Concert preview
Barry Manilow
7:30 p.m. Saturday. $6.99-$129.99. The Arena at Gwinnett Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth. 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.
Earlier this year, Barry Manilow had a homecoming of sorts.
For more than a month, the Brooklyn native commandeered the St. James Theatre on Broadway with a show stocked with hits, memories, big band bravado, a sweet tribute to his grandfather and glow sticks.
Anyone who caught him during his seven-year run in Las Vegas knows that nothing prods “I Write the Songs” into a swoon-and-sway-along like a couple of thousand neon green beams of light being waved simultaneously.
Now, the man who makes us weep with “Somewhere Down the Road” and inspires us to tuck a feather in our hair with “Copacabana” is bringing his “Manilow on Broadway” spectacular to the road, including a Saturday stop at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.
But that is just the beginning of what will be a Manilow-ian year for Atlantans.
We know he’s written the songs — those dozens and dozens of gorgeous melodies and heart-melting lyrics — but he’s also written “Harmony — A New Musical,” which will open the Alliance Theatre season on Sept. 6.
Manilow prefers to do Harmony”-related press with longtime collaborator Bruce Sussman, who will write the book and lyrics, but he did say that the Atlanta theater was chosen because, “We had always heard great things about the Alliance, so we came into town (to see) ‘Next to Normal’ and met (general manager) Max (Leventhal) and (artistic director) Susan (V. Booth) and just loved the theater. We just decided we would debut it down there.”
The show, which will be directed by Tony Speciale (“Unnatural Acts: Harvard’s Secret Court of 1920,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” New York), is inspired by the 1920s/1930s group the Comedian Harmonists.
Manilow, 69, doesn’t expect he’ll head to Atlanta for concentrated rehearsal time until August, but he had time recently for a quick chat about his recent Broadway experience — a show that retains its essence on the road.
Q: What was it like being back on Broadway?
A: One thing I learned, I respect these (Broadway stars) doing eight shows a week. I did five a week and it kicked my butt. Here's (Broadway legend) Chita (Rivera) doing eight shows a week, and she's going on 80! They just give their life to their work. Even five shows a week, I couldn't do much more than get ready for those nights. Even on days off, you can't talk. It's quite a commitment.
Q: But it had to be quite cool to be back almost in your hometown.
A: It was the most surprising and thrilling experience of my career. I can't tell you why it was so different. I've been able to play arenas and theaters and they're always great to me, but this one, I don't know, man. A year before that I had done Radio City, and then Madison Square Garden. This audience, I could swear 90 percent had never seen me work. I could swear they were brand-new people. Every night, there would be this reaction to stuff I have sung or said for years, and the response was brand-new — 1,700 people night after night. They were the best audiences I've had in years.
Q: What do you attribute that to?
A: I think it was also the intimacy of the room. I was in their lap and they were in my lap, and a Brooklyn guy coming home. …These New York guys, from the firemen to the policemen, I love them so much and they are not embarrassed to say they're Manilow fans. It was just a party every night.
Q: So you’ve kept that show intact for this tour, right?
A: It's not a tour, it's a road show — two weekends a month. But yes, I have hit upon an appealing show for these audiences. From the young people to the people who have seen me before, this is what they've come for. I might throw in "When October Goes" or "Lay Me Down," but the bulk of the show is the hits. I might throw in something from (his 2011 album) "15 Minutes," and they put up with me.
Q: And how about some songs from “Harmony”?
A: We have three "Harmony" songs ready to go. "Every Single Day" is a real audience song, but those are all iffy for me. I'm asking the audience to sit through a song they've never heard. I have a full version of "Harmony" that is ready to go and maybe one more.
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