Back to Bacharach and David
Encyclopedia
Back To Bacharach and David is an Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...

 revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...

 that featured the songs of Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...

 and Hal David
Hal David
Harold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:...

 in a show created by Steve Gunderson
Steve Gunderson
Steven Craig "Steve" Gunderson is the President and CEO of the Council on Foundations and a former Republican congressman from Wisconsin.-Early years:Gunderson grew up near Whitehall, Wisconsin...

 and Kathy Najimy
Kathy Najimy
Kathy Ann Najimy is an American actress, most notable as Olive Massery on the television series Veronica's Closet, Sister Mary Patrick in Sister Act and the voice of Peggy Hill on the animated television series King of the Hill. Prior to her film work, she was best known for two Off Broadway shows...

 and directed by Najimy, with musical arrangements and orchestrations by Gunderson. The revue comprises the Bacharach/David songs from 1960-1970.

Production history

The show originally had a limited run at Steve McGraw's Club in New York City in September 1992 and starred Gunderson, Melinda Gilb, Susan Mosher and Carla Renata Williams. It workshopped with Alice Ripley and Lillias White
Lillias White
Lillias White is an American singer and actress.The Brooklyn, New York native made her Broadway debut in Barnum in 1981. She understudied the role of Effie in the original 1981 production of Dreamgirls and played the part in the 1987 revival...

. The show then ran at "Club 53" in New York City from March 11, 1993 through September 11, 1993, with Gunderson, Gilb, Mosher and White.

The revue was produced by the North Coast Repertory Theatre in San Diego in August 2006 with Gunderson and Gilb in a production directed by original choreographer Javier Velasco, and was attended by Burt Bacharach himself, and later by Hal David, who had been a supporter of the show during its original Off Broadway run.

The revue was produced at the Music Box, Los Angeles, California, April 19, 2009 through May 17, 2009. Directed by Najimy, the cast featured "American Idol" finalist Diana DeGarmo
Diana DeGarmo
Diana Nicole DeGarmo is an American singer and Broadway actress. She finished as the runner-up on the third season of the reality/talent-search television series American Idol, narrowly missing the win by about 2% out of over 65 million votes...

, "American Idol" contestant Tom Lowe
Tom Lowe (performer)
Thomas Peter "Tom" Lowe is an English-born singer and actor.-Personal life:Tom Lowe was born in Stockport, England to his parents, Peter and Margaret Lowe...

, Tressa Thomas and Susan Mosher
Susan Mosher
Susan Mosher is a stage and film actress. She starred as the Female Authority figure in the Vegas run of Hairspray and is best known for portraying Pepper Cole in the show Cashino. She also was in the original cast of the Broadway show SUDS...

. The show was revised and includes two songs not previously featured, including "What's New Pussycat," for DeGarmo.

Another revue featuring the works of Bacharach and David, The Look of Love
The Look of Love (musical)
The Look of Love is musical revue of the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The revue was conceived by David Thompson, Scott Ellis, David Loud and Ann Reinking. It had a limited engagement on Broadway in 2003.-Production:...

, was produced on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 in 2003.

Concept and songs

There is no narrative.

Songs include "A House is Not A Home", "Alfie," "Always Something There to Remind Me", "Another Night," "Any Old Time of the Day," "Anyone Who Had a Heart," "April Fools," "Are You There With Another Girl," "Close to You," "Do You Know the Way to San Jose," "Don't Make Me Over," "I Just Have to Breath," "I Say a Little Prayer for You," "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," "Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself," "Knowing When to Leave," "Let Me Be Lonely," "Let Me Go to Him," "The Look of Love," "Message to Michael", "My Little Red Book," "Nikki," "One Less Bell to Answer," "Promises, Promises," "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," "Reach Out for Me," "This Empty Place," "This Guy's in Love With You," "Trains and Boats and Planes," "24 Hours from Tulsa," "Walk on By," "What the World Needs Now Is Love," "Whoever You Are I Love You," and "You'll Never Get to Heaven."

Critical response

Stephen Holden in his New York Times review of the 1993 production wrote: "Ms. Najimy has staged many songs as comic tableaux in a frenetic teen-age soap opera. Decked out in such tacky vintage paraphernalia as peace symbols, chain belts and go-go boots, the show's four performers...emote them with the sobby fervency of a high school clique having a collective hormone attack. What lifts "Back to Bacharach and David" above run-of-the-mill 60's nostalgia is the show's nearly perfect balance between tribute and comedy."

External links

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