Act II Presents BURT & ME 7/6-8/1

By: Jun. 07, 2010
Get Access To Every Broadway Story

Unlock access to every one of the hundreds of articles published daily on BroadwayWorld by logging in with one click.




Existing user? Just click login.

Local playwright Larry McKenna has turned his passion for the music of acclaimed songwriting team Burt Bacharach & Hal David into a new romantic musical comedy, Burt & Me, which is being presented at Act II Playhouse July 6 to Aug. 1 as a season-extra show.

Conceived and written by McKenna, Burt & Me weaves Bacharach's irresistible music into a story about young sweethearts who meet up again as adults. In high school, Joe Madson and Lacey Turner loved each other and the music of Burt Bacharach. In college, they went their separate ways. Years later, Joe meets up with Lacey and plots a way to win her back. Celebrate the magic of romance with the help of pop classics such as "What the World Needs Now," "Walk on By," "This Guy's in Love with You," "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," "Close to You," and many more.

Directed by Matt Silva, Burt & Me features Liz Filios, John Jarboe, Christine Petrini, Paul Weagraff, and Ted Wioncek III. Vince DiMura is musical director, and Sonny Leo is choreographer.

Tickets for Act II's production of Burt & Me are $27 for weekday performances and $33 for weekend shows (Friday through Sunday). Discounts are available for students ($12 student rate) and groups of 10 or more, and are available at the Act II Box Office by calling (215) 654-0200; visiting 56 E. Butler Avenue, Ambler, PA; or online at www.act2.org.

"Burt Bacharach was the reason that I wanted to play the piano," says McKenna, who resides in Wayne. "I bought every Dionne Warwick album ever made just so I could get my hands on his music. When I saw the original production of Promises, Promises [in 1968] featuring the music of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, I was hooked for life." Warwick had two hit singles from two songs from the show, "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" and "Promises, Promises."

(continued on page 2)
For Burt & Me, McKenna managed to acquire the rights to 20 Burt Bacharach/Hal David songs, a Herculean feat given that Promises, Promises is currently enjoying a successful Broadway revival. "I worked with Hal David's son, Jim David on acquiring the rights," said McKenna. "It was a long arduous ordeal, but we were finally able to make it happen after Burt Bacharach and Hal David approved my manuscript."

McKenna was by Act II Playhouse Artistic Director Bud Martin to look into writing a musical and thought the music of Burt Bacharach would be perfect. "I got so excited about the idea that I shut myself in a room and wrote for a week straight just mapping it out," said McKenna. "After that, writing the actual show and dialogue became a labor of love."
McKenna and Martin are longtime friends and both graduated from Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, Delaware County. They rekindled their friendship in 2007 after Martin saw a reading of the friendship musical The Story of My Life in New York, which Martin produced on Broadway and directed a run at Act II that sold out and extended a week.

What is it about Bacharach and David's music that makes their songs so popular, even today? "Great music and great lyrics are a tough combination to beat," added McKenna. "When I invited close friends to the first reading of Burt & Me, it was a riot to see everyone singing along with all the songs. It was highly nostalgic, and I immediately felt that we were on to something special."

Act II's production of Burt & Me features set and lighting design by Matt Rohner, costume design by Jennifer Lancaster, and projection design by Mark Costello.
Honorary Producers for Burt & Me are Merle Holman and Phil & Barb Albright. Act II welcomes Normandy Farm Hotel & Conference Center/Blue Bell Country Club as our Season Sponsor for the 2010-2011 season.



Videos