Broadway Baby

Melissa Errico Sings Sondheim

Wednesday, November 8, 2023 at 7 p.m.
Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 7 p.m.

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Broadway star Melissa Errico pays tribute to her musical mentor Stephen Sondheim in a sparkling evening of sublime songs and often-humorous insights into Sondheim’s craft and life. The New Yorker calls Tony-nominee Melissa Errico “the finest interpreter of Sondheim’s music in America today.”

 

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Melissa Errico with a smile, gazing to the side.

“The Maria Callas of American musical theater,” —Opera News

Melissa Errico is an actress, singer, and author. First known for her starring roles on Broadway, she has since become a concert, cabaret and recording artist as well; her 2018 album Sondheim Sublime was called by The Wall Street Journal “The best all-Sondheim album ever recorded.”

A Tony Award-nominated Broadway star, Melissa Errico contributes regularly to The New York Times in an essay series called “Scenes From An Acting Life.” The Wall Street Journal recently referred to her as a “nonpareil cabaret singer.”

As a musical theater actress, she starred on Broadway in such musicals as My Fair Lady where The New York Times called her Eliza Doolittle “beguiling,” Anna Karenina, High Society as Tracy Lord, Amour (Tony-nominated for Best Actress), Dracula, White Christmas in the Rosemary Clooney role of Betty, and as Cosette in Les Misérables. Melissa has maintained a constant TV presence throughout her career, starring in Darren Star’s Central Park West, steady guest roles, and most recently playing recurring roles on Showtime’s Billions and Cinemax’s The Knick. She appeared in featured films such as Frequency with Dennis Quaid, Life Or Something Like It as Angelina Jolie’s best friend, Loverboy directed by Kevin Bacon, and others. At The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, she starred in The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady with John Lithgow, and Camelot opposite Jeremy Irons, which they revived for one night on Broadway. She also starred in non-musical roles in such plays as The Importance of Being Earnest, Shaw’s Candida and Wally Shawn’s Aunt Dan and Lemon at The New Group. Off-Broadway, she has performed the role of Sharon in Finian’s Rainbow three times (the subject of her debut essay for The New York Times), and starred in On A Clear Day You Can See Forever at The Irish Repertory Theatre to great acclaim. She has five Drama Desk nominations, a Lucille Lortel Award, two Helen Hayes nominations, four Drama League Honors, and a Tony Award nomination. She was honored with a Sardi’s caricature and also served a term on the National Endowment For The Arts.

Melissa has released several studio recordings including her debut on EMI Records produced by Arif Mardin entitled Blue Like That. Errico’s history with Sondheim began when he selected her to star as Dot in Sunday In The Park With George at The Kennedy Center, then as Clara in Passion at Classic Stage Company, and then in the New York City Center Encores! production of Do I Hear A Waltz? In 2020, she sang “Children and Art” in the Sondheim 90th Birthday Concert Take Me To The World, and was featured on PBS television in a documentary special in which she sang “Finishing The Hat” and discussed Sondheim and his lyrics with Adam Gopnik and Raúl Esparza for Poetry in America.

Melissa Errico made her Carnegie Hall debut this year, singing Sondheim with The New York Pops orchestra, and was introduced as “a unique musical force in New York City. A Broadway star, recording artist and writer whose essays appear regularly in The New York Times. There is just no one like her!” 

In 2024, Melissa will be releasing her much-anticipated part-two album called Sondheim In The City. Produced by Rob Mathes, the album features an orchestra, including many members of the NY Philharmonic, as well as a 14-piece jazz horn section. The Wall Street Journal recently referred to her as a "nonpareil cabaret singer” and they called her first Sondheim album, Sondheim Sublime, “The best all-Sondheim album ever recorded." 

That album led to sold-out concert dates around the country—from Ravinia to Caramoor and Wolftrap—as well as in London and Paris. Her Sondheim roles on stage include Dot in Sunday In The Park With George at The Kennedy Center, Clara in Passion at Classic Stage Company; and Leona in the NY City Center Encores! production of Do I Hear A Waltz? In 2020, she sang “Children and Art” in the Sondheim 90th Birthday Concert “Take Me To The World,” and was featured on PBS television in a documentary special in which she sang “Finishing The Hat” and discussed Sondheim and his lyrics with Adam Gopnik and Raul Esparza for Poetry in America. She had her first PBS Special in 2022 in a solo concert that heavily featured songs by Sondheim.

Her starring roles on Broadway include My Fair Lady, Amour, High Society. Among her other musical mainstays is Michel Legrand who arranged and conducted her symphonic album “Legrand Affair.” She was the only American performer invited to sing at the extraordinary two-day memorial to Legrand in 2019 at Paris’ Grand Rex theater. She has also sung countless concerts of American song, ranging from Randy Newman to Irving Berlin, including stints at the 92 St Y, Birdland, Joe’s Pub, Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, Lincoln Center’s Allen Room, and many appearances at Feinstein’s/ 54 Below. Her special concert-essay about coming back to New York was held over for encores twice last fall. Her latest album, Out Of The Dark: The Film Noir Project was released in 2022 from Warner Music/Ghostlight Records and began life as a specially commissioned bilingual series of concerts at the French Institute/Alliance Francaise. An active writer all her life, she has since 2016 authored a series of pieces for The New York Times under the special rubric of “Scenes From The Acting Life,” which she is in the process of adapting into a book.