Broadway STARS! (LAArtsOnline.com)

Jennifer Holliday performs at the John Anson Ford Theatre

Broadway STARS!

By KEN WERTHER
Photo Courtesy of Chris Isaacson Presents

The lights of Broadway will be shining brightly at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood on Saturday, August 16 as legendary Tony Award-winner Jennifer Holliday headlines, and she will be joined by Erich Bergen (Jersey Boys), Rogelio Douglas, Jr., (In the Heights), Danny Gurwin (Little Women), and Chad Kimball (Tony Award nominee for Memphis). And if all of that isn’t enough, yet another Tony Award nominee (also for Dreamgirls), Obba Babatundé, has been set as host for Broadway Under the Stars 2014!

Jennifer Holliday possesses one of Broadway’s greatest voices. Her immeasurable range and artistry have long stood in a class by themselves. She won her Tony Award in 1982 for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for her history-making portrayal of Effie Melody White in Dreamgirls. I remember seeing the show during its pre-Broadway tryout in Boston in 1981 and being left speechless. And I’ve always gotten a kick out of the fact that Dreamgirls opened on Broadway on my birthday (December 20) in 1981.

Broadway Under the Stars will feature songs from some of the most beloved musicals of our time, including Cabaret, Jersey Boys, Pippin, The Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, Les Misérables, and Wicked, along with new favorites from the 2013-14 season, including Aladdin, Rocky, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Who says you have to be in New York to experience the thrill of Broadway?

Broadway Under the Stars takes place Saturday, August 16 at John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, located at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd East.