Bijou Orchestra Closes Season
Broadway in Bay City with the music of Kander and Ebb
Bay City's
Bijou Orchestra closed its 2003-2004 season with a rousing musical review titled "And the World Goes Round", featuring the music of Kander and Ebb. Even if you are not familar with the names "Kander and Ebb", you'd surely recognize many of the numbers, such as "All That Jazz" and "Mr. Cellophane" featured in the movie Chicago.

The
Bijou Orchestra is a professional group built on the format of the American "theater orchestra". The ensemble is typically a dozen musicians. The performance of "And the World Goes Round" finale featured seven musicians and five vacalist and dancers.
The performances this Friday and Saturday were all one would expect from a professional company. The music was well selected with a mix of high energy numbers, funny songs, and a few serious selections. The choreography, by Kathy Wagner, and dancing were as good as one would see anywhere. One audience member compared the production to quality seen in Branson, Missouri.
As a performance venue, Bay City's historic State Theater offers an intimate setting. The stage has been extended into the theater where a few rows of seats were removed. Professional lighting and a high tech sound system make the entire experience a pleasure.
Quoting the Bijou's Artistic Director Leo Najar, "It's hard to believe we are at the end of our firstseason. The Orchestra was just a good idea a year ago with no plans for a season, let alone the organization to produce one." Well, they certainly pulled it off. Bay City is fortunate indeed to have such a group make this its home base.
The Bijou's 2004-2005 season has been announced with the first performance set for September 2004 at the Temple Theater in Saginaw. The orchestra returns to Bay City with "A Halloween SPOOKtacular", a special afternoon family concert at Bay City Central High School auditorium, on October 31. Then it's back to the home base State Theater for performances in December, February, and April.
The Bijou Orchestra is supported by the
Bay Arts Council and many local businesses, organizations and individuals. Information is available form the Bay Arts Council as well as from the
Bijou Orchestra (989) 225-3423. This weekend's finale was sponsored by the Bay City Rotary Club.
Stephen Kent
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Steve Kent and his family have lived in Bay City for 40 years. He is VP of Technical Services at MMCC which produces MyBayCity.Com. Kent is active in many Bay City civic organizations.
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