Play on Words

HAL CAZALET in PLAY ON WORDS
 A MUSICAL CELEBRATION OF P. G. WODEHOUSE ON BROADWAY
 In Homage to Happiness, Humor, Romance & Glamour

 With SIMON BECK on Piano
 Devised and Directed by HUGH WOOLDRIDGE

 'Play On Words' sees performer and composer, Hal Cazalet, honoring the early career of his step Great-Grandfather, P.G. Wodehouse, the first great Lyricist of Broadway. The show celebrates the Birth of the American Musical and theatrical writing highlights of the last 120 years.

Wodehouse said that he wrote his stories like 'Musical Comedies, without the Music'. He once had Five Musicals running simultaneously on Broadway. A record unbeaten to this day.

Featuring the work of Wodehouse, Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin, Alan Jay Lerner, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Noël Coward, Dudley Moore, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Alan Ayckbourn, and other luminaries.

P.G 'Plum' Wodehouse, shaped his inimitable turn of phrase through his song writing. The Musicals he wrote with Jerome Kern, the Gershwin Brothers and Cole Porter, between 1915 - 1934, not only defined a Genre, but informed the way he crafted and characterized his novels. 

Through stories, anecdotes and songs, Hal transports us back to the Golden Age of Broadway and Hollywood through the literary genius of one of the greatest comic writers ever to put pen to paper.

About Hal Cazalet:

“Beguiling” - The New York Times
“Wins all hearts” - The Sunday Times
“Hal Cazalet makes for an enchanting entertainer” – Sir Stephen Fry
“Attractively stylish” - The Guardian
“Genuinely funny with wonderful comic expression” - Opera Britannia 

HAL CAZALET
Hal and Simon have made two tours of India with 'Play On Words', where Wodehouse's works remain as popular as ever. The show has toured the UK, with two sell out runs at The Crazy Coqs, in London's West End.

Hal trained at The Juilliard School. As a keen advocate of new works, he has created many leading roles for World Premiere's, including Gerard in Philip Glass's 'Les Enfants Terribles' (BAM Opera House | European and US Tour), Nicholas in Tod Machover's 'Death and the Powers' (Chicago Opera Theatre, The Dallas Opera, Monte Carlo Opera), Charles in Panufnick's 'The Music Programme' (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden) and 'Song For Nature' at London's Coliseum with Soprano, Danielle De Niese. Other performances in the US include concerts with The New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) at Merkin Hall (Rodgers, Rodgers and Guettel) and Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall (Topsy Turvy). Hal has also performed in concert at The Kennedy Center and at The Lincoln Center. As a Composer and Lyricist, he has written choral works (BBC Radio) and his musical based on Oscar Wilde's fairytale 'The Happy Prince' was presented at The Place Theatre in London, with Janie Dee, Phil Daniels and principal dancers from Matthew Bourne's New Adventures.

Hal and Simon are delighted to be bringing Play on Words to NYC as it is where the story began - a piece of Broadway heritage.

SIMON BECK
Most recently, Simon has collaborated on a series of legacy concerts: Lorna Luft celebrating her mother, Judy Garland; Hal Cazalet celebrating his step-great grandfather, PG Wodehouse; and Liz Robertson celebrating her late husband, Alan Jay Lerner.

In concert Simon has been music director/pianist for David Bedella & Richard O’Brien, Stephanie J Block, Lorna Dallas, Sophie-Louise Dann, Cynthia Erivo, Kara Lane, Andrew Lippa, Karen Mason, Sally Mayes, Robert Meadmore, and the London debut of the Broadway institution Sondheim Unplugged.

Other credits include conducting the Glamis Prom, numerous musical theatre galas, London productions of The Boyfriend, Rocky Horror Show, Sweet Charity, Ruthless, End of the Rainbow, Talent, and tours of Legally Blonde, Spamalot, West Side Story (50th Anniversary) and Sinatra. Associate music director/featured solo pianist for Monty Python Live (Almost), and featured pianist for Barbara Cook & Friends.