The chorus opened its second decade on March 18 and 19, 1989, at the Herbst Theatre.
From Verdi to “Follies”
The Bay Area Reporter reviewed “A Signature Show,” conducted by Gregg Tallman with guest accompanist Richard Rogers and guest sopranos Karen Tesitor and Anna Schenk-Hughes. The first half moved through Verdi, Mozart and Puccini and ended with the “Tonight” finale from “West Side Story.” Along the way, member Gary Falardeau interrupted from a box seat as “Carol” in a comic bit.
The second half played against a huge rainbow backdrop, with singers in bright scarves, St. Patrick’s Day hats and rainbow sweaters. A Gershwin medley featured soloists, Schenk-Hughes sang “Climb Every Mountain,” and four members played two sets of lovers from Sondheim’s “Follies.” Before the final encore, the chorus honored members who had died.
“The men on stage were superb.”
— Bay Area Reporter review
The chorus announced a July concert with Chicago’s Windy City chorus and a trip to Seattle for a festival of more than 2,500 gay and lesbian singers.
From the archives: this post retells reporting by the Bay Area Reporter. The original articles survive only in newspaper archives, so we have told the story here in our own words. Details attributed to those outlets are their reporting; see the sources below.
Sources
- Bay Area Reporter, “Gay Men’s Chorus Brilliant Again”, March 23, 1989. ebar.com
