Going Bacharach: The Songs of an Icon

Going Bacharach: The Songs of an Icon is a musical revue built from the songbook of composer Burt Bacharach. It has no plot and no characters. Three lead singers share the stage with a band of five, and together they work through his best-known hits and a set of lesser-known songs from across his career. The evening works more like a concert with staging than a book musical.

It plays Off-Broadway at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater on the Upper West Side. The producer is Jack Lewin of Lewin Productions, working in association with Amas Musical Theatre. This is a return engagement of a revue that had its world premiere at the same theater in January 2026 and then traveled to Chicago. The run is a limited one of 12 weeks, so it is worth confirming dates before you plan around it.

Bacharach (1928-2023) was a pianist, songwriter and composer from the United States. He won three Academy Awards and six Grammy Awards, and he wrote the score for the 1968 Broadway musical Promises, Promises. Most of his best-known songs were written with the lyricist Hal David, and that partnership is the core of the program.

The score is a songbook, not a story. The program leans mainly on 1960s songs by Bacharach and David, plus a handful of later numbers he wrote with Carole Bayer Sager. In the January 2026 run it also included "Keep Me in Mind," which Patti Page recorded in 1955 with lyrics by Jack Wolf. Every arrangement is new, written by Adrian Galante, who also plays piano and clarinet with the band.

Bacharach's music is known for shifting time signatures, a habit tied to his jazz background, and the show makes a point of it. In the January 2026 run, Hilary Kole explained the changing meters and used "Promises, Promises" as her example. Galante and the singers also spoke between songs about Bacharach's career and his influence. Later in the evening, each singer offered a personal view of the composer.

The song list has the titles most people know from the radio, including "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," "(They Long to Be) Close to You," "I Say a Little Prayer," "What the World Needs Now," "Alfie," "The Look of Love" and "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" Others in the program include "That's What Friends Are For," "Anyone Who Had a Heart," "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" and "A House Is Not a Home." The page lists the full song list separately.

A few staging touches from the January 2026 run show how the revue plays with the songs. As of October 2026, John Pagano is one of the company's singers. In the January 2026 run he sang "What's New Pussycat?" as if from a scratched, skipping vinyl record, and the band followed the skips. "Wives and Lovers" was a duet for the two women, who then imagined the song rewritten from a woman's point of view. The second act opened with Galante playing "Knowing When to Leave" in a clarinet arrangement.

The stage is built around the band. In the January 2026 run, a vintage bandstand framed the playing area, and the costumes were mostly black and gold. The evening began with an overture played by the band alone, and the show runs in two acts with one intermission.

Galante sits at the piano as the band's leader. The January 2026 band was Galante, Patrick Firth (keyboards), Derek Duleba (guitar), Nate Francis (bass) and Jakubu Griffin (drums).

As of October 2026, the company of six singers is Hilary Kole, John Pagano, Ava Locknar, Meecah, Julia Danielle Smulson and Alyssa Wray. Three of them sing at each performance, and the company rotates on a set schedule. If you want to hear a particular singer, call the box office to find out who is appearing on a given date.

The theater has 145 seats. VIP packages include premium seats at cabaret tables on the stage.

The revue had its world premiere at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, presented by Amas Musical Theatre. The first preview was on January 8, 2026, and it opened on January 12, 2026. At the opening the run was announced through February 15, but the final performance came on February 22, 2026.

Three vocalists led that first run: Hilary Kole, John Pagano and Ta-Tynisa Wilson. Kole is a New York jazz singer who was in the original cast of the revue Our Sinatra. Pagano spent 26 years as a singer with Bacharach's touring band. Wilson left the company in February 2026. As of October 2026, Kole and Pagano are still in the company.

After the New York premiere run, the revue went to the Apollo Theater in Chicago in spring 2026. It then came back to the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater. The return engagement began previews on September 9, 2026, and opened on September 16, 2026, with original cast members back on stage.