This Could Be the Start of Something Big!
It's 1968! Tune in as America's swingin' sweethearts - Pete Bartel and Keely Stevens - reunite for a live television special re-living their illustrious musical career on TV, in Las Vegas showrooms, and at the top of the hit parade. The only catch - they haven't spoken since their big breakup at Caesar's Palace five years ago.
Glamorously designed by legends Bob Mackie (Cher, Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters) and Ray Klausen (Night of 100 Stars; Academy, Emmy, and Tony Award Shows), Pete 'n' Keely stars Tony nominee Sally Mayes and George Dvorsky as the singing duo who find themselves back on the rollercoaster that got them where they are today...divorced!
READ THE ACCLAIM
Nominations:
OUTSTANDING OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL by the Outer Critics Circle
Drama Desk Outstanding Actress in a Musical SALLY MAYES
Drama Desk Outstanding Costume Design BOB MACKIE
"Pete 'N' Keely is Broadway in a bottle--the brightest, happiest, and most entertaining little show in town."
- Rex Reed
"...stylishness and charm few if any of today's big Broadway musicals can begin to match."
- John Simon, New York Magazine
"How great it all looks! Bob Mackie's costumes are divine! He has created a sequined, bell-bottomed parade of escalating fabulousness! It'll knock your socks off! The sparkly TV soundstage of a set comes from Ray Klausen, who has designed the sets for pretty much every awards show you have ever seen. Pete 'n' Keely can be outright hilarious and even touching."
- Gordon Cox, Newsday
Variety is the Spice of Pete 'n' Keely - by Peter Filichia, BroadwayOnline.com
Time Out New York Magazine - by Elisabeth Vincentelli
"Fun and Charming! Pete 'n' Keely boasts a snappy score of popular standards beautifully rendered by Sally Mayes and George Dvorsky!"
- Robert Dominguez, NY Daily News
"Sally Mayes is a terrific pro. Her vocal power and delicacy can take your breath away, and she acts her songs with equal panache. George Dvorsky has a legitimate Broadway voice and he's a smoothie onstage with a comic touch. As a bandleader and composer, Patrick Brady is a musician of considerable elan whose playing is swinging and deft, and whose compositions here are both respectful of American song and original in their own right."
- Bruce Weber, The New York Times
"Remember what it felt like to laugh throughout a show, to hear an audience whoop and holler during a performance? Pete 'n' Keely is easily the biggest new laugh riot in town, as pure a pleasure as a candied apple after a ride on the Tilt-a-Whirl. Every cockeyed detail of the show is right, from the perky, onstage piano, bass, and drum players to lighting designer F. Mitchell Dana’s brilliant use of beige and Ray Klausen’s pop set, which looks like a reject from Pee Wee’s Playhouse. But nothing beats Bob Mackie’s dazzling costumes. No one can make a woman look more seductive. Pete ’n’ Keely is a delicious puff pastry. Take grandma along to see it, and watch her laugh her stockings off. "
- Ricky Spears, Theatermania.com
"Knowing and fun! Mark Waldrop's clever staging drolly emulates that of '60's spectaculars! George Dvorsky and Sally Mayes are superb vocalists and versatile performers. She's in wonderful voice and shape. Dvorsky shows off his top-notch singing and all-around talent!"
- Ken Mandelbaum, Broadway.com
"Color me sparkling -- as in glittery gowns by that maestro of sequins and feathers, Bob Mackie. Add almost two dozen of yesteryear's top hit songs. Wrap it all up in the format of a live, televised reunion of a couple who could be Sonny and Cher, Steve and Eydie and assorted other Mr. & Mrs. Show Biz types. Cast a dynamic duo with flash and pizzazz as the fictional couple. Leave it to a pro like Ray Klausen to accessorize each routine with aptly amusing, deliberately cheesy set pieces. Put Mark Waldrop, who seems to have an affinitiy for mock TV broadcast settings, at the helm. This is exactly the formula that drives this entertaining camp confection."
- Elyse Sommer, CurtainUp.com
"George Dvorsky is dashing! Sally Mayes is cream puff supreme! They make beautiful music together, and their appealing musicianship is something to be savored!"
- Michael Sommers, Newhouse Newspapers
ACT I
It's Us Again
Lover
Kid Stuff/Daddy
Besame Mucho
This Could be the Start of Something Big
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Have You Got a Lot to Learn
But Beautiful
The Cross Country Tour
ACT II
Tony 'n' Cleo
Fever
Black Coffee
Too Fat to Fit
Love
Wasn't It Fine?
It's Us Again (Reprise)
That's All