By Shari Barrett
Born Julius Kerwin Stein in London to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, prolific English-American songwriter and composer Jule Styne was a child piano prodigy who performed with the Chicago, St. Louis, and Detroit Symphonies by age ten after his family moved to the United States in 1912. After developing his feel for popular music working with the jazz bands of 1920s Chicago, Styne worked as a vocal coach to many Hollywood stars in the 1930s including Shirley Temple and Alice Faye. But after teaming with lyricist Sammy Cahn in Hollywood during the 1940s motion picture industry, Jule Styne became best known for creating the scores of iconic Broadway musicals with hit songs that still resonate with audiences to this day.
Styne was recognized for his immense contribution to the “Great American Songbook,” producing showstoppers that remain staples in musical theater. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972 and received Kennedy Center Honors in 1990. Given the volume of his work, the Herculean task of narrowing down which songs to select for his first-ever musical revue compilation fell on the willing shoulders of co-creators and writers Scott Thompson and Fred Barton. And they have succeeded brilliantly!
All Roads Theatre Company’s World Premiere of The Music That Makes Me Dance: The Songs of Jule Styne directed and choreographed by Scott Thompson with musical direction and outstanding arrangements by Fred Barton, contains two acts of musical numbers from both films and Broadway musicals with music by Jule Styne created with lyricists including Sammy Cahn, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Stephen Sondheim, among many others The two-act revue consists of nineteen songs in Act One with thirty in Act Two – each one more dazzling than the last!
The Actors Equity cast of Broadway headliners includes Anneliese van der Pol, Nick Adams, Lana Gordon, Angel Reda, Rhett George, Neil Starkenberg and introduces Michael Zampino, a 15-year-old member of All Roads Theater Company’s Training Program for Kids who is bound to join the ranks of Broadway headliners given how well he holds his own performing with such a star-studded professional cast!
From Michael as young Jule Styne belting out “Someday Soon” at a piano to open the show; Anneliese strutting her stuff dressed in red like Carmen Miranda extolling how “I’m as Ready as I’ll Ever Be” for love and stardom in the Blue Diamond Ballroom in 1947; Neil commanding the stage as a waiter cleaning up the Ballroom while bemoaning “Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night in the Week”); saluting the era of burlesque with Rhett, Michael and Nick clowning around as bums performing “Together Wherever We Go” and “Let Me Entertain You” by sexy strippers Anneliese, Lana and Angel; “Time After Time” performed as a lovers duet on ladder by Nick and Neil; Lana’s vocal power while hanging out on a lamppost belting “The Party’s Over” to the rousing Act 2 “Best of the Best” medley of 14 songs, The Music That Makes Me Dance: The Songs of Jule Styne wondrously blends together timeless tunes from the greatest songwriter to ever grace Broadway.
Fred Barton’s lively conducting of ARTCO’S 10-piece band keeps the big band era rocking out as well as highlighting stunning love ballads from the best of the best Jule Styne songs to keep toes tapping and singers belting one hit after the other. And with so many great songs to choose from, it’s difficult to leave any of them out of this review! For while many songs may not the best known, each is a standout thanks to the cleverly humorous artistic direction and choreography by Scott Thompson and the overwhelming talent and stage presence of the triple-threat cast, Barton’s stunning orchestrations, eye-popping set design by technical director Joel Daavid, sound design by Rafi Nalbantian, amazing projection design by Taylor Briggs, lighting design by Nikki Belemski, sparking often purple-hued costume design by Erica D. Schwartz, hair/wig design by Carter Thomas, and property design by Bouket Fingerhut.
Presented by ARTCO in association with Knot Free Productions, Bonny Loo, Jeramiah Peah, Robert Pelletier, Maureen Gillespie, Eric Kelhoffer and Catherine McClenahan, the world premiere of The Music That Makes Me Dance: The Songs of Jule Styne ran for five performances only from May 1-3, 2026 on the Debbie Reynolds Main Stage at the El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood. Given its world-class entertainment value, no doubt its next stop ought to be on Broadway!
For more information about ARTCO including their training program and future productions, visit https://allroadstheatreco.org/. For information about upcoming shows at the El Portal Theatre, visit https://elportraltheatre.com.
