Concert Review—

Choral Society Offers A Tribute To Broadway

By Kaaren Valenta

The Newtown Choral Society, under the direction of Mary Andreotta and accompanied by Philip Crevier, presented “Broadway Tonight” at Newtown Meeting House on Saturday, May 10.

The program, which featured choral selections by composers Kurt Weill, Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein, officially inaugurated the meeting house’s new concert grand piano.

Beginning with Stephen Sondheim’s witty “Invocation and Instructions to the Audience,” from The Frogs (1974) and climaxing with “Mack the Knife” from The Three Penny Opera (1928), the concert delighted the audience with songs from such Broadway shows as Into the Woods, Company, Lady in the Dark and Lost in the Stars.

“Glitter and Be Gay,” with lyrics by Richard Wilbur, showcased the vocal talents of Lori Elway during one of the evening’s several solo performances by choral society members. Director Mary Andreotta joined Lindsey Malmborg, Kim Nash, Joanne Marcinek, Laura Lerman and Anita Corbeil in “The Saga of Jenny,” from Lady in the Dark.

The Choral Society first performed in December 1986, beginning with Handel’s Messiah. Other winter concerts have included Vivaldi’s Gloria, Handel’s Jubilate, Bach’s Magnificat, and Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols. The group’s spring concerts traditionally include collections of songs from Broadway shows, madrigals, spiritual, traditional, and contemporary music.

In between formal concerts the choral society performs for civic groups and at local functions. A past recipient of a grant from Connecticut Commission on the Arts, it is the only non-sectarian choir in northern Fairfield County that asks only that its members love to sing and be willing to learn.

Membership is open to singers from any town. The group is a non-profit organization, self-sustaining through membership dues, ad sales and contributions.

Rehearsals are held on Wednesday evenings at the Newtown Middle School. For more information about membership call Laura E. Lerman, choral society president, at 426-3769.