Dionne Warwick, Damon Elliott bring family-friendly 'Hits: The Musical' to Music City

Six weeks after recording a music video for her Dolly Parton gospel duet "Peace Like a River," iconic pop vocalist Dionne Warwick -- continues, via her six decades of pop music success, to play an influential role in Music City's entertainment scene.

On Fri., April 7, 2023, "Hits: The Musical" -- a "family-friendly" 90-minute performance featuring 29 young artists between the ages of 10-to-22 singing over 50 years of pop hits --visits the Tennessee Performing Arts Center at 7:00 p.m. CT.

Tickets start at $31 and are available via https://www.tpac.org/event/2023-04-07-to-2023-04-07-hits-the-musical.

Warwick, alongside her award-winning song Damon Elliott, serves as the musical's executive producer.

Alongside Warwick and Elliott, creators with nearly 200 years of combined experience serve as artistic and technical support for the show.

Chosen from 7,000 auditioners, the cast of over two-dozen young artists will tour 48 different cities across the United States through May 2023.

"["Hits: The Musical"] allows these songs to continue to influence new generations of fans and artists," says Warwick to The Tennessean. "It's simply amazing to watch, say, a child handle James Brown's music," says Elliott.

"These babies are handling these songs as if they were in the room when they were recorded," gushes Warwick.

Broadway World highlights that the show "flawlessly" gives the crowd a "breathtaking, fast-paced" crash course in the history of music, including a multi-genre set of songs like "Hero," "I Will Always Love You," "Singing In The Rain," "You Can't Touch This" and more.

For Elliott, he spent much of his childhood uniquely living with these songs as both the child of one of their vocalists plus as someone whose parent shared friendships with the notable artists behind them, too.

Now, as a star producer, his idols have become his inspirations.

"This show is crazy. I get to hear songs from entertainers who would be in my home when they weren't on tour or they've been in my recording studio. ["Hits: The Musical"] is truly fulfilling for me from so many perspectives. These songs are familiar to pop culture and have, for decades, resonated with millions of people."

Elliott notes a scene in the performance where a young singer holds a cassette tape. Then, laughing, he recalls records, 8-track tapes and compact discs, allowing for the technological breadth of pop's consumption before the streaming era to present itself.

That notion points directly to the idea that the show reflects its intentional premium on family-friendly entertainment. This show offers something different in a city where whiskey and tall-boy beer can-drenched concerts are regularly on the docket.

"There's something for the entire family here to celebrate or learn from -- mothers, fathers, grandparents and children," Warwick notes. "These are lyrics that people know by heart, songs people have wonderful memories associated with and still want to hear."

Speaking of songs that could expand upon a legacy of music dating back 60 years to "Don't Make Me Over," 6-time Grammy-winner Warwick is working on an album that will feature work with legends like Stevie Wonder -- whose 1970 classic "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" is featured in "Hits: The Musical."

"I'm still, after all these years, still only saying and singing things that I believe and feel comfortable in," says Warwick.

"This is an exciting and moving recording that reflects the passion for music that's in the blood of both my mother and myself. I mean, just like everything I've heard her make since I was knee-high to a duck -- if it's not moving her, she's not going to do it," adds Elliott.

Regarding "Hits: The Musical," Warwick feels that watching the crew of performers get "fully engulfed in performing iconic songs that also develop their craft" is "very exciting."

Elliott adds a bottom line statement:

"From curtain up to curtain down, this -- if you can make it -- is a must-attend event."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Dionne Warwick, Damon Elliott bring family-friendly 'Hits: The Musical' to Music City