Fans of Burt Bacharach’s music ready themselves inside Kean University’s intimate Enlow Recital Hall in Hillside, NJ, this Saturday, November 8, 2025 afternoon for a “close to you” performance by The Soul of Burt Bacharach orchestra led by musician Mike Griot.
Kean Stage manager Steve Cochran welcomes the audience and introduces Mike Griot and the orchestra: Dave Malyszko on piano, Carl Burnett on guitar, Manu Koch on keyboards, Damon Duewhite on drums, and Ed Shea on percussion, along with string players Mary Babiarz, Amy Soto, and Carolyn Jeselsohn; woodwind players Lisa Hansen, Kenneth Ellison, and Ryan Marino; and brass players Thomas Boulton and Steve Friedman. The musicians take the stage and open today’s program with an instrumental overture of Bacharach’s “What the World Needs Now is Love” led by Griot on bass.
Narrator Dave Popkin talks about Burt Bacharach’s childhood, his time spent writing songs at NYC’s Brill Building, and his work with lyricist Hal David and singer Dionne Warwick.
Vocalists Ramona Dunlap and Mike Davis take the stage along with singer Vivian Sessoms who handles the lead on a superb rendition of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s 1964 composition for Dionne Warwick, “Walk On By.”
The audience avidly applauds before Mike Davis is spotlighted singing, “Anyone who ever loved/Could look at me/And know that I love you,” on a rich arrangement of Warwick’s “Anyone Who Had a Heart.”
Three-part vocal harmonies fill the theater on a delightful rendition of Warwick’s “You’ll Never Get to Heaven if You Break My Heart,” before Davis pays tribute to Luther Vandross with a dramatic rendition of Vandross’ “A House is not a Home” which elicits avid cheers and applause from the crowd.
Sessoms impresses with her smooth soprano voice on Cilla Black and Dionne Warwick’s “Alfie” before the trio performs a simple and poignant version of “Trains and Boats and Planes.”
Davis sings lead on a sultry, yet funky version of Bacharach’s composition for Dusty Springfield which became a 1968 hit for Sergio Mendes and Brasil ‘66 — “The Look of Love” — featuring a musical interlude where the audience claps along as Davis vocally ad libs while he’s accented by the string and horn sections of the orchestra.
Popkin reveals that, in 1968, Bacharach achieved his biggest hit to date with a record that sold three-and-a-half million copies. Here, Ramona Dunlap handles the lead with her sweet soprano voice on Dionne Warwick’s “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” to avid cheers and applause.
Sessoms gives a nod to Aretha Franklin with her soulful performance of “I Say a Little Prayer” on an arrangement of the Queen of Soul’s 1968 recording which features blaring horns and crashing cymbals.
Popkin talks about the surprise #1 hit that Herb Alpert had with “This Guy’s in Love with You” before Mike Davis’ vocal is highlighted on an easy shuffle arrangement. Then, audience members join Dunlap in singing a breezy version of Warwick’s “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again.”
To conclude Act I, Carl Barnett switches from guitar to banjo to introduce Bacharach’s hit for B.J. Thomas, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head.” Music lovers clap along with Davis as he sings this swinging tune from the 1969 film, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Following a short intermission, Popkin explains how, in 1970, The Carpenters added “block harmonies” to a 1967 Dusty Springfield recording and made it an enduring hit. Here, Ramona Dunlap’s rich, free vocal shines on “Close to You,” while she’s deftly backed by Sessoms and Davis on vocals along with the orchestra.
Davis is featured on the 1979 Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager hit for Christopher Cross, “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do).” Then, an intricate interplay of voice parts from the vocal trio characterizes a powerful presentation of the 1986 Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald R&B hit, “On My Own.”
Harmonica player Rob Paparozzi joins Sessoms, Dunlap, and Davis for a stellar version of Dionne and Friends’ “That’s What Friends are For,” which has audience members singing along on the 1985 tune’s ubiquitous “Keep smiling, keep shining/Knowing you can always count on me, for sure” refrain.
The crowd cheers when Popkin concludes his bio of Bacharach stating, “Let’s hear it for the legendary Burt Bacharach!” Vivian Sessoms follows up by singing with emotion, style, and power on a tour de force performance of Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello’s composition, “God Give Me Strength,” which elicits hoots, hollers, and avid applause from the enchanted audience.
Mike Griot takes a moment to talk about how Burt Bacharach’s music made him feel as a youngster prior to thanking the orchestra members who stand for a round of applause. He concludes today’s performance with a rousing rendition of “What the World Needs Now is Love” where concertgoers sing along with the vocalists on the “What the world needs now/Is love, sweet love” refrain before standing and cheering for the performance.
Before the afternoon is through, several audience members share their thoughts on today’s The Soul of Burt Bacharach presentation. Recalls Keely from Union, “I saw Burt Bacharach before he passed away. I’ve been in love with his music ever since my father used to sing it to me, so hearing these songs reminded me of my dad. The performers were wonderful; everybody was so good! I’m so glad they gave this tribute to a man who was such a genius. It exceeded my expectations; I loved it!”
Jerry from Westfield recalls, “I grew up in Brooklyn with this music, but until today I didn’t know Burt Bacharach was behind all of it. It was a beautiful tribute; I enjoyed it — it brought back a lot of memories.” Likewise, Dave from Red Bank declares, “It was a great, great show! I loved the songs — every one of them — and the performers were outstanding, especially the singers who put so much emotion into their performances.”
Karen from Clark calls today’s presentation “A fabulous show!” explaining, “The song selection was perfect, the singers were energetic, the orchestra was great, and I loved seeing it in this theater — it was like enjoying a concert in your living room.” Her friend, Randi from Clark, agrees, adding, “It was an excellent show — it was like going to Broadway, except right here in our own backyard.”
Lastly, Carol from East Orange, reveals, “The Soul of Burt Bacharach was wonderful — I loved it, loved it, loved it! The singers were wonderful — they sang from the heart — and the musicians were amazing, too,” prior to concluding,” “This is the first time I’ve been to Enlow Hall and it’s such a nice theater, I plan on coming back soon!”
For information on great upcoming Kean Stage performances at Enlow Hall — including Broadway’s Joshua Henry on February 22, 2026, and fashion designer/actor/singer Isaac Mizrahi on March 29, 2026 — please click on keanstage.com.
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