Robert Wyatt

The Cotton Club
2020-03-07 13:00 - 14:30 (America/New_York) | Florida Atlantic University Jupiter Campus, 5353 Parkside Drive, Jupiter, FL, 33458, United States
The Cotton Club, favored by the city’s elite, was dubbed “the Aristocrat of Harlem.” Its patrons included British royalty and celebrities like George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Paul Whiteman and Marlene Dietrich. Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway conducted their innovative jazz bands and great black entertainers like Ethel Waters, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Lena Horne and Josephine Baker played the room to the delight of the all-white audience.
Feel the magnetic attraction of the Cotton Club in this lecture/recital presented by Robert Wyatt. Film and sound clips will partner with colorful stories which illustrate the musical and social life of New York in the 1920s and 30s.

Music in the Movies
2020-03-05 19:30 | Coral Lakes, 12751 El Clair Ranch Road, Boyton Beach, FL, 33437, United States
Beginning with The Jazz Singer in 1927, music has been an integral part of the motion picture films. While stimulating emotion, broadening the plot, creating drama and intrigue, the correct song at an opportune moment projects incredible power. Musical films have bequeathed us many of the finest songs of all time. Enjoy them with memorable clips combined with live piano performance.

The Ragtime Craze
2020-02-28 14:00 - 15:30 | Residence at Quarry Hill, 465 Quarry Hill Road, South Burlington, VT, 05403, United States
Although ragtime music was first heard at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, it took another seven years for the syncopated music to become the rage of the new century. Scott Joplin wrote the bulk of the most-remembered classical piano rags, but dozens of other composers vied for his recognition. From Kansas City came James Scott and Joseph Lamb who arrived in New York City from across the river in New Jersey. But then the barons of the music publishing industry on Tin Pan Alley flooded the market with cheap imitations which soured the buyers of sheet music. Ragtime music was finished by 1917, the year that Joplin died. This program includes scores of archival recordings and clips, as well as live performance by Dr. Wyatt.

Steps in Time: Fred Astaire
2020-02-10 13:00 - 14:00 | Project Independence, 112 Exchange Street, Middlebury, VT, 05753
Light on his feet, Fred Astaire revolutionized the movie musical with his elegant and seemingly effortless dance style. He may have made dancing look easy, but he was a well-known perfectionist, and his work was the product of endless hours of practice.
Astaire started performing as a child, partnering up with his older sister Adele. The two toured the vaudeville circuit before making it to Broadway in 1917. Among their many productions the brother-sister team starred in the 1927 George and Ira Gershwin musical Funny Face. For all his early success, though, career in the movies eluded Astaire. He had done a screen test, but he failed to attract any interest. A studio executive wrote at the time, “Can’t sing. Can’t act. Slightly balding. Can dance a little.” He eventually appeared in 36 musical films.

The World of Lerner & Loewe
2020-01-31 13:00 - 14:00 | Project Independence, 112 Exchange Street, Middlebury, VT, 05753
In temperament, personality and background, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe were perhaps the most dissimilar of all of the great songwriting teams. Yet together they penned some of the most original and successful musicals written during the Golden Age of Broadway, hits beginning with Brigadoon in 1947 and ending with Gigi in 1973. Between those bookends fell Paint Your Wagon, the blockbuster My Fair Lady which made Julie Andrews an over-night sensation, and Camelot, starring Ms. Andrews, Richard Burton and Robert Goulet in his Broadway debut. Often at odds with each other personally, their

Judy Garland: Climbing Over the Rainbow
2020-01-10 14:00 - 15:30 | Florida Atlantic University Jupiter Campus, 5353 Parkside Drive, Jupiter, FL, 33458, United States
Enjoy your fantasies and remembrances as Robert Wyatt takes you through Judy Garland’s extraordinary life. Film clips will be abundant, starting with The Broadway Melody of 1938 and moving through 1944 blockbuster Meet Me in St. Louis, The Harvey Girls, Cole Porter’s gem-ridden The Pirate of 1948 and the sizzling A Star is Born, the 1954 masterwork which became her last bravura film. TV specials like The Judy Garland Show (1962) with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, the specials that featured Robert Goulet still basking from Camelot and, of course, the prized duos with daughter Liza Minnelli, will stimulate your thoughts about “America’s Sweetheart.”

The Sound of Music
2020-01-08 19:00 - 21:00 | Isley Library, 75 Main Street, Middlebury, VT, 05753, United States
Please come to Isley Library to attend the Diamond Jubilee of The Sound of Music! The original Broadway production, starring Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel, opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 16, 1959 and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, out of nine nominations. In 1965, it was adapted as a film musical starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, winning five Academy Awards and becoming the most popular Hollywood musical ever produced. The Sound of Music was the last of 10 musicals written by Rodgers and Hammerstein; Oscar Hammerstein died of stomach cancer nine months after the Broadway premiere. So raise your glasses and celebrate 60 years of enjoyment!

Oliver!
2019-12-23 13:00 - 14:00 | Project Independence, 112 Exchange Street, Middlebury, VT, 05753
After being sold to a mortician, young orphan Oliver Twist runs away and meets a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor.The story of the Charles Dickens character leaps onto the cinematic stage with suspense, gaiety and wonderful songs by Lionel Bart and John Green.

A Step in Time: Fred Astaire
2019-12-06 03:00 - 16:00 | Goodwin House, 4800 Fillmore Street, Alexandria, VA, United States

The Sound of Music
2019-12-05 18:45 - 21:00 | Smithsonian Dillon Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Dr SW, Washington, D.C., DC, United States
The original Broadway production of The Sound of Music, starring Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel, opened in 1959 and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, out of nine nominations. The first London production opened at the Palace Theatre in 1961. The show has enjoyed numerous productions and revivals since then. It was adapted as a film musical starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, which won five Academy Awards. It is the most popular film musical ever produced. The Sound of Music was the last musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein; Oscar Hammerstein died of stomach cancer nine months after the Broadway premiere.

Andrew Lloyd Webber
2019-12-03 19:00 - 21:30 | Florida Atlantic University, Barry and Florence Friedberg Auditorium, Boca Raton Campus, Boca Raton, FL, United States
British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has created a global empire unrivaled in the history of musical theater. In 1983, he was the first composer to have three musicals appear simultaneously on Broadway and in London’s West End, a feat he duplicated five years later. Mr. Webber has collected a variety of honors including knighthood, seven Tony Awards, three Grammy Awards, seven Olivier Awards, a Golden Globe, an Oscar and the Kennedy Center Honors Award. His ninth musical, The Phantom of the Opera, celebrated its 10,000th Broadway performance in 2012, the first production ever to do so.
Buy Tickets

A Step in Time: Fred Astaire
2019-11-26 19:30 - 20:30 | Longwood at Oakmont, 500 Route 909, Verona, PA, 15147, United States

Master of Marvel: Andrew Lloyd Webber
2019-11-22 15:00 - 16:30 | Residence at Otter Creek, 50 Lodge Road, Middlebury, VT, 05753
British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has created a global empire unrivaled in the history of musical theater. In 1983, he was the first composer to have three musicals appear simultaneously on Broadway and in London’s West End, a feat he duplicated five years later. Mr. Webber has collected a variety of honors including knighthood, seven Tony Awards, three Grammy Awards, seven Olivier Awards, a Golden Globe, an Oscar and the Kennedy Center Honors Award. His ninth musical, The Phantom of the Opera, celebrated its 10,000th Broadway performance in 2012, the first production ever to do so.

The King and I
2019-11-18 13:00 - 14:00 | Project Independence, 112 Exchange Street, Middlebury, VT, 05753
The King and I is the fifth musical of composer Richard Rodgers and dramatist Oscar Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon’s novel, Anna and the King of Siam, derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s. The musical premiered on March 29, 1951, at Broadway’s St. James Theatre where it ran for nearly three years, making it the fourth longest-running Broadway musical in history at the time.

Gershwin, by George!
2019-11-09 10:00 - 12:00 | Falmouth Academy, 7 Highfield Drive, Falmouth, MA, 02540, United States
Join pianist and Gershwin authority Robert Wyatt, co-editor of Oxford University Press’ The George Gershwin Reader, in this lively program exploring George Gershwin’s life and legacy. The evening includes live performances of the solo version of Rhapsody in Blue, early and unpublished music, the piano improvisations and other Gershwin hits. Rare film footage obtained from the Gershwin family is projected, along with unpublished photographs of the composer and his friends. Archival recordings of his 1932 – 33 radio programs, Music by Gershwin, are also featured.

Music by Gershwin (Postponed)
2019-11-08 17:30 - 19:00 | University of Vermont, Greg Brown Lodge, St, Albans, VT, 05478
Please note: This event has been postponed, and will be rescheduled.
Join pianist and Gershwin authority Robert Wyatt, co-editor of Oxford University Press’ The George Gershwin Reader, in this exploration of George Gershwin’s piano repertoire. The evening includes live performances of the solo version of Rhapsody in Blue, early and unpublished music, the piano improvisations and other Gershwin hits.

South Pacific
2019-10-28 13:00 - 14:00 | Project Independence, 112 Exchange Street, Middlebury, VT, 05753
South Pacific, the 4th musical play of Rodgers and Hammerstein, was premiered in 1949 on Broadway and was an immediate hit, running for 1,925 performances. The plot is based on James Michener’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book, Tales of the South Pacific, combines elements of several of those stories. Rodgers and Hammerstein believed they could write a musical based on Michener’s work that would be financially successful and, at the same time, send a strong progressive message on racism.

Gershwin, by George!
2019-10-25 15:00 - 16:30 | Residence at Quarry Hill, 465 Quarry Hill Road, South Burlington, VT, 05403, United States

Judy Garland: Climbing Over the Rainbow
2019-10-18 16:00 - 17:00 | The Gables at East Mountain, 200 Gables Place, Rutland, VT, 05701, United States
Enjoy your remembrances of Judy Garland as American music specialist Robert Wyatt takes you through her extraordinary life. Film clips will be abundant, starting with The Broadway Melody of 1938 and moving through 1944 blockbuster Meet Me in St. Louis, The Harvey Girls, Cole Porter’s gem-ridden The Pirate of 1948 and the sizzling A Star is Born, the 1954 masterwork which became her last bravura film. TV specials like the 1962 The Judy Garland Show with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, the specials that featured Robert Goulet still basking from Camelot, and of course, the prized duos with daughter Liza Minnelli, will stimulate your evening.

The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber
2019-10-13 15:00 - 16:30 | Eastview at Middlebury, 100 Eastview Terrace, Middlebury, VT, 05753, United States
British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has created a global empire unrivaled in the history of musical theatre. In 1983, he was the first composer to have three musicals simultaneously on Broadway and in London’s West End, a feat he duplicated five years later. The New York production of The Phantom of the Opera, which opened in 1988, is now nearing 13,000 performances and was joined this last season by a Broadway revival of another of the composer’s megahits, Cats.
Lloyd Webber’s phenomenal successes can be attributed to a particular blend of showmanship and superb craft—the genesis of which began in childhood. The son of professional musicians, he also possessed passions for architecture, history, mechanics, and staging, which fostered in him an ability to envision productions of astonishing complexity and grandeur.
Join music specialist Robert Wyatt as he raises the curtain on a lively afternoon that examines and celebrates Andrew Lloyd Webber’s theatrical artistry, filled with clips and recordings that cover the full range of his career from his earliest to most recent works.

A Step in Time: Fred Astaire
2019-09-16 13:00 - 14:00 | Project Independence, 112 Exchange Street, Middlebury, VT, 05753

A Step in Time: Fred Astaire
2019-09-13 15:00 - 16:00 | Residence at Otter Creek, 50 Lodge Road, Middlebury, VT, 05753

Steps in Time: Fred Astaire
2019-08-10 10:00 - 11:30 | Falmouth Academy, 7 Highfield Drive, Falmouth, MA, 02540, United States

Hollywood Musicals of the 1960s
2019-07-29 13:00 - 14:00 | Project Independence, 112 Exchange Street, Middlebury, VT, 05753
Films created during the 1960s belong to the most creative era in cinema history, a time of tremendous social change, the Vietnam War, fashion, fads, rock ‘n’ roll and the acceleration of technological ingenuity. However, movie audiences were rapidly diminishing due to the dominance of the television industry and only 145 musicals were produced in the decade, compared to the 453 all-singing, all-dancing extravaganzas churned out in the 1930s.
Be entertained throughout an evening which features dazzling film clips of your favorite stars and a historical narrative by American music specialist, Robert Wyatt. Enjoy the emergence of Barbara Streisand, witness Julie Andrews transform from a nanny to a nun in only a year, and reserve a front row seat while drifting back to a time when admission to a movie house equaled a six-pack of beer!

Gershwin, by George!
2019-07-19 17:30 - 19:00 | University of Vermont, Greg Brown Lodge, St, Albans, VT, 05478

Solo Piano Recital
2019-07-03 19:30 - 21:00 | Heatherwood, Route 6A , Yarmouth Port, MA , 02675
Steinway Artist Robert Wyatt has performed throughout the United States and internationally, gathering critical acclaim for sensitive and colorful solo, orchestral and chamber music recitals. Featured on NPR and PBS broadcasts, Mr. Wyatt has also performed at the Kennedy Center, The Phillips Collection, the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the 92nd Street Y and Steinway Hall in New York, and Boston’s Jordan Hall and the Museum of Fine Arts.

Judy Garland: Climbing Over the Rainbow
2019-06-24 19:00 - 20:00 | Olde Colonial Courthouse, 3046 Main Street, Barnstable Village, MA, 02630, United States

Solo Piano Recital
2019-06-21 17:30 - 19:30 | St. Barnabus, 91 W Main Street , MA 02540, Falmouth, MA, 02540, United States

Hollywood Musicals of the 1950s
2019-06-10 13:00 - 14:00 | Project Independence, 112 Exchange Street, Middlebury, VT, 05753
The golden age of the Hollywood musical reached its zenith in the 1950s, a time when a new younger market, post-war affluence, middle-class values, the Korean War and rock and roll music changed the focus of the film industry. The major studios were blessed by an improved Technicolor process, a widescreen format and production designs that appealed to an audience eager for the escape and exhilaration.

Hollywood Musicals of the 1940s
2019-05-24 10:30 - 11:30 | Project Independence, 112 Exchange Street, Middlebury, VT, 05753
In the 1940s, America was making ready for, fighting in or helping the world heal from the ravages of World War II. Film entertainment was an elixir for the country’s heartaches and the eight major Hollywood studios cranked out over 550 musicals during the decade, films bursting with sumptuous production numbers, naïve plots and phenomenal music. Advances in film technology had heightened the dramatic appeal of the industry and by 1946, 80 million people went to theaters every week. Hollywood stars became generators of patriotism and nostalgia and their audiences adored them.
