By Samantha Gleisten
|
|
|
The evening's host, Julie Andrews.
|
|
Have you ever listened to a tune and suddenly an entire story emerges in your memory? Love songs are often synonymous with eminent emotional moments and memories in our lives. The same can be said of Broadway show tunes. And "My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs" offers remembrances on a number of levels. Each song, in the hands of this powerful and accomplished cast, is a reflecting pool of memories. It's almost like watching nearly 30 Broadway musicals in one night. Song after song, we are reminded of the lives of the characters, the plot of each musical, and just why these performers are some of Broadway's best.
What makes the evening such an effective stroll down memory lane is the connection these serenading voices have to the tunes they sing. From long-time Broadway legend Chita Rivera to new sensation Adam Pascal, these stars are inextricably linked to the evening's selections. As a result, for the Broadway aficionado and the theater novice, something is revealed with each new song. The stars wink at us with history, talent, and narrative.
|
|
|
Brent Spiner and Chita Rivera, dancing cheek to cheek. |
|
Chita Rivera's career is one of the most awe-inspiring on Broadway. For half a century, Rivera has been entertaining audiences with the youthful vigor of a teenager and the control and discipline of a seasoned triple threat (actor, singer, and dancer). She made her Broadway debut in 1952 as a chorus girl in "Call Me Madam." Five years later, she originated the role of Anita in "West Side Story," and in 1960, the Broadway scene was again altered by Rivera's talent as the first Rosie in one of the quintessential American musicals of the century, Charles Strouse and Lee Adams' "Bye Bye Birdie." Singing and dancing "Rosie" with Brent Spiner of Broadway and STAR TREK fame, Rivera is a lifeline to the history and artists of today's Broadway. It's hard to believe it was April 14, 1960 that Rivera first sang this same tune on the stage of the Martin Beck Theatre to an audience that would watch her blossom over the next 40 years.
|
|
|
Nathan Lane with singers Michael McElroy, Darius DeHaas, and Dwayne Clark.
|
|
Thirty-two years later, to the day, that same stage ushered in one of the greatest revivals in Broadway history and thrust Nathan Lane into the hearts of theater lovers. On April 14, 1992, Frank Loesser's "Guys and Dolls" opened, starring Lane as the hapless romantic Nathan Detroit. Lane's performance proved one of the most important in his career, garnering him the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards as well as a Tony nomination. That performance also earned him deserved career-altering critical acclaim. In a review that appeared the day after the show opened, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES wrote, "the role goes winsome with the extravagantly endearing Nathan Lane." And THE WASHINGTON POST said, "Mr. Lane pounces on each vaudeville exchange with the broad delivery, but impeccable timing of a top banana." To see Lane revisit his award-winning performance with "Sue Me" is a rare opportunity.
"My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs" also offers the audience a
glimpse into theater history in the making with some of today's
freshest Broadway talent. Almost five years ago, Adam Pascal began
his Broadway career with a role that would win him immediate success.
The rock-and-roll singer turned musical-theater luminary emerged
on the scene with his performance as the songwriter Roger in Jonathan
Larson's Pulitzer prize-winning play, "Rent." Pascal's success on
the stage was foreseen by the NEW YORK TIMES in its review of the
show's opening in 1996: "Adam Pascal ... has an enhanced effortless-seeming
radiance that should quickly turn him into a matinee idol for a
new generation." With "Rent" as his fuel, Pascal's career was launched;
he went from a member of what
|
|
|
Heather Headley and Adam Pascal.
|
|
U.S.A. TODAY referred to as "a passionate cast of unknowns" to the
leading man in one of the most highly anticipated Broadway productions
in years. Pascal stars opposite Tony Award-winner Heather Headley
in Tim Rice and Elton John's "Aïda." As Pascal moves from "Seasons
of Love," with the Broadway Inspirational Voices, into the passionate
and inspired "Aïda" love duet "Elaborate Lives," with Headley,
his career path is laid before us and it becomes easy to see what
led some critics to foresee such grand things in his future.
Another performer who also seems destined for continued success
on the Great White Way is Pascal's "Aïda" co-star, Heather
Headley. Winner of the 2000 Tony, Drama Desk, and Drama League awards
for her portrayal of Aïda, Headley's performance propelled her into
the spotlight. First appearing on Broadway as Nala in "The Lion
King," Headley was asked to audition for the newest Disney venture,
"Elaborate Lives: The Legend of Aïda," and she was offered
the title role in February of 1998. The life of the play "Aïda"
began in Atlanta, eventually moving to Chicago, where the title
was simplified; it premiered on Broadway on March 23, 2000.
For "My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs," Headley performs both
a duet with Pascal and a solo piece, "He Touched Me," from the lesser-known
musical "Drat! The Cat!" Her performance is a gentle combination
of commanding eloquence and sheer vocal power. Her compelling and
entrancing manner makes it clear we will have the privilege of watching
her on the Broadway stage for years to come.
|
|
|
Rebecca Luker performs "Too Late
Now."
|
|
A few blocks away from the "Aïda" stage, Rebecca Luker can be
found singing in the Broadway revival of Meredith Willson's "The
Music Man." For her portrayal of Marion Paroo, Luker has received
nominations for the Tony, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama Desk awards.
And it's no surprise. With a Broadway resume that also includes
Maria in "The Sound of Music" (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination),
Magnolia in "Show Boat" (Tony nomination), Lily in "The Secret Garden"
(Drama Desk nomination), and Christine in "The Phantom of the Opera,"
it would seem she has forever lived and breathed musicals, but that's
not so. "I didn't know too much about musical theater growing up,"
said Luker in a recent interview.
Luker performs Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane's "Too Late Now" from "Royal Wedding" and "Till There was You" from "The Music Man." In reviewing the show's cast recording, THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE wrote: "Luker has one of the finest voices on Broadway, and she uses it to splendid effect in her big solos ... peaking in a glorious 'Till There Was You.'" To hear Luker perform this gem from her extensive resume is quite a treat. It is a tune that will likely remain closely affiliated with her for years to come.
|
|
|
Michael Crawford and Julie Andrews
from the show's finale.
|
|
Few roles have stayed quite as close to their originator as Michael Crawford's Phantom. Crawford's 1988 Tony award-winning portrayal of the title role in the Andrew Lloyd Webber muscial "The Phantom of the Opera" has inspired countless fans, international acclaim, and even a fan-led movement to cast Crawford in the planned film version of the story. THE LOS ANGELES TIMES wrote that Crawford's performance "combines size and intimacy in a way that only a very experienced musical theater performer could achieve. He comes close to us, and yet he brings off the grand gesture ... he makes us believe." As Crawford asks us to "listen to the music of the night" with a voice that's sensuous and enticing, there is no point in trying to resist. In addition to the performance of what many consider his signature song, Crawford appears again for the show's finale, one that defines "Broadway legend" and illustrates how great performers lay claim to the songs they give voice to.
Throughout the evening, Julie Andrews gives the audience snippets of career tales and influential moments, from her audition for the role that would change her professional life, Eliza Doolittle, in Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's "My Fair Lady" to the stuff that makes an unforgettable show tune. But nothing quite compares to a glimpse of the performer at work. In the last minutes of the evening, Andrews, enticed by Crawford, treats us to the sounds of Eliza with a few lines from "The Rain in Spain." And with that, we are reminded of the story of the budding flower girl, the career of this seasoned actress, and the first time we heard a Broadway show tune.
|
|
