5 Broadway veterans coming 'Back to Broadway' for Greensburg show

Broadway is coming back, not just to New York City, but also to Greensburg.

To celebrate the reopening of the Great White Way after an 18-month pandemic hiatus, Westmoreland Cultural Trust will present “Back to Broadway: An Evening of Timeless Songs From Classic Broadway Shows,” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Greensburg Garden & Civic Center.

The concert will feature five Broadway veterans performing selections from Broadway’s golden era, along with songs from contemporary musicals such as “Phantom of the Opera,” “Les Miserables,” “Wicked” and “Hamilton.”

The show was conceived by Greggory Brandt, who will direct and perform.

Brandt is known to area audiences through his performances with Pittsburgh CLO, Pittsburgh Musical Theatre and the Pittsburgh, Washington, Butler and Altoona symphonies. He was in the Broadway cast of “A Tale of Two Cities” and the Broadway and national touring casts of “Les Miserables.”

He is assistant professor of theater at Saint Vincent College and producing artistic director of Saint Vincent Summer Theatre, which was canceled last year and this year because of the pandemic.

“I approached (Trust CEO April Kopas) about it,” he said. “Without the theater this summer, I said I’d love to do something to re-energize the community. We just want to get back into it.”

Brandt recruited other performers with whom he has worked at Saint Vincent, on Broadway or on tour, including his son, Eddie Brandt.

Broadway veterans

Eddie Brandt has appeared in the Broadway revival of “Annie Get Your Gun,” the national tour of “Les Miserables” and many Saint Vincent Summer Theatre productions. He was a main stage performer for Disney Cruise Lines and is a music producer based in Orlando, Fla.

Kathy Voytko, a Johnstown native, performed in Tony Award-winners “A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder” and “Nine” and the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Next to Normal.” She originated the role of Ariadne in Stephen Sondheim’s “The Frogs” opposite Nathan Lane. She is the winner of two Joseph Jefferson Awards for Chicago-area theater arts.

Lyric tenor John Cudia, who is married to Voytko, is at home on opera, theater and concert stages. He has performed with the Vancouver and Indianapolis operas and with Lyric Opera of the North in Duluth, Minn. He is the only actor to have played both the Phantom in “The Phantom of the Opera” and Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables” on Broadway.

Ali Ewoldt is a veteran of Saint Vincent theater, Broadway, off-Broadway and national Broadway tours whose television and film credits include “The Michael J. Fox Show,” “Yield,” “Mia” and “The Cactus.” Her concert and symphony work includes appearances at Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York City and with the American Pops Orchestra, Houston Symphony and The Boston Pops.

“I am so thrilled to be able to perform live again,” Ewoldt said. “The experience of being in a space with audience members who appreciate this music, along with other super-talented performers, is so exciting.”

The show’s first act will feature classics by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin and others, and the second act focuses on contemporary shows. There will be solos, duets and full company numbers.

Brandt said performers will intersperse songs with some of their own history and memorable stories from their careers.

“This event … is sure to keep the audience entertained and excited about live theatre again,” Kopas said.

“Anyone who is a fan of Broadway at all will really enjoy it,” Brandt added. “The performers are all charming. They’re really good people and wonderful entertainers.”

Tickets are $20. To reserve, visit thepalacetheatre.org.