The renowned performer and singer Sally Wilfert discusses her friendship with fellow soprano the late Rebecca Luker, and their new album All the Girls (PS Classics), performing and more, with Joseph Planta.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Just before Christmas, on 23 December 2020, the worlds of Broadway and the musical theatre around the world mourned the passing of the three-time Tony Award nominee Rebecca Luker, the dazzling soprano who wowed audiences in Broadway productions of Fun Home, Cinderella, Mary Poppins, The Music Man, Show Boat, and many other shows. She had been diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, in late 2019, and through the year, even battling Covid-19 as well, she worked with her best friend Sally Wilfert on what was Ms. Luker’s final recording. It is a new album out now, available for streaming as well as on CD, All the Girls. It is described as a celebration of female friendship with songs by Stephen Sondheim, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kander and Ebb, and more. Ms. Luker and Ms. Wilfert had performed together on stage including New York City’s legendary 54 Below, and had crafted with their colleague the accompanist and arranger Joseph Thalken, a program of songs and cabaret material. A performance at New York’s famed Merkin Hall in 2019 is the basis of this album. As you’ll hear Sally tell it, the rehearsals as well as the one night only performance were recorded, and though there were plans to go into a studio and record, Covid scuttled those plans. Thanks to the ingenuity of PS Classics the album has come together, and it sounds like a studio album with the intimacy and force of a live performance. I’ll get Sally to tell us about what a special performer and friend Rebecca Luker was, as well as the songs on the album, and the compositions by Mr. Thalken that are performed through it. Sally Wilfert has appeared on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning production of Assassins, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and King David. She appeared in the first national tour of the 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and has myriad credits off-Broadway including See Rock City, Make Me a Song: The Music of William Finn, The Mistress Cycle and more. Sally’s website is at www.sallywilfert.com. Visit www.psclassics.com to buy the physical CD. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Sally Wilfert; Ms. Wilfert, good morning.

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