WESTFIELD – On Tuesday, December 31, at 5 p.m., under the baton of Maestro David Wroe, New Jersey Festival Orchestra again presents one of New Jersey’s most popular New Year’s Eve musical celebrations. This year’s performance, “Broadway Through the Ages,” promises a superb review of the best of Broadway’s song and dance showstoppers to herald the arrival of the New Year.
This year’s intergenerational program reads like a Who’s Who of American Musical Theater. It’s “eclectic, dynamic and a grand retrospective of the some of the choice song and dance numbers from Broadway,” said Music Director David Wroe. “All the great composers are represented.”
Songs by classicAmerican musical composers Rodgers and Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Lerner and Loewe, Kander and Ebb, Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim and more will be featured.
This year’s guest soloists — Paige Faure, Christina Maxwell and Matthew Scott — all come direct from the Broadway stage and beyond. Dancers from Dance Theatre of Harlem will also join the cast for some dazzling dance numbers.
“Maestro Wroe has put together a fabulous program,” said guest vocalist Paige Faure, who many will remember performing to great acclaim at last year’s New Year’s celebration. “ Its music that calls for dramatic interpretation – it’s passionate as well as comedic, and I’m thrilled to come back to NJFO for such an exciting celebration.”
Continued MaestroWroe: “This concert is an opportunity for adults to reminisce to songs they all know, for kids to learn more about some of the most exciting characters to grace the stage and screen, and for us all to revel in the genius of America’s finest composers. And it’s a great way for a family to celebrate New Year’s Eve together”.
“People want safe, familiar and uplifting events to bring in the New Year, and the NJ Festival Orchestra has built a tradition of being the place to be on this special night,” commented NJFO Board Damien Dossin. “We hope the new time of 5 p.m also fits perfectly in people’s plans — the 800 plus audience members can leave the concert to head off to their final dinner or party. The event is a highlight of the year for our community.”
The NYE concert, starting this year at 5 p.m, will take place in Westfield High School auditorium, 550 Dorian Road in Westfield, and will finish at approximately 6.50 p.m. The concert will be repeated on New Year’s Day at Sieminsky Theater, Fellowship CulturalArts Center, Basking Ridge at 2.30 p.m. Both concerts are presented through the generous support of The PNC Bank, The Westfield Foundation, The NJ State Council on the Arts, and Helene and Jerome Dreskin.
Tickets ($45 – $85) with a special discount price of only $25 for kids (under18) are available on line at www.njfestivalorchestra.org or by calling (908) 232-9400.
