Adirondack Community Chorus presenting a Valentine revue on Feb. 10

Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·2 min read

Feb. 2—BOONVILLE — Adirondack Community Chorus will present "Love is a Many Mixed-Up Dream: A Musical Valentine Revue" at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10 in the Boonville Elementary School auditorium, 110 Ford St.

Creator/director Michael Ferris, who has been performing with the ACC since he was a 6th grade student at Adirondack Central School, describes the show as "A look at the twists and turns a director goes through to put on a show, with music from the 'Golden Age of Musicals.'"

Mr. Ferris, a vocal instructor/coach to chorus members and junior high and high school students, has had an extensive career in musical theater, touring the United States and Europe.

Some of Mr. Ferris's students are cast in the revue: Chorus member Dan Austin, Anna Morley from South Lewis Central School; Olivia King from Lowville Academy, and Levi Simanowsky and Kylee Meyers from Adirondack Central School.

Mel Chalker is the accompanist and Angela Bartelotte and Mike Muller play percussion. The cast is made up of people from Boonville, Lowville, Lyons Falls, Old Forge, and West Leyden, and includes several area music teachers — both current and retired.

Music from the "Golden Age of Musicals" is known for lush orchestrations, dreamy dance sequences and mostly happy endings. The "Musical Valentine Revue" features tunes from Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin, who are known as the major Golden Age composers.

Rodgers and Hammerstein are credited with ushering in the Golden Age of Musicals, with the 1943 production of "Oklahoma!"— lighting up Broadway again after lean times in the 1930s.

Irving Berlin immigrated to the U.S. from Russia as a child. He became one of the most popular songwriters for film and Broadway, writing over 800 songs.

Cole Porter, born in Indiana, declined to practice law against his grandfather's wishes and became a major songwriter for the Broadway stage. Mr. Porter wrote the lyrics as well as the music for his compositions.

"Love is a Many Mixed-Up Dream: A Musical Valentine Revue" is made possible in part by the Kenneth V. and Jeanette Remp Sawyer Community Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation. The fund was established in 2018 to support programs, projects and initiatives that broadly impact the quality of life in Boonville, Constableville and Westernville. The Remp Sawyer Community Fund is administered by the NNYCF, invested in improving and enriching the quality of life for all in communities across Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties.

The concert is free. Donations will be welcomed, to be used for future productions.