Broadway Dreams - A Musical Escape
By Bhavna Patel
"My Own Best Friend (Accompaniment Backing Tracks) · Stage Stars
Chicago: Accompaniments
℗ 2014 Stage Stars Records
Accessed Via Youtube"
Bob Bachelor, Musical Director of Broadway Dreams as well as Artistic Director and founder of The Lyric Theatre Singers.
Bob Bachelor has been inspired by musicals since he was ten. That’s when he saw his first high school musical production, The Music Man. “Something about the mix of music and the drama appealed to me,” Bachelor said, “...Music really enhanced the emotional scenes, even the comedic scenes.” It became a defining moment in Bachelor’s career, who has gone on to produce annual broadway revues and December holiday candlelight concerts in Montreal for over 30 years. The highly anticipated shows are performed by the renowned group, The Lyric Theatre Singers, which was founded in 1990 by Bachelor himself, who also happens to be its artistic director.
The group’s latest production, Broadway Dreams, will be shown at the Concordia Theatre for four performances from June 13 to 15. Bachelor is the co-director and musical director of the event. A number of hits from musicals like Wicked, Crazy For You, Moulin Rouge and others will be performed. From a brassy uptempo song to a ballad and then a dance item, the musical is expected to take the audience on an emotional rollercoaster through its different styles of music.
The cast of Lyric Theatre Singers’ Broadway Dreams during a rehearsal.
The cast during dance rehearsal.
Looking back, Bachelor noted that a career in musical production was a natural stepping stone for him. He attended a music school while growing up in Toronto. There, he learned to play the piano and organ and sang in the choir. Bachelor became drawn to musical theatre, but it was frowned upon at the school. “It wasn't considered, you know, proper music,” Bachelor said. But he listened to cast albums of shows on his own time anyway and his interest only grew. Bachelor later moved to Montreal where he continued with his musical studies at McGill University.
After all these years, what keeps him going? “It’s the process and it’s the people,” he said. “We’ve told the singers this too. Most of your life at Lyric is not about being on stage. It’s the process of creating it. That's what the majority of your time consists of.”