MusicByTheLake

On the wings of the great operettas of Sigmund Romberg, Franz Lehar and Rudolf Friml comes Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's "Music in the Air," a delightful early American musical that formed the bridge between operetta and the Broadway musical that we know today ("Music in the Air" debuted five years after "Showboat"). Set in the Bavarian village of Edendorf, Germany, the story weaves the eternal theme of what happens when small town country folk collide with tart-tongued sophisticates of the big city; in this case, Munich. When asked by Hammerstein to write a piece that set the story in depression-era Manhattan, Kern only agreed to provide the score if the action took place in his beloved Germany. "Music in the Air" pays affectionate homage to European operetta, while breaking ground for the new American musical theatre. Kern's rapturous score delights with several hit tunes served up in the lush orchestrations of Robert Russell Bennett. The 1934 film version proved to be a perfect vehicle for the great Hollywood actress, Gloria Swanson.

This performance is supported in part by Young Artist Underwriter Harold Hartshorne Jr.

This performance is underwritten in part by the generous support of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Foundation. 

The Sundays at 4 Series performances are underwritten in part by the generous support of the Judith and John Graff Charitable Fund.