‘To Life 3’ celebrates contributions of Jewish composers to great Hollywood musicals
By Dale King
George Gershwin. Irving Berlin. Johnny Mercer. Harold Arlen. Sheldon Harnick. Jerry Herman.
These composers and others will be highlighted in To Life 3: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to the Great Hollywood Musicals. The production runs from Jan. 20 to Feb. 5 at the Willow Theatre in Boca Raton’s Sugar Sand Park, 300 S. Military Trail.
To Life 3 is a follow-up to two previous To Life productions – both of which sold out at the Willow Theatre in 2019 and 2020.
Featuring amusing anecdotes and fascinating historical facts, along with tributes to some of the greatest Jewish performers in Hollywood history, including Eddie Cantor, Danny Kaye and Barbara Streisand, To Life 3 will be performed by five of South Florida’s award-winning musical theatre artists: Julie Kleiner, Bruno Faria, Michael Materdomini, Amy Tanner and Shari Upbin.
Hy Juter of the Jupiter Theater Company, LLC, will produce the show: “We’re extremely excited about this iteration of our To Life series,” he said “This time we’re focusing on Hollywood and the outstanding talents that contributed to those great musicals we all remember.”
“Our director, Shari Upbin, has also written the show this year. Her background in theatre and her extensive knowledge of the Hollywood musical made her a natural choice to continue our tradition of presenting audiences with a unique combination of history, music, and fun.”
Bobby Peaco will serve as music director and pianist.
“To Life 1 and 2 featured the Jewish composers of Broadway,” Upbin said. “But what most people don’t realize is first of all, how many of them transitioned to Hollywood, and secondly, that there were numerous Jewish composers who wrote primarily for the movies.”
“I had an amazing time writing the script for the show,” she noted. “I learned so much – there are so many fascinating stories involving these amazingly talented individuals I can’t wait to share with our audiences. And of course, I couldn’t leave out some of the greatest Jewish stars who left their indelible marks – Eddie Cantor, Danny Kaye, Barbra Streisand… so many and so memorable.”
Tickets for the show can be purchased online at www.sugarsandpark.org/life-3 or by phone at 561-347-3948.
