The House We Live In: Broadway Celebrates America at 250
- 3:00 pm
- Reuter Center, UNC Asheville
America turns 250 this fall, and the Asheville Senior Chorus is throwing the party the way Broadway always has. On Sunday, October 25 at 3 PM, the chorus presents "The House We Live In: Broadway Celebrates America at 250" at the Reuter Center on the UNC Asheville campus. The program is built like a parade through American history: George M. Cohan's flag-wavers, the founders of Hamilton and 1776, Irving Berlin's love letters to liberty, a stop at the ballpark, all fifty states in under three minutes, and a nearly lost Leonard Bernstein treasure written for the Bicentennial and heard by almost no one since. Twice, the parade pauses for a young soldier's letter home. Then it picks back up and marches to the finish, with the whole audience on its feet singing "God Bless America." Chuck Taft directs, with Eric Fricke at the piano. The afternoon runs about 75 minutes with selections from The Music Man, Show Boat, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, Ragtime, The Civil War, and Bernstein's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, along with songs from the Broadway revues of 1918 and 1942 that gave America some of its most enduring anthems. Admission is free, and no tickets are required. Bring a friend, bring a flag, bring your voice.
