By Melissa Griegel…
Photos by Melissa Giegel Photography
The new musical revue The Beat of a Wandering Heart – The Songs of Marty Silvestri and Joel Higgins celebrated its world premiere production at New York’s Laurie Beechman Theatre (407 West 42nd Street) this week, and will have its final performance tonight, Saturday, November 15 at 7:00 PM. The Beat of a Wandering Heart stars two-time Tony Award nominee Christine Andreas (La Cage aux Folles, The Scarlet Pimpernel, My Fair Lady), leading man George Dvorsky (The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Connector), Broadway standout James Harkness (Ain’t Too Proud, The Color Purple, Chicago), and newcomer Casey Borghesi. The show, created and directed by Mark Nadler, features a four-piece band, and includes choreography by James Harkness and musical arrangements by Nadler. Tickets are available HERE.
The four stars brought the Laurie Beechman to life, walking through the audience, singing from the bar, and dancing across the stage. One of the most wonderful aspects of the show was watching the connection they all had with each other as they told the stories of each song through dance, touch, and feeling. It’s rare to see so much dancing at a cabaret venue given the space constraints, but James Harkness did a magnificent job of incorporating choreography into every song utilizing stage features such as stools and really made the show into a full theatrical revue.
The Beat of a Wandering Heart features songs culled from the 50 years of Marty Silvestri and Joel Higgin’s collaboration and included a new number written expressly for the show. The pair have created rich theatrical musicals scores for acclaimed shows from London’s West End (The Fields of Ambrosia) to Off-Broadway (Johnny Guitar: The Musical), in addition to many compositions for television and film, winning nominations and awards from Drama Desk. Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and the Grammy Awards.
The show was seamless as one song led smoothly into another as the actors came in and out of scenes. The sung-through story was a compilation of individual songs that each told a tale of love and loss, the excitement of connection, the desire to wander, and the comfort of coming back together at last. The title song “The Beat of a Wandering Heart”, written for this show, was reprised a few times throughout the show, each time with interesting choreography such as using the stools as bongo drums while dancing.
Christine Andreas showed off her vocal range with powerful numbers such as “Archie the Crow” and “Is This the Way it Feels to Love?”. Likewise, Casey Borghesi brought the house down with her strong performance on “Lady” and her humor in “Branded a Tramp”. It was wonderful to see Andreas and George Dvorsky reunited on stage again after performing together in The Scarlet Pimpernel in 1997 and also on Silvestri and Higgins’ The Countess of Storyville. They shared chemistry on stage, and at one point, Dvorsky lifted Andreas in the air. Harkness moves beautifully across the stage and shows a full range of emotions when he sings. The smooth transitions and the acting out of emotions during each piece made it seem as if the foursome had been working together for years.
The audience was jam-packed with cabaret and theater stars, and everyone seemed mesmerized by the action taking place all around them. It was a truly magical evening witnessing the collaboration of Mark Nadler, Marty Silvestri, Joel Higgins, and the four stars and the band. The Beat of the Wandering Heart was led on piano by Harry Collins, with Paul Livant on guitar, Benny Lipson on bass, and Ray Marchica on drums.
“It’s one of the great pleasures of a creative life to see others discover, experience, and enjoy your work,” Joel Higgins told the press, “to see and hear it continue to speak in sometimes unique and unexpected ways. So, when Mark approached us with his vision for a production gleaned from the music we have written over the years for the many stages and venues of our lives, we were intrigued by his ideas and passion for the material.” Silvestri added, “I couldn’t be more thrilled to work with Mark Nadler on The Beat of a Wandering Heart. Researching and choosing material from our varied musical creations over the years was at first a bit daunting. I opened the vault of manuscripts, tapes, CDs, and vinyl LPs in my basement to find songs that Joel and I created as far back as the 1970s. We wrote for PBS’s ‘Sesame Street’ and CBS’s ‘Captain Kangaroo,’ followed by our bi-coastal years creating film and TV themes and scores, including a heartwarming score for Whistle, our only animated project. Chronicling that music became a welcome and rewarding experience for me.”
Although Silvestri is married to Andreas, he didn’t initially choose her to star in the show. Not wanting to choose the obvious choice, he set out looking for someone who sang like his wife. In the end, he decided it would be best to have Andreas in the part. That was absolutely the right choice, as she commands the stage and is a pleasure to watch. She is in the process of recording her first Christmas album, I Remember Christmas – with a title song by Marty Silvestri – to be released in time for the 2026 holidays.
Silvestri and Higgins are currently developing their new musicals, Casanova, based on the epic 18th century adventurer Giacomo Casanova, and The Countess of Storyville, which was given a full-scale production at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, where Silvestri served as Artist in Residence. Along with creating music and lyrics for hundreds of television and radio commercials, clients such as Grant Tinker and Aaron Spelling have hired the team to compose themes and scores for numerous network television programs. Silvestri has composed and arranged for artists as diverse as Mel Tormé, David Clayton Thomas, Luther Vandross, David Cassidy, Eydie Gormé, and Patti Austin.
