Eric Conway writes on Thursday, November 19, 2015:
Hello All,
This
morning at 10:30 AM, I attended the first performance of a
staged-reading of the Broadway-Style Jazz Operetta: “There Was A Boy”.
This is the story of none-other than the one of the most famous
recording artists that every lived: Nat King Cole. The show was
conceived and written by James Rich. James Rich, who was a resident
artist in our department for a part of the semester, sang the lead role
of Nat King Cole. Is there anyone over the age of fifty who does not
know most of the Nat King Cole standards. Even today, as we enter the
holidays, one cannot stroll through a department store without hearing
selections from his most famous Christmas “album”, perhaps most famous
of all time. James as “Nat” was surrounded by both Morgan Music majors
who were enrolled in the department’s opera workshop course as well as
faculty and administration in the university. James Rich has a silky
voice who successfully recreates the spirit of Nat King when he sings.
As virtually every standard was sung by a different person in the cast,
one got the sense of a variety show in hearing many different voices
sing these popular standards. James Rich hopes that one day, this show
will make it to Broadway. Just think that if that happens, it first was
realized at Morgan. If you are from Morgan, it is worth the price of
admission just to hear our CLA Dean, Pamela Scott-Johnson; VP of Student
Affairs, Kevin Banks; or Theatre faculty member Phillip Burgess croon a
few tunes. There are three performances left: Friday, November 20th,
Saturday, the 21st, at 7:30 PM and Saturday, November 21st at 2:00 PM.
If you are available, I strongly recommend that attend this show and
stroll down memory lane as you hear all the popular standards of the
forties, fifties & sixties. See some snapshots attached of this
morning’s show, with a short clip from the show. All performances will
be in the Murphy Fine Arts Center Recital Hall. $15 General Admission,
$7 MSU Students Faculty and Staff.
EC
Link to Murphy Fine Arts Center Website:
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