Jerry Herman is known for Broadway classics such as “Mame,” “Hello, Dolly!” and “La Cage Aux Folles.” He had five Tony nominations and wins for “Hello, Dolly!” and “La Cage Aux Folles,” as well as a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 2009 and a Kennedy Center Honors in 2010. Southwest Florida Theatre at Gulf Coast Symphony is performing a dynamic revue of his most popular show tunes April 9-25 at the Music & Arts Community Center in Fort Myers.
“The wonderful thing about Jerry Herman is that he wrote such strong female characters,” said Director and Choreographer Amy McCleary. “So I was very drawn to his music as a young girl, and I’m still drawn to it today.”
McCleary’s girls are Lexi Rae Smith, Susan Chidester and Desire’ Gaston. But they’re not merely singing solos, power ballads and harmonies.
“They are representing the same woman at different time periods of [her] life. So we have younger, a woman sort of in her prime, and then we have a woman on the older side, and we’re using the music of Jerry Herman to explore all these facets of being a woman and appreciating all the things that we are at all the different periods of our life,” McCleary said.
Historically, playwrights and composers have not created many dynamic roles for middle-age and older female actors. Herman was an exception.
“His middle age characters, Mame and Dolly, in particular, are so strong. Lots of times as we age as women, in particular, we sort of disappear sometimes,” McCleary noted. “Society lets us disappear, and these women are such take-charge, powerful women who celebrate themselves and celebrate themselves at that age. So I find his music very empowering.”
While the revue features Herman’s best known and most popular tunes, it also includes a number of lesser known but equally inspiring songs.
“Little discoveries that you can make as well when watching the show,” McCleary added.
“Jerry’s Girls will be performed at the Music & Arts Community Center in Fort Myers.
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“Jerry’s Girls” is a dream for any lover of musical theater. It is a “greatest hits megamix” of truly iconic Broadway shows beautifully tied together through expert direction and creative staging as three terrific performers tackle a songbook boasting some of the greatest songs ever performed on stage. From solos, duos and trios, the show is a light, fun and charming romp through the magical world of Jerry Herman’s music.
In addition to McCleary, the creative team for “Jerry’s Girls” includes Doug Reed as music director; Amy Fenicle as assistant director; Nia Benn as production stage manager; Brian Jannsen as sound designer; Diana Waldier as costume supervisor; and Andrew M. Kurtz as producing artistic director.
Nayda Marie Baez is understudy.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.