What’s New Pussycat? The Soundtrack of an Era the popular Michael Leeds/Kevin Black musical compendium of the music of the 1960s will return to Stage Door Theatre beginning February 19th, and run through March 27th.
The idea for What’s New Pussycat? The Soundtrack of an Era was born when Stage Door Theatre’s artistic director Derelle Bunn mentioned to Leeds and Black that she had an open time slot for a show in the summer of 2014, and asked them if they’d be interested in ‘doing something’. They jumped at the chance. “Kevin and I had wanted to work together for a while, and this was a terrific opportunity,” Leeds said. “And then, of course, the question became – what should we do?!” What’s New Pussycat? The Soundtrack of an Era, the result of their collaboration, opened at Stage Door Theatre in August of 2014 and was an immediate hit with audiences and critics alike.
“What’s New, Pussycat? was originally going to be a revue of just Burt Bacharach songs,” Leeds explained at the time. “But as Kevin and I started listening to Bacharach’s music, we kept being distracted by other great songs of the same era. So we decided to expand the show to include The Mamas & The Papas, Simon& Garfunkel, Petula Clark, Dusty Springfield, Etta James, Ray Charles, The Righteous Brothers, The Fifth Dimension and all those Motown greats like The Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, The Ronettes, as well as incredible composers and writers like Henry Mancini, Michel LeGrand and of course, Burt Bacharach!
“Creating the piece took careful deliberation, Leeds continued: “From past experience, both Kevin and I learned that though there are no “rules” to creating a musical revue, there are some guidelines. First, of course, is what songs are the most popular; the songs the audience is coming to hear.”
“We’ve had so many requests to bring back the show, not only from people who didn’t get to see it, but from those who want to see it again!” Michael Leeds explains. “For this go round we’ve hired six very talented actor/singer/dancers from New York. Actually, the three guys were in the show we just did, Pompadour, and we were so impressed, we asked them to stick around! Kevin and I are having a great time re-visiting the 60s and hearing these new voices sing those incredible songs. How can you get tired of songs like “Yesterday”, “Dancing in the Street”, and of course, “What’s New, Pussycat!””
What’s New Pussycat? The Soundtrack of an Era will run from February 19 through March 27 at The Broward Stage Door Theatre in Coral Springs. The theatre is located at 8036 Sample Road, in Margate. Tickets for What’s New Pussycat? are $38 – $42; $16 student tickets are also available. Tickets may be purchased at the Broward Stage Door Theatre box office at 954-344-7765 or on line at http://www.stagedoorfl.org.
