Boulder City Circle puts on charity Valentine concert

By Becky Bosshart

Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009 | 5:35 p.m.

Phil Esser is combining his love for assisting the less fortunate with his love for love in an upcoming Boulder City Valentine's Day concert.

He will perform with singer Francyl Gawryn at Grace Community Church, 1150 Wyoming St.

"Speak of Love" will take a look at love from various perspectives, Esser said.

"It will be from my perspective and a woman's perspective," said Esser, 67, a full-time musician and producer.

He is a baritone who mostly does cabaret material, often from musicals. He will perform several selections from "Man of La Mancha" at the 7 p.m. concert.

Esser was a music producer in Michigan for about 25 years. He moved to Boulder City with his wife, Peggy Caspar, in 2000, to be close to her family and because the city "had everything we needed," he said.

His first production here was "Love Letter on a Fish," a sequel to his "Personals" show that he staged in Michigan in 1975-1976.

He has organized the Boulder City Circle, a group of residents who donate their time and talent to create and perform original musical productions to raise money for Boulder City's nonprofit groups. Gawryn is the director of family ministries for Grace Community Church and a circle member.

Esser said he is still putting as many productions in Boulder City as he did in Detroit. He is on schedule to produce seven shows this year.

He hopes to raise more than $4,000 for Emergency Aid of Boulder City and Lend-A-Hand with this show.

Boulder City residents are excellent at supporting local arts, he said. In 8 1/2 years performing here, which is more than 25 shows, he's sold out almost every one, he said.

"I think it's like a partnership. They like to be entertained and they like music," he said. "And the Boulder City Circle does a high caliber show."

Esser calls his group a bedouin tribe, because it uses a different venue for every show. He said that works to his advantage, because they have a variety of booking options and times.

"It is a lot more work," he said. "You have to retrofit for each production, but I had to do the same thing in Detroit. Sometimes you produce in a 10,000-set theater. Sometimes it's one room in a nightclub seating only 100 and I had to knock out a wall. That's just what you have to do."

The Boulder City Circle will stage its next show with piano player Charlie Shaffer in April.

Purchase the $20 "Speak of Love" tickets by calling Grace Community Church at 293-1018, Plaza Realty at 293-2440 or the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce at 293-2034.

Becky Bosshart can be reached at 990-7748 or [email protected].