A Note From Neil - June 2007

Hey Everyone,

What a year! We just finished over 90 concerts all over the USA! It was an amazing time, getting to meet so many wonderful Broadway music lovers in California, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and of course, New York!

We played to over 130,000 people, and got to meet most of you after each show. What a treat!

I can tell you that even though we are lightening up the touring schedule over the summer (I need to watch at least a few baseball games!), we are already excited about next years tour. Over 120 more concerts, many new cities, and we'll be returning to most of the venues we played with a BRAND NEW SHOW!

There is plenty more exciting news as well concerning my composing career:

As most of you know I am composing the new Broadway musical version of GRUMPY OLD MEN, which had it's first informal table reading in Los Angeles last month, and it went spectacularly well. What a cast!

Broadway legends Len Cariou (original Sweeney Todd) and George Hearn (two-time TONY winner) lead the "too good to be true" cast. Also, there was Adrienne Barbeau (bet most of you forgot that her career started in the original Broadway productions of Fiddler on the Roof and as the ORIGINAL Rizzo in Grease), Garret Morris (from Saturday Night Live fame, and he sings his butt off), Carol Kane (Taxi and a zillion other things), Vicki Lewis (what a talent!), Rita Harvey (what a wife), Matt Stocke, and the timeless Charles Durning as Grandpa!

We were also fortunate to have some of LA's most incredible character actors rounding out our cast.

David Holcenberg (from Mamma Mia) was our Musical Supervisor, and did a phenomenal job! We are currently still finishing the score and book, and I think our big NY presentations will be this fall!

I am also finishing up my fully-orchestrated CD of my musical version of THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING, which features two of Broadways top leading men, Mark Kudisch and Brian d'Arcy James, in the leading roles.

This CD also stars Mandy Gonzalez (star of the the upcoming Broadway musical In The Heights), and Judy McLane (Drama Desk nominee). We start mixing next month, and should have the CD available this summer! I truly believe this is my best work ever up to now, and I can't wait for people to hear it. Book and Lyrics by DJ Salisbury, arrangements/musical supervision by Wendy Bobbit Cavett, and Orchestrations by Larry Hochman (Spamalot, Fiddler on the Roof, etc.)

Many more projects to announce soon, but in the meantime, please check in from time to time at my website, www.neilberg.com. Below are upcoming shows, both public and private, and it gets updated all the time. Please call Joe D'Urso/Leftfield Productions at 845-353-2407 if you think you or your organization would love to bring in the best Broadway talent for an unforgettable evening!

Happy Summer!

Best,
Neil