Burt Bacharach made sophistication sound effortless. Songs such as “I Say a Little Prayer” and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” invite an easy singalong, yet their unusual time signatures, surprising chord changes, and demanding vocal ranges can expose an unprepared performer. In ‘Going Bacharach: The Songs of an Icon,’ the singers and musicians meet those challenges with style, precision, and control.
Producer Jack Lewin conceived the show, drawing on extensive experience in nightclub and cabaret entertainment and his role as a co-creator of Our Sinatra. He developed this revue with pop-music historian Will Friedwald, musical supervisor Tedd Firth, and musical director Adrian Galante. Friedwald has written ten books on popular music; Firth is an accomplished director, pianist, and arranger whose credits range from Lincoln Center to two White House performances. Galante completes the creative team as both co-creator and musical director.
Photo Credit: Russ Rowland
The show opens with a medley that showcases Galante’s versatility on piano and clarinet. He is joined by guitarist Derek Duleba, bassist Marco Panascia, and drummer Jakubu Griffin. Patrick Firth plays the keyboard. He takes over at the piano for the finale.
Three vocalists guide the audience through Bacharach’s extraordinary career. Hilary Kole, a noted jazz singer, composer, and arranger who also appears in the revival of Our Sinatra, brings polish to the pop standards. Broadway performer Meecah, whose credits include Hamilton, leans into the bluesier material. John Pagano, Bacharach’s lead male vocalist for 26 years, lends authority to the easy-listening classics. Whether singing solo or as a trio, they reveal the breadth of a composer who conquered the pop charts, Broadway, and film, bridging the era of Irving Berlin and Cole Porter with contemporary songwriting. As Meecah notes, Bacharach wrote roughly 1,000 songs—and about one in ten became a hit. The revue gives that astonishing legacy its due. Together, the musicians and singers capture the breadth of Bacharach’s catalog and bring his music vividly to life.
Yet, the production never treats Bacharach’s music as a museum piece. Pagano recalls discovering the composer through his father’s scratchy 45, then recreates the song as he first heard it. The show also confronts dated material with humor and perspective. After Kole and Meecah perform “Wives and Lovers,” a Grammy-winning song by Bacharach and Hal David, whose lyrics have long been criticized as misogynistic, they answer it with a version rewritten from a woman’s point of view.
Photo Credit: Russ Rowland
Bacharach, who died in 2023, left behind a formidable legacy that includes six Grammy Awards and three Academy Awards. Going Bacharach: The Songs of an Icon honors that achievement without embalming it, offering sophisticated interpretations of both familiar hits and lesser-known gems. At two hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission, the revue is more than a tribute: it is a vivid reminder that Bacharach’s intricate, irresistible music remains part of the soundtrack of our lives.
