To a completely sold-out house, Scott Siegel wove the tale of 1970 and its top musicals with a dash of “liberal” political remembrances and a large cache of illuminating musical insight and reverence for the institution of Broadway musical theater.

In an evening highlighting Purlie, Company, The Me Nobody Knows, Minnie’s Boys, The Rothschilds, Two by Two and the obscure Cry for Us All, the year was represented by some of the busiest musical theater professionals on the scene.

The one true classic of the year, Company, holds up completely while Applause does not fare so well, with its derivative music and so-so lyrics.  Most interesting are the in-betweens – the shows that are not done often, but have some appealing tunes containing touching sentiment – such as The Rothschilds and Minnie’s Boys.

The show opened with the honeyed voice of Cheryl Freeman delivering the exciting “I Got Love” from Purlie. She returned later for a touching “He Can Do It,” also from Purlie. Other numbers from the show were more notable for their light-footed dancing than musical content.

Christiane Noll had what was probably the evening’s most daunting task, singing the rapid fire “Another Hundred People,” (the high soprano commentary in the trio of “Getting Married Today,” both from Company) and coming back for the rarity “That Slavery Of Love” (Cry for Us All). Her performance was a mixed bag; she was up for the first number, but a bit strained and off pitch for the second. The third was a noble attempt but hampered by some memory blocks. It was done without amplification, which might have been daunting.

Martin Vidnovic (pictured), in two of the night’s strongest moments, delivered two Biblically impassioned selections from The Rothschilds. He was one of the best singers of the evening, with a powerful, stirring voice and captivating phrasing.

The most touching part of the night was Walter Willison’s “I Do Not Know A Day I Did Not Love You” from Two by Two, one of Richard Rodgers’ later and lesser musicals with lyrics by Martin Charnin. Almost forty years after being the show's “youthful lead,” he returned last night as a mature and seasoned grown-up, with a still-beautiful voice and haunting delivery that had many of us in tears.

Two songs from Minnie’s Boys (a show about the Marx brothers) held up well and were sensitively portrayed by the smoothly high-voiced Scott Coulter, and the surprisingly rich and legit tones of the “character singer” of the night, Stephen DeRosa. The Me Nobody Knows was sweetly represented by Coulter and Darius de Haas, the latter also participating in some raucous numbers from Purlie.

One of the best known ladies on Broadway today, Melissa Errico’s solid singing of the wordy and overly fast (could have been conducted a tad slower) “Getting Married Today” really impressed, with her clear, strong voice right on pitch. She sang the tune as if she were really trapped and was looking for a frantic way out of her pre-nuptial situation.

In a night of so many tunes, not all can be expected to work and the one spectacular failure was Ute Lemper’s “The Ladies Who Lunch.”  Sadly, it seemed that the otherwise gifted German singer was “out to lunch” with her poor diction (lisping and dropping consonants) within a musically manic attempt to up the ante with some faux jazzy interpolations and generally misguided chaos. It seemed that it might have been an attempt to act drunk, but this desecration of the Sondheim classic was a disappointment.

All cannot be covered, but special mention must be made of the renowned actress/singer Tovah Feldshuh.  Her star quality was quite evident but her creamy singing voice would have been better showcased if the piece (“Welcome to the Theatre” from Applause, written for the vocally limited Lauren Bacall) had been transposed a couple keys higher.  Musical Director Ross Patterson and his “Little Big Band” delivered serviceable, by-the-numbers arrangements.

For the most part this was an enjoyable and informative evening, considering the scope of the project.  This was probably had much to do with the snappy direction and choreography by the versatile Jeffry Denman, who also contributed with his own fine singing and dancing in “Sorry/Grateful,” (as part of a trio of men) amongst others.  For nine seasons, Mr. Siegel has accomplished something significant by bringing these musicals to light, and I am looking forward to his next foray into the history of “The Great White Way.”

Melody Breyer-Grell
Cabaret Scenes
June 15, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org