10/27/26: Everybody Rise!
What: Steven Carl McCasland's cabaret, a celebration of beloved female characters in the musical theater canon (as well as Steven's birthday).
And? Disclosure: Steven is a good friend of mine. But I think I'm still correct in saying this was a marvelous night. The performance was originally scheduled to take place about a month earlier, but had to be postponed due to the rainstorm and flooding taking over the city (in this case, a literal rain date performance). Not the worse for wear, we still delivered Steven a sold-out audience. Or perhaps he delivered us. McCasland has a strong voice and fearless persona, and you can hear and see his joy in performing in every moment of this cabaret, as well as his deep affection for these songs. His set list is a mix of standards, interesting mash-ups, a few tongue-in-cheek lyric rewrites, lesser-known works, and a (borrowed) gently-orchestrated "Everything's Coming Up Roses." And I don't believe it's a spoiler to note that his encore is the song from which the title of his night comes: "The Ladies Who Lunch," from Company.
Highlights of the evening:
- The smirking sweetness of Sondheim's "The Boy From ..." with perfect delivery of the titular's boy's origin, slightly different on each repeat.
- The out and out belt on Smash's "They Just Keep Moving the Line."
- "Times Like This" (Lucky Stiff) drawing big teardrops from me, paired with the equally heartbreaking "Far From the Home I Love" (Fiddler on the Roof).
- And then immediately after those two, the brassy yelling of "Murray!" as he launched into "Just One Step" from Songs for a New World.
