Feb 1, 2018
BATAVIA — If you’re looking for a family-friendly musical revue, look no further than the Harvester 56 Theater this weekend and next as the Batavia Players bring “On Broadway 9: 100 Years and More” to the stage.
The show will take place at 7:30 p.m. this Friday and Saturday and also Feb. 9 and 10. There will be a matinee performance at 2 p.m. this Sunday. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors.
“It’s what’s considered a show-choir-style review. This particular theme is “100 Years of Broadway,” said director Amanda Melissa Taylor. “Instead of getting a whole song, you’re getting about 30 to 45 seconds of a song. What’s really nice about that is, there’s a little something for everyone.”
Taylor said the show lasts about 1.5 hours and includes an intermission. They may be bought online at www.bataviaplayers.org or at the theater box office.
The cast ranges in age from 9 to 60 with members who are theater regulars and some appearing in their first show.
“We do this every year. It’s just a different On-Broadway review. Last year, it was ‘The Magical Kingdom,’” Taylor said. “On Broadway’s always pretty popular. It’s nice because it’s fast-moving. You’re not going to be out all night. You can bring your kids. This is one of the ones that’s kid-friendly.”
Of the ensemble-based show, the director said, “Everybody has a featured part, but they also work with the ensemble. You don’t want anybody missing from these (song) numbers.
“We have a couple of families in the show - a father-daughter, a father and two kids, some adult couples,” Taylor said.
One of those couples is Kevin Koczka and Leigha Eichhorn. Koczka says he’s been in theater shows for about six years and Eichhorn says this is her first show performance. She usually directs shows at the Lancaster Opera House.
“We were in a show with Amanda. We were in ‘9 to 5 The Musical,’” Koczka said. “She (Eichhorn) directed it and Amanda and I were in the cast.”
Koczka said Taylor brought them into the “100 Years and More” cast.
Eichhorn said, “She really wanted Kevin to be in it because she needed more men to sing and also to sing some more mature solos.”
There is a 45-minute medley in the upcoming performance and it’s broken up into seven sections, Koczka and Eichhorn said.
“That’s one of the main pieces. There’s also a “Footloose” piece and an Andrew Lloyd Weber and another medley,” Koczka said. “It’s a lot of music that’s been the most popular tunes on Broadway for a long time.”
“I like how it’s Broadway songs and some of the older ones that I didn’t know beforehand,” Lorna Becker said. “I have a few solos, duets and a trio song.
“I’m really excited about it. I think shows are fun because there are a lot of always surprises in shows, good or bad. It gives you a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of energy, to see their (audience members’) faces,” she said. “There’s sadness, seriousness, romance, a lot of songs you can jam out to in the audience and a lot of familiar songs ...”
Michele Stamp said, “It is a wonderful form of live entertainment with wonderful performances ... Seeing a movie is more expensive than coming to see this musical.”
Stamp said she prefers ensembles, adding, “But I really love my solo, ‘Rockaby Your Baby.’ It’s in my (vocal) range. For a female, I’m a bass. So, it works.”
