Showstoppers
Paramount Theatre
New York, NY
September 25, 1991

Hi Everyone.

This month’s ManilowTV is one of my favorites, because “Showstoppers” was one of my favorite albums and tours.

It was probably the most creative and most daring tour we’ve ever done.

I worked with the great Ken and Mitzie Welch to write and stage the shows.

And for the first time ever, I hired a cast of talented singers and dancers to perform with me.

I guess we could have just stuck a fifteen minute segment into one of my concerts, but I love the music from Broadway so much, I decided to take a chance and not do a pop concert but do a two hour tribute to the songs from the album and to the composers and lyricists that wrote those songs.

Writing and rehearsing this show was a fantastic experience. And performing it every night was a dream. I could have toured with this show for years. I just love, love, loved it!

This episode is a real special one. It’s the opening night of the brand new Madison Square Garden theater in Manhattan.

The audience was filled with celebrities and, best of all, some of the writers of the songs we did in the show.

Jule Styne, Comden and Green, and Burton Lane are just a few of the greats that were there.

When I met them after the show, they were over the moon about what they’d just seen. I was so proud.

Hope you enjoy this one.

Love,

Barry