students perform and hiring instructors.
“It costs so much to hire really good teachers. We have a big staff. We usually have a lot of kids, about 100 kids,” Earnest said.
This year the Academy will perform at a new venue, Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, providing the students with more room and a full stage.
With “A Night of Broadway” featuring past and potentially future participants of the Theatre Arts Academy, McGarry is hoping the audience will fill the house.
“I would love to get a lot of community support to help make that children’s workshop a reality, and keep supporting it and the next generation of artists in the area,” she said.
Kathy Cichon is a freelance writer.
More Top Picks Toilets
‘A Night of Broadway’
When: Feb. 6
Where: Yorkville Congregational United Church of Christ, 409 Center Parkway, Yorkville
Tickets: $20
Information: 630-234-5459 or foxcountryplayers.org