Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024
10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Stay cool with us this summer with Musicfest at the Movies! We explore the evolution of musical films, starting from the 1930s into the 21st century, with each film representing an important contribution to the art form. After a brief introduction on the film’s music, we will view the film in its entirety and conclude with a brief discussion. Popcorn and soda are provided!
Barbra Streisand’s film debut in Funny Girl comes four years after starring in the original Broadway production in 1964. The film capitalized on the Broadway show’s original success, and received eight Academy Award nominations (with Streisand winning Best Actress) and was the highest grossing film for 1968. The musical is loosely based on the real life of American comedian and Broadway star Fanny Brice, with her son-in-law Ray Stark as the show’s producer.
The vibrant and young Fanny Brice (Streisand) starts out as a bit player on the New York City vaudeville stage, but works her way up to stardom on Broadway. Valued for her vocal and comedic talents by the renowned theater impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. (Walter Pidgeon), Fanny thrives, but her relationship with her suave, imprisoned businessman husband, Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif), is another story.
Well-established composer Jule Styne (Gypsy, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, hundreds of other popular songs, etc.) was recruited for the project to write the music, who then recruited fellow composer Bob Merrill to help write the lyrics. The show was significant in its portrayal of a Jewish woman as the lead, and the iconic score includes many songs such as “People” and “Don’t Rain On My Parade” which became popular standards. In just the adaption from the stage version to the movie, many of the Broadway orchestrations envision by Styne were changed to more of a Hollywood “pop” sensibility, marking a moment when tastes began to shift away from the traditional “Broadway sound” and creating a mix between those sounds and the gradually emerging pop sound of the 60’s.
Instructor
Josh Condon
As a pianist equally adept in the genres of jazz, pop, and classical, Josh Condon has served as music director/supervisor for over 40 musical theatre productions, in addition to leading concerts with symphony orchestras, choirs, jazz ensembles, and pop/rock bands. He has traveled the world as a music director and pianist for the Norwegian, Celebrity, and Princess Cruise Lines where he worked with numerous Broadway and West End performers.
Currently, Josh serves as Resident Artist and Director of Community Music Programs for Arizona Musicfest in Scottsdale, an organization which features concert performances of the music industry’s top talent. In addition to serving as Assistant Conductor for the Musicfest Festival Orchestra, he lectures on topics surveying a huge breadth of music history and analysis, including popular song, symphonic repertoire, jazz performance practice, musical theatre, and everything in between.
He also serves as Assistant Conductor for the North Valley Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared as Guest Conductor with the Scottsdale Symphony Orchestra, the Scottsdale Philharmonic, and the Arizona Musical Theatre Orchestra. Josh is passionate about using flexibility, positivity, and encouragement to create spaces where all can learn and perform to their best ability. He holds a BM in Jazz Studies from Ithaca College and an MM in Musical Theatre/Opera Music Direction from Arizona State University, and resides in Phoenix, AZ with his wife Lexy, their son Arlo, and their cat Sadie.