A tribute to the first king of Broadway
Cole Porter fans are in for a treat in June as Carnegie Hall welcomes a host of Broadway stars including Jeff Harnar, Mark Nadler, Molly Pope and Steve Ross to celebrate what would have been the music maestro's 125th birthday! Porter is noted for having created scores for some of the world's best loved musicals such as Kiss Me, Kate, Anything Goes, Silk Stockings and Can-Can! A must-see for lovers of his music.
Born into Indiana high society in 1891, Porter defied the wishes of his strict and domineering timber mogul grandfather in order to pursue a career in music. In 1928, Porter exploded onto Broadway with his first musical, Paris, which was a certified hit! Answering to the lure of Hollywood, he composed songs during the Golden Age of Hollywood for stars such as Rita Hayworth, Judy Garland , Don Ameche and Gene Kelly, however these were largely forgotten by the bulk of the media at the time.
When not composing for movies, Porter concentrated on creating music for the stage and composed many well-known standards such as Night and Day, Begin the Beguine, I Get a Kick Out of You, and I've Got You Under My Skin, most of which have been covered by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Michael Buble and other jazz musicians.
Kiss Me, Kate is notable for having won the first ever Tony Award for Best New Musical, when they launched in 1949.