Cast photo from the 2023 Variety Show “Pages from the Great American Songbook” (photo by Nelson Rodriguez)
Gail A. Nelli
Have you a musical or theatrical talent you wish to share with our SaddleBrooke community? We have just the outlet for you in our new Variety Show 2025 called “A Seventies Shindig.” All of us Boomers lived through this exciting decade where recordings went from two tracks to 32 tracks and records to cassettes by the end of the decade. The protest songs of the ‘60s gave way to more experimentation in music and many crossover artists. There was pop, rock, soft rock, R&B, country rock, soul, jazz fusion, and by the mid-‘70s, hard rock, disco, funk, and punk rock. Electronic music was on the rise with synthesizers and harmonizers.
The early ‘70s saw the breakup of The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel, with even Diana Ross leaving The Supremes for a solo career. But new singer-songwriters were taking their place, like Roberta Flack, Carol King, Carly Simon, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John. Family groups like The Jackson 5, the Bee Gees, Sister Sledge, and Gladys Knight & the Pips were churning out hits on the radio, as well as male and female soloists Marvin Gaye, James Taylor, Rod Stewart, Helen Reddy, Linda Ronstadt, and Olivia Newton-John. I am sure right now you are remembering your favorite Billboard hit songs from this decade, which brought us energetic dance songs great for line dancing or disco, like Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September,” ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” and the Bee Gees’ “Night Fever.”
Besides offering vocal and dance opportunities for soloists, duets, trios, quartets, and show choir, we also salute the music from The Godfather and Star Wars for piano soloists, as well as acting sketches based on the TV hit shows Laugh-In and Saturday Night Live. If you love stand-up comedy, you can audition for the show by writing and performing a routine based on the decade of the Seventies.
“A Seventies Shindig” has something for everyone! For all the details about our auditions on Nov. 11 and 12, please go to our website at www.saddlebrookevarietyshow.org. Artistic Director/Producer Gail Nelli and Assistant Director Monica Gray are excited to see our talented residents at auditions on the DesertView Theatre stage. Residents from SaddleBrooke One and SaddleBrooke TWO are invited!
If you have any questions, Gail may be reached by email at [email protected].