Broadway lectures Tucson AZ

Richard T Hanson

ON THE TOWN! -The Broadway of Bernstein, Comden & Green

red and gold marquee with stars title On The Town! lecture by Richard Hanson about Broadway Musicals

ON THE TOWN!
The Broadway of Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden & Adolph Green

On The Town! celebrates the inspired collaboration between a boy from Boston, a girl from Brooklyn, and a boy from the Bronx who created musical theatre masterpieces that changed the face of the American Musical.

two people in black and white, singing with their arms outstretched. Betty Comden and Adolph Green in Richard Hanson's Fall 2019 lecture

In 1944, twenty-somethings Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green created the smash hit On The Town! Featuring a mixed race cast and the first African-American conductor of an all white orchestra, On The Town! was a new, modern, and progressive musical. It had a fresh, contemporary score in which Bernstein melded the musical traditions of Tin Pan Alley, the symphonic world and African-American jazz.

woman and man in black and white, woman is measuring distance from sailor's head to something On The Town lecture about sailors in New York by Richard Hanson

portraits in black and white of Betty Comden and Adolph Green, writers of On The Town, subject of Richard T Hanson's Fall 2019 lecture

On The Town! revels in the theatrical genius of Bernstein, Comden and Green who created witty, urban and sophisticated musicals which celebrated their hometown, New York City. With pals Jerome Robbins, Stephen Sondheim, Cy Coleman, Alan J. Lerner, Tommy Tune, Jule Styne, and others, Bernstein, Comden and Green created musical masterpieces of the Golden Age of Broadway: Wonderful Town, West Side Story, Bells Are Ringing, Peter Pan, Candide, Do-Re-Mi, On The Twentieth Century, Applause, and The Will Rogers Follies.

3 people in black and white Comden, Bernstein & Green Come to the lecture by Richard Hanson October 2019

The musicals of Bernstein, Comden and Green come alive with rare archival footage of performances which capture the elusive genius of such stars as Mary Martin, Judy Holliday, Phil Silvers, Chita Rivera, Larry Kert, Lauren Bacall, Rosalind Russell, and Barbara Cook.

black and white photo of man in tuxedo in front of orchestra as conductor Leonard Bernstein part of Richard Hanson lecture

On The Town! lifts a glass to the glorious world of Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green who for six decades charmed Broadway with sparkling wit, romance and musical sophistication. This enchanted trio were Musical Theatre revolutionaries, the likes of whom will never be seen again.

(On The Town!  is first in the series of You Asked For It! classes. In Spring 2019, I asked for suggestions, topics and themes from Learning Curve students for future lectures. On The Town! is the result of a Wall Street Journal book review which was given to me by loyal Learning Curve alumna, Karen Holcomb. Thank you, Karen!)

man and woman in black and white left hands outstretched Green and Comden songwriting duo discussed in Richard Hanson's Fall 2019 lecture

Fame if you win it,
Comes and goes in a minute.
Where’s the real stuff in life to cling to?
Love is the answer,
Someone to love is the answer . . .
(Do-Re-Mi)

This lecturer is beyond praise.  He holds his audience spellbound!