Caliente's Broadway for Brunch returns with mix of new hits, classic showtunes

FARMINGTON — As its name reflects, the Broadway for Brunch fundraiser planned for this weekend by the Caliente Community Chorus will feature performances of material from shows made famous on the Great White Way while patrons enjoy a hearty breakfast.

But this year’s show will have a decidedly contemporary tilt, as director Virginia Nickels-Hircock said the program will be less reliant on classic showtunes, yielding the stage to the well-known pop tunes used in the growing roster of jukebox musicals on Broadway, as well as some of its more recent hits.

“It’s interesting — I grew up with Rogers and Hammerstein, all the old stuff,” she said.

But many Caliente members, especially the younger ones, she said, are accustomed to newer Broadway shows, and they wanted to showcase that material this year.

“They’re coming in with lots of newer stuff, and it’s cool to hear that,” Nickels-Hircock said.

The program will feature performances of Neil Diamond’s “Song Sung Blue” and John Fogerty’s “Proud Mary,” which were part of recent biographical musicals based on the lives of Diamond and Tina Turner. The show also will feature a rendition of the 2019 Broadway hit “My Grand Plan” from “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical” and “A Million Dreams” from “The Greatest Showman,” which debuted on Broadway last year.

“Some of these are things you saw in movies or heard on the radio that later got used in jukebox musicals,” she said. “It’s interesting how many of these things are out there and that I’ve been introduced to.”

That’s not to say that Broadway for Brunch won’t still feature a heaping helping of Broadway standards, including such tunes as “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” “I’m Going to Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair” and, of course, “Give My Regards to Broadway.”

Nickels-Hircock said approximately 50 Caliente members will take part in the show, serving guests, and taking part in the ensemble and individual performances.

The event also features a silent auction that features gift baskets, each of which is devoted to a theme. Nickels-Hircock said there will be baskets featuring coffee products, baby products, health products and crafts products. Additionally, Lowe’s Home Improvement has donated a portable gas grill, and a Native American squash blossom necklace will be up for bid, as well.

“We’re upping our game on that,” Nickels-Hircock said of the variety and quality of items that will be auctioned this year.

The money raised from the silent auction will be used to support Caliente’s scholarship fund.

Broadway for Brunch will be presented at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18 in the Commons at Piedra Vista High School, 5700 College Blvd. in Farmington. Nickels-Hircock said a handful of tickets remained available as of Feb. 13, but she said both performances typically sell out. Tickets are $20 if bought from a Caliente member and $21 if purchased online at calientechoir.org or by calling 505-947-2510.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com.

Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Caliente Community Chorus fundraiser held at PIedra Vista High School