4 Photos
Break away from the traditional ballgame or barbecue and spend Father’s Day weekend filling your ears with a medley of “manly” show tunes at “The Boys of Broadway,” featuring Darren Ottati leading an all-male quartet
The event is a benefit for Southampton Cultural Center’s theater production group Center Stage, in which thespians can exhibit their craft with veteran director and choreographer Michael Disher.
Mr. Ottati, of Hampton Bays, played the male lead in the Center Stage productions of “South Pacific: In Concert” and “Promises, Promises” and was the headliner last year in “The Best of Broadway.” He said he is excited to return for this year’s benefit concert.
“We came up with the idea to call it ‘The Boys of Broadway’ this year because it was Father’s Day weekend,” Mr. Ottati said in an interview at the cultural center last week, just before the first rehearsal. “We thought it might be nice to do a show for people to be able to bring their fathers to. Since guys aren’t always interested in seeing a Broadway show, we’re doing all male songs. It’ll be a very masculine show.”
The show’s setup will be simple, highlighting the wooden stage at the cultural center’s performance space, the Levitas Center for the Arts, but Mr. Ottati said there will be a few key props they will use throughout the show.
“The stage is going to be set up very masculine,” he said. “We have this wooden bar my brother actually built for me that he’s donating to the theater to use in other shows as well, so that’ll be very fun.”
Mr. Ottati and his group of singers—David Michael Cress, Tom Rosante and Jack Seabury—have developed a repertoire of songs designed to entertain people of all ages and interests.
Musical numbers to be performed include “Something About This Night” from “Finding Neverland”; “Some Enchanted Evening” from “South Pacific”; “Agony” from “Into the Woods”; “Heart” from “Damn Yankees”; and Mr. Ottati’s personal favorite, “Til I Hear You Sing” from “Love Never Dies,” the sequel to “Phantom of the Opera.”
“It’s a spectacular, gut-wrenching ballad. It’s a great song,” Mr. Ottati said of the latter number.
Among the other numbers featured are “Luck Be a Lady” from “Guys and Dolls”; “Boudoir” from Miss Saigon; “Drink with Me” from “Les Miserables”; and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” from “Jersey Boys.”
The quartet will also perform “I Can’t Love Her” from “Beauty and the Beast,” which will be staged at the cultural center next season. “I wanted to do something to show everybody a little teaser,” Mr. Ottati said with a smile.
Mr. Ottati encourages everyone to see the “The Boys of Broadway,” as the proceeds raised will be put to use at the cultural center.
“All the money that we make goes right back into the theater,” he said. “This year, they’re actually renovating the sound and lights with the money raised from last year’s show. It’s a really great way to support and improve local theater.”
“The Boys of Broadway” will be staged Friday, June 16, and Saturday, June 17, at 7:30 p.m. as well as Sunday, June 18, at 2:30 p.m. Tickets, $45 for general admission or $55 for ringside tables, are available at scc-arts.org and 631-287-4377.
on Jun 13, 2017