6/18/24: Titanic
What: New York City Center Encores! series presents the Maury Yeston and Peter Stone musical about the ill-fated ship.
And? This cast is unreal. So rich in talent that you can't imagine even if it got itself a commercial transfer, that the whole cast would journey with it. It's a gift to hear this score with this many glorious voices, though a show like this you really do feel what you're missing by having a concert staging rather than a full staging. Glad I finally got to see this done professionally, after all this time (I'd seen a high school production ages ago, but we don't need to count that).
 |
| A.J. Shively, Emilie Kouatchou, Jose Llana, Chuck Cooper, Brandon Uranowitz, Andrew Durand, and Samantha Williams as Charles Clarke, Caroline Neville, Thomas Andrews, Captain E.J. Smith, J. Bruce Ismay, Jim Farrell, and Kate McGowan, with the cast of Titanic. Photo by Joan Marcus. |
6/20/24: Follies in Concert
What: Transport Group presents a star-studded concert of the Sondheim/Goldman musical about nostalgia and faded dreams.
And? Apparently this concert sold out within an hour of the tickets going on sale. I feel a bit bad I didn't clock how lucky I was when I bought my ticket, but don't think I took it for granted once I was there in beautiful Carnegie Hall. Preshow, I even broke from my usual sit-there-quietly-and-read to talk with fellow patrons, knowing we were all equally excited to be there, and enthusiastic about theater.
Hosts Ted Chapin (author of Everything Was Possible) and Kurt Peterson (Young Ben in the original Broadway cast of Follies) kept the night flowing between songs with some choice anecdotes as well as brief context for each song (and introducing each performer, as the program did not indicate who would be performing what, outside of the Mirror dancers). It feels foolish to try to pick highlights from such a special night, but I'm gonna do it anyway. Full list of who performed what is below as well.
Highlights:
- Seeing Michael Bennett's original choreography for the Mirror dance in "Who's That Woman" -- show-stoppingly good (and standing ovation worthy), and I finally understand what makes that song so special.
- Norm Lewis and Nikki Renée Daniels sounding heartbreakingly beautiful as they duetted "Too Many Mornings." How lucky we are to hear them sing.
- Thom Sesma reminding us how charming and charismatic he always is.
- Michael Berresse's emotional dance/breakdown in "The Right Girl," so effective that everyone onstage applauded as he slowly walked off.
- Jennifer Holiday doing what she does best with "I'm Still Here."
- Seeing the kids from Kimberly Akimbo (three of the teens, one of the understudies) be adorable with the Loveland quartet "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow"/"Love Will See Us Through."
- Kurt Peterson wielding John McMartin's original cane as he graduated to play Old Ben and sing "Live, Laugh, Love."
- Kurt Peterson's final anecdote: when he spoke to Hal Prince days before his passing, Prince said that Follies was his favorite show (and McMartin his favorite Ben); then in a private Zoom reunion of Follies, Sondheim said that it was his favorite score; and finally, the actor who originated Young Buddy said to him that he hoped his tombstone said "Here lies Harvey Evans. He was in Follies." There wasn't a dry eye after that.
 |
| Michael Berresse performs "The Right Girl." Photo by Carol Rosegg. |
Borrowing the collected list from my friend Michael Dale (who sourced his list from Seth Christenfeld):
Act One
Weissmann monologue: Hal Linden
"Beautiful Girls": Christian Mark Gibbs
"Don't Look at Me": Katie Finneran and Marc Kudisch
"Waiting for the Girls Upstairs": Thom Sesma, Stephen Bogardus, Barbara Walsh, Carolee Carmello, Grey Henson, Ryan McCartan, Julie Benko, and Hannah Elless
"Rain on the Roof": Klea Blackhurst and Jim Caruso
"Ah, Paris": Isabel Keating
"Broadway Baby": Adriane Lenox
"The Road You Didn't Take": Alexander Gemignani
"In Buddy's Eyes": Christine Ebersole
"Who's That Woman?": Karen Ziemba with Mamie Duncan-Gibbs, Ruth Gottschall, JoAnn M. Hunter, Dana Moore, Michele Pawk, and Margo Sappinton, as well as Lauren Blackman, Julianna Brown, Jessica Chambers, Candice Hatakeyama, Alicia Lundgren, Abby Matsusaka, and Erin N. Moore (original Michael Bennett choreography, restaged by Mary Jane Houdina)
Act Two
"I'm Still Here": Jennifer Holiday
"Too Many Mornings": Norm Lewis and Nikki Renée Daniels
"The Right Girl": Michael Berresse (choreography by Mary Jane Houdina, based on the original staging by Michael Bennett)
"One More Kiss": Harolyn Blackwell and Mikaela Bennett
"Could I Leave You?": Beth Leavel
"Loveland": Vocal Ensemble with two unnamed soloists speaking the unsung lines
"You're Gonna Love Tomorrow": Fernell Hogan and Olivia Elease Hardy
"Love Will See Us Through": Nina White and Miguel Gil
"Buddy's Blues": Santino Fontana with Lauren Blackman and Sarah King
"Losing My Mind": Kate Baldwin
"Lucy and Jessie": Alexandra Billings
"Live, Laugh, Love": Kurt Peterson
No comments:
Post a Comment