What a Swell Party! A Musical Tribute to Leeds Bird
April 1st, 2023
3:00 PM | 8:00 PM
“What a Swell Party!” will be a magical journey down memory lane celebrating 50 years of collaboration between Leeds Bird and Kevin Cole. Musical numbers from the shows they did together – many performed by the actors who performed them originally on our stage – will provide an enchanting afternoon or evening of entertainment. Featuring songs from Anything Goes 1776, Annie Get Your Gun, My Fair Lady, R.S.V.P. Jerome Kern, Scrooge, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, A Shine On Your Shoes, A Carol of the Birds, Godspell, Kiss Me, Kate, and more. Tickets are $25 each.
Artwork by Adrian Rosales.
Host and Pianist
Kevin Cole
Kevin Cole is an award-winning musical director, arranger, composer, vocalist and archivist who garnered the praises of Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg, Hugh Martin, Burton Lane, Marvin Hamlisch, Stephen Sondheim and members of the Jerome Kern and Gershwin families. He has shared the concert stage with Liza Minnelli, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, William Warfield, Sylvia McNair, Lorin Maazel, Itzhak Perlman, Brian d’Arcy James, Barbara Cook, Robert Klein, Lucie Arnaz, Maria Friedman, Idina Menzel and friend and mentor Marvin Hamlisch. Kevin has given Master Classes in musical theatre vocal performance at Interlochen Center for the Arts and North Carolina School of the Arts. He has served as Musical Director for Pasadena Playhouse, Michigan Ensemble Theatre, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Royal George Theatre (Chicago) and New York Musical Theatre Festival. Kevin is also an internationally known concert pianist whose engagements include sold-out performances at Hollywood Bowl, Royal Albert Hall, Kennedy Center, Ravinia Festival, Wolf Trap, Chautauqua Institute and legendary Carnegie Hall. Kevin has been active at Bay City Players as Music Director, Assistant Director and Actor-Singer. He has been instrumental in the progress of renovations to the theatre through many benefit concerts. One of his original musicals, A SHINE ON YOUR SHOES, made its premiere at Bay City Players in 2007. Kevin was the music director for THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG and has hosted several benefit concerts and silent movies at Bay City Players.