This Friday, February 28th at 8 PM at Olney Theatre Center, Broadway Veteran George Dvorsky, who is now appearing in How To Succeed… sings from The Great American Songbook. He is joined by Helen Hayes Award winner Sherri L. Edelen, who is also appearing in How To Succeeed… as well as Helen Hayes Award winner Christopher Youstra on piano. George tells us about this very special evening.
Joel: What will audience be hearing at The Great American Songbook on Friday night?
George: All of the songs I’ll be singing have played a part in my 35 years in this business. Most of them are from the musical theatre, and there are some classics and a few pop tunes.
Why did you choose Sherri L. Edelen to join you?
I LOVE Sherri and she and I had talked about doing PETE N KEELY long ago but it never came to fruition. When I knew she’d be in How to Succeed…I grabbed the opportunity to really sing with her.
Why did you select the songs you have chosen for this special evening?
A few of these songs are very personal to me. When I did the revival of Closer Than Ever last year, I got to sing the haunting “If I Sing.” It’s a song about the influence of a musician father on his musician son. My father never got to hear me sing. He LOVED to sing but died the night before I had a solo in the Christmas Concert in Jr. High School. So this song really taps a deep emotional place for me.
Also I get to sing a song from my favorite composers Rodgers and Hammerstein that was actually written for a man but the actor asked to sing it wasn’t a singer so it was given to a female character instead. It’s “Something Wonderful” from The King and I. It’s my favorite musical theatre song ever and I was also lucky enough to put it on my 2nd CD.
What has been the most fun about performing your role in How to Succeed…?
I’ve never been asked to play a sex crazed character before. It’s fun and even more fun that Sherri Edelen is the object of my affection. Ha ha.
What do you want audience members to take with them after seeing your The Great American Songbook on Friday night?
Just how glorious these songs are. They don’t write ’em like they used to.
The Great American Songbook plays this Friday, February 28th at 8 PM at Olney Theatre Center – 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, in Olney, MD. For tickets, call the box office (301) 924-3400, or purchase them online.
LINK
George Dvorsky’s website.
