By Colleen Sparks
Managing Editor
Popular songs featured on Broadway, honky-tonks and theaters around the country known for stirring up fun memories will be performed in a series at Chandler Center for the Arts starting later this month.
The Showtune Series package will deliver shows Sunday afternoons at the arts center at 250 N. Arizona Ave. The shows all start at 3 p.m.
The first in the series, “Remember Patsy Cline,” will feature lauded singer Monica Heuser portraying the renowned singer and performing her popular songs on Jan. 20.
The country singer helped found the Grand Ole Opry and Nashville sound of the 1950s and 60s with her iconic hits including “Crazy,” “I Fall to Pieces” and “Your Cheating Heart.” A live country band will accompany Heuser.
“Best of Broadway” on Feb. 24 will be the next in the Showtune Series and will give the audience a chance to hear four powerhouse singers and a 10-piece orchestra performing dynamic, classic songs from Andrew Lloyd Weber, Rodgers and Hammerstein and other composers.
That concert also will feature some more current tunes from the musicals “Mamma Mia!” and “Jersey Boys.”
Kristen Drathman, artistic director of Camp Kids programs at Chandler Center for the Arts, will be one of the stars singing in the show. She has performed in venues around the world including the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain and the Brooklyn Conservatory Summer Opera Festival.
The fun songs will continue with “Let the Good Times Roll,” a musical trip from Memphis to New Orleans showcasing the greatest hits of blues, country, Dixieland and jazz on March 10.
Jimmy Travis and The Delta Show Band will bring the audience to the land where music is king with songs including “When the Saints Go Marching In,” “Blueberry Hill” and “Hey Good Lookin.’”
Michelle Mac Lennan, general manager of the Chandler Center for the Arts, said she believes audiences will feel nostalgic watching the Showtune Series shows.
Another benefit is the matinee performances, which are ideal for senior citizens, who often like to come to the arts center in the afternoons, Mac Lennan said.
“They’re geared to a more senior demographic,” she said. “Ticket prices are very affordable for the series. We’re just trying to broaden our theatrical offerings. We did some research and found people really love musicals and Broadway and theater. I think it’s a nice chance to be together in a good, family setting, enjoy music that uplifts your spirit. It just feels good.”
Package ticket prices are $69 or $99, which includes admission to the three shows. People can also buy tickets for individual performances. Information: chandlercenter.org
