Variety Show production staff
(left to right): Monica Gray, assistant director; Gail Nelli, producer and artistic director; Ann Kurtz, dance coordinator (photo by Phil Gray)
Gail A. Nelli
The production staff and cast of the 2023 Variety Show are hard at work perfecting their song and dance show Pages from the Great American Songbook. As SaddleBrooke residents of a certain age, we grew up listening to these “standards” on the Hi-Fi at home, on variety shows on TV, in movie musicals, and if we were lucky, on the Broadway stage.
From the 1920s through the 1950s, these songs lifted the spirits of Americans during two World Wars and the Depression, while helping to socially connect us together. The enormous talent of the songwriters of this era created a canon of American music that has transcended time—Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Duke Ellington, George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart, and many more.
These timeless American popular and jazz-infused songs continue on today because of the artists who loved them, recording and performing various interpretations, making these songs their own. Though it started with such artists as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Tony Bennett, newer artists have recorded their own versions, like Willie Nelson’s “Stardust,” Linda Ronstadt’s “What’s New?,” and even Rod Stewart’s four CD compilation of Great American Songbook songs. We know you are going to love hearing these songs and watching the performances of your talented SaddleBrooke neighbors as they sing, dance, and play piano to numbers like “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” “Lullaby of Broadway,” “Steppin’ Out with My Baby,” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo.”
Starting back in the 1990s, the Variety Show is thrilled to be back to producing our bi-annual production after a COVID-19-induced hiatus. Like every club and organization in SaddleBrooke, it has taken time to rebuild after such a long period of isolation from each other. Using present COVID-19 protocols, we are attempting to keep our staff and cast healthy while we rehearse so we can bring you the best show possible.
Our show is being performed in the DesertView PAC on March 21 at 4 p.m. and March 22 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are now on sale for $28 via the SaddleBrooke TWO Administration building by calling 520-818-1000, Ext. 4, or going in person. Tickets can also be ordered online at dvpac.net. We welcome you to attend to support our efforts. If we sell more tickets than expected, we may have a performance also on March 23! This entertaining show is just the ticket for welcoming the return of spring. Buy your tickets today!