Standing Room Only

 Standing Room Only 2012-2013 Season announces “Celebrating America: Sounds that Inspired a Nation”

Click HERE to go to the official SRO page with ticket infomation and more!

Standing Room Only “Rags to Riches” Concert Promises Big Voices and the Best Chocolate

Offering “a somewhat different take on love”, according to SRO producer Peter Stickel, this year’s Valentine concert features the New England Tenors and musical theatre favorite, Leigh Barrett. Taking place at 7:30pm on Thursday, February 14, the annual tune-fest for the tender-hearted again provides a complimentary intermission with champagne (& sparkling alternatives) and hand-made chocolates.

Designed - as usual - both for the lucky in love and the romantically reluctant, Rags to Riches espouses a broader definition of the sentiment, adding songs about the love of family, country and life itself to the love of couples.  Members of the New England Tenors include John Middleton-Cox, Damian Corcoran and Jeffrey Hartman.

Numbers such as Love Is a Many Splendered Thing, That’s Amore and Come What May, the ballad sung by Nicole Kidman’s and Ewan McGregor’s characters in Moulin Rouge, evoke Cupid’s arrow. A set from the popular movie Les Misérables includes I Dreamed a Dream, Jean Valjean’s prayer - Bring Him Home, and the anthem, Do You Hear the People Sing?

In keeping with SRO’s historic 2012-13 season, Rags to Riches celebrates America c.1913 with song sets, Irish (Galway Bay, The Irish Lullaby, and the world’s # 1 song of that year, When Irish Eyes Were Smiling), Italian (honoring Enrico Caruso with four of his most famous arias, including La Donna e Mobile and Nessun Dorma), Ragtime (three songs from the Broadway musical Ragtime) and a tribute to the toast of Broadway a century ago, New England’s own George M. Cohan.

As always, tickets to Rags to Riches ($30, $25 for seniors 65+ and students) are available online at www.sroconcerts.org, at two ticket outlets in Wakefield: Parker Florist at 9 Lincoln Street and Silver Clay at 39 Albion Street, and by mail to SRO/Wakefield UU Church, PO Box 529, Wakefield, MA 01880. Information is online or available by calling 339.203.9366.

As the title suggests, the upcoming Standing Room Only season of concerts is created with music that inspired Americans to grow and prosper at points in our nation’s history. Musical guests include the New England Tenors, Joseph Holmes and Holly Zagaria, pianist Jacqueline Schwab, and Brian O’Neill’s 22-piece big band, recreating the music of Hollywood’s Juan Garcia Esquivel. As always, performances of this fourth SRO season take place in the “classic meeting house with concert hall acoustics” at 326 Main Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts.  

Opening the season on September 22, “Stars & Stripes” took us back 200 years to the War of 1812 with the brand new drum and bugle sound and our Star Spangled Banner, along with the moving music of indigenous and African Americans. “A Civil War Christmas” on December 23 featured music from Ken Burns’ Civil War series and showcased sacred and secular songs of the period, many with a connection to our region. On Valentine’s Day the New England Tenors return for “Rags to Riches, Love of Music and Motherland”, celebrating a period of multiculturalism and reform a century ago with Ragtime to early jazz, “The Love of the Irish”, and tributes to Enrico Caruso and to Broadway’s biggest star, New England native George M. Cohan. And for the season finale on April 27, 2013, be instantly transported back to a time of energy and promise 50 years ago with the big band sound of Esquivel, the pop/jazz/latin music with a twist that perfectly captures the iconoclastic energy of the topsy-turvy 60’s.

SRO Producer Peter Stickel constructed the season to coincide with the year-long Bicentennial celebration of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Wakefield. "By recreating the musical sounds of each era and performing in period clothing by Arlene Phillips, we're looking to capture a sense of the spirit of the times. We've discovered some fascinating connections tying historic events and artistic creations to the Boston area and even more specifically in some cases to Wakefield and to the church," according to Stickel.

Subscriptions reward Standing Room Only concertgoers not only with four first-class concerts for the price of one similar performance in Boston, but they also come with a number of special benefits, including reserved seating and private receptions with the artists connected with the opening and closing concerts. Subscriptions are $85 for those over 65 or under 19 and $100 for those in between.

Season subscriptions can be ordered through the SRO website at sroconcerts.org or by mail (check to “Wakefield UU Church”) sent to SRO/Wakefield UU Church, PO Box 529, Wakefield, MA 01880.

For additional information on the upcoming season or to be placed on the mailing list, please call 339-203-9366.