An Evening With Steve Ross

This spirited evening brings together Cole Porter's brilliant, sometimes racy list songs like You're The Top and Let's Do It with bitter-sweet, passionate ballads such as What Is This Thing Called Love? And I Concentrate on You. Steve Ross takes his audience on a musical and anecdotal journey through the songs of this most sophisticated composer – from his early successes in the Twenties (I'm In Love Again, You Do Something To Me It) through his glory years in the Thirties (It's D'Lovely, In the Still of the Night, the Forties (noted for his masterpiece Kiss Me Kate), and his later songs from the Fifties (Love Paris, C'est Magnifique and It's All Right With Me). We also hear from his contemporaries, the Gershwins Irving Berlin, and Rodgers & Hart, as well as Transatlantic hits from the pens and worlds of Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, and the Master, Noel Coward. The show concludes with a tribute to the great Fred Astaire, for whom Porter wrote his undying classic, Night and Day.

From his songs of reproof (Don’t Put Your Daughter On the Stage, Mrs. Worthington) to his lovely romantic ballads and waltzes (If Love Were All, I’ll See You Again) to his stirring hymn to his native city of London (London Pride) Steve Ross gives us a wonderful picture of the man who, for his myriad achievements in almost every aspect of the theatre, was rightly dubbed, The Master. The show concludes with his devilishly witty comment on his friend Cole Porter’s song Let’s Do It. 

To celebrate the centenary of one of the musical theatre’s most literate lyricists, Steve Ross presents I Remember Him Well – The Songs of Alan Jay Lerner. Lerner’s equally notable musical partners include Kurt Weill (Love Life), Burton Lane (Royal Wedding, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever) and most famously and most prolifically Frederick Loewe. Lerner & Loewe’s contributions to the musical world of theatre and film are many and marvelous -  Paint Your Wagon, Brigadoon, Camelot, Gigi and the eternal treasure that is My Fair Lady. Steve’s songs will include the following: I Talk to the Trees, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, I Remember It Well (a duet for one), What Did I Have That I Don’t Have? The Heather On the Hill, Wouldn’t It Be Loverly? and Almost Like Being In Love.

When Jerome Kern was asked about what place Irving Berlin held in American music his reply was “He has no place in American music, he IS American music.” What better way to celebrate America than a program of this prolific composer’s wonderful songs – ranging from the lively vaudeville numbers like his first great hit Alexander’s Ragtime Band through the beautiful, heartbreaking ballads like How Deep Is the Ocean to the dazzling rhythmic dancing songs written for Fred Astaire Puttin’ On the Ritz. There will be many stops on Broadway and Hollywood in-between, including ragtime visits to that Yankee Doodle Dandy himself, George M. Cohan.  

Steve Ross takes us on a memorable and exciting musical tour of the places he’s performed in and celebrated. We hear songs from Manhattan, London, Brazil, Paris and Vienna - concluding with a tribute to sometimes the nicest destination of them all, home. Heard from are Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Hart and of course Cole Porter among along with other delicious international entries. 

Steve’s Christmas collection will include classic songs in all these categories: 

It’s D’Lovely, Friendship, (Porter); Embraceable You, Our Love Is Here to Stay (the Gershwins); Together (Sondheim/Styne); I Want to Be Seen With You (Comden & Green, Styne;  People Will Say We’re in Love (Berlin), You’ve Got a Friend (Carol King) Plus some Christmas treats from Steve’s new CD “It’ Almost Christmas Eve.” (original). 

From Lydia, the Tattooed Lady to Have Some Madeira , M'Dear, Steve Ross presents a delightful revue dedicated to  raucous, riotous and clever classics from the TransAtlantic Songbook. This show hails the humor of songwriting legends such as Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, Dietz and Schwartz Noel Coward and British duo Flanders & Swann as well as novelty numbers introduced by the likes of Eddie Cantor and written by Tom Lehrer. Frequently likened to Fred Astaire in his impeccable taste and style, Ross brilliantly blends comedy, cabaret and  fare both highbrow -and low- from the lively traditions of satire and humor on both sides of the pond.

In this show Steve Ross celebrates a long-standing affair – the one between himself and the island of Manhattan. From the countless songs celebrating the great city of New York, Steve has assembled a fascinating and eclectic collection. A wide range of composers is represented:  from Kander & Ebb (City Lights) to Victor Herbert (Streets of New York), from Rodgers & Hart (A Tree In the Park) to Vernon Duke (Autumn In New York) and from George M. Cohan (Give My Regards To Broadway) to Stephen Sondheim (Another Hundred People). He will also include songs by that most sophisticated of Manhattan tunesmiths – Mr. Cole Porter (Take Me Back To Manhattan; I Happen To Like New York) as well as his own composition Manhattan Moon.

Jaunty troubadour Steve Ross returns y with a new collection featuring songs ranging from those written by Cole Porter (You Do Something To Me; You’re the Top) and Kern and Hammerstein (All the Things You Are) to Leon Russell (A Song For You) with many other favorites (and surprises) along the way (The Way You Look Tonight, Let yourself Go, If Ever I Would Leave You, Two for the Road) and an original song written by Steve and Barbara Fried for this show (Now It’s You.)  

In this program Steve compares and contrasts songs with lyrics by Lorenz Hart and those written by Oscar Hammerstein, II. Hart, the urbane bard of the bitter-sweet, writing almost exclusively with Richard Rodgers, dazzles with his sophisticated wordplay and touching vulnerability in songs like Glad To Be Unhappy, The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, Johnny One Note and Isn’t It Romantic? And Hammerstein, who began as one of the great operetta wordsmiths (Lover Come Back To Me) and as Jerome Kern’s collaborator (All the Things You Are) matches the brilliant melodies of Rodgers with his heartfelt, supremely theatrical lyrics in songs like Younger Than Springtime, When the Children are Asleep and This Nearly Was Mine.