Broadway comes to Israel with music from ‘Phantom of the Opera’
Local performer Isaac Sutton presents musical production of Broadway hits for local stages
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera” has been around for the last 34 years, but it is still a favorite for Israelis, says singer Isaac Sutton, who will be singing its tunes with Eryn LeCroy, who played the show’s lead role of Christine Daaé on Broadway.
Sutton and LeCroy are the main attraction of Broadway-Israel, a production created by Sutton, touring Israeli theaters for four performances on March 25, 26, 30, and April 1.
“The child within me is still kind of in shock to share the stage with Broadway’s Christine,” said Sutton, who remembers seeing “The Phantom of the Opera” in London — the first musical he ever saw onstage.
Broadway-Israel celebrates the world’s top musicals, including show tunes from “Phantom,” “Funny Girl,” “My Fair Lady,” “Les Miserables,” “Cabaret,” “The Sound of Music,” “West Side Story” and several other shows.
“Something I found out about Israelis and Broadway is that they’re still old school — they love traditional musical theater,” said Sutton.
So does he. Sutton fell in love with musical theater as an Israeli teen, but only began performing in his 20s, after first earning a college degree and then a master’s in business administration.
He produced his own show that was then adopted by Tel Aviv’s Cameri Theater and later went to New York’s Manhattan School of Music and Circle in the Square for additional training.
It was in New York that Sutton met and performed with several Broadway singers, and began inviting them to perform in Israel.
“It was very easy,” he said. “Apparently Israel is loved by a lot of Broadway performers.”
Sutton has produced and performed in several shows in Israel, including “Las Vegas-Tel Aviv,” “Broadway & All That Jazz,” “Tonight A Musical,” “Shalom Hollywood,” and “The Israel Prize,” celebrating Israel’s 70th anniversary, in collaboration with Israel Prize-winning composer Nurit Hirsh.
After LeCroy leaves on April 1, performer DeLaney Westfall will arrive on April 3, for another series of performances from April 4-10 with Sutton.
Tickets are available online.
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