Continuing the "Unplugged" tradition...
L. Baker | now in Texas | 07/26/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"First off, a track listing:
1) Something's Coming ("West Side Story") performed by Aaron Lazar
2) Everybody Says Don't ("Anyone Can Whistle") performed by Andrea McArdle
3) Were Thine That Special Face ("Kiss Me Kate") performed by Paul Schoeffler
4) Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat ("Guys and Dolls") performed by Bill Daugherty
5) Patterns (cut from "Baby") performed by Barbara Walsh
6) Winning (cut from "Steel Pier") performed by Marc Kudisch
7) Somewhere ("West Side Story") performed by Sarah Uriarte Berry
8) This Nearly Was Mine ("South Pacific") performed by Martin Vidnovic
9) Tonight ("West Side Story") performed by Sarah Jane McMahon & Max von Essen
10) Heaven On Their Minds ("Jesus Christ Superstar") performed by Darius De Haas
11) Magic Moment ("The Gay Life") performed by Sarah Jane McMahon
12) Free At Last ("Big River") performed by Michael McElroy
13) Surabaya Johnny ("Happy End") performed by Lorinda Lisitza
14) Nobody Breaks My Heart ("Fine and Dandy") performed by Beth Leavel
15) If Ever I Would Leave You ("Camelot") performed by William Michals [sic]
16) Who Will Love Me As I Am ("Side Show") performed by David Burnham and Max von Essen
17) More Than You Know ("Great Day") performed by Emily Skinner
18) I Was Here ("The Glorious Ones") performed by Marc Kudisch
19) With A Song In My Heart ("Spring Is Here") performed by the Company
As with the previous volumes of "Broadway Unplugged", the program consists of an un-amplified concert performance of various songs performed by some of Broadway's best singers. The evening's moderator - Scott Siegal - introduces each number with trivia about the song, the show, or simply some history to bring the song's context to the fore.
A mini-tribute to "West Side Story" was included among the tracks to celebrate the show's 50th anniversary, with three songs represented. Unfortunately, as wonderful as Bernstein's music will always be, none of these performances can be considered ideal, though all are certainly well done. Especially on "Tonight" there are some vocal and musical problems and "Somewhere" is mostly strong, but ends a bit weakly. The best of the three songs opens the show with "Something's Coming" performed by Aaron Lazar - he actually sounds young enough to be a hot-headed Tony, yet polished enough to have gotten out of the gang life. A good marriage of actor and role.
Bill Daugherty gives a very enjoyable performance of "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat" from "Guys and Dolls" and the audience is in the palm of his hand the entire time. Makes me wish for a video of the performance to see how he acted the piece - the audience can't seem to stop laughing.
The co-producer of all the "Broadway Unplugged" concerts, Marc Kudisch, always provides some of the most enjoyable performances of the evening and this volume is no exception. He has the audience practically snorting with laughter on "Winning" (cut from the short-lived Kander/Ebb musical "Steel Pier"). Also he introduces the audience to "I Was Here" from the ill-fated off-Broadway musical "The Glorious Ones" by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Kudisch premiered in the show, but the book and direction weren't nearly as nice as the score and it closed quickly. As his performance of this song proves, even a stinker of a show can have some real gems and he also cements his place as part of the "Broadway Royalty" (a term given to him by Cheyenne Jackson).
Michael McElroy lends his powerful gospel-ish voice to "Free at Last" from "Big River". I first heard McElroy on the amazing recording of Jeanine Tesori's "Violet" in the role of Flick and recently saw him in the the 2009 National Tour of "Rent" alongside Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp. His voice continues to amaze.
Scott Siegal gives some amazing trivia about the song "Surabaya Johnny" from the Kurt Weill/Bertholdt Brecht musical "Happy End". In 1977, the show finally made it to Broadway (after it bombed in Berlin in 1929) and the lead roles were played by Christopher Lloyd and a young Meryl Streep. "Surabaya Johnny" was sung by Meryl and though the song is typically Weill (pronounced "vile" in German) and more about character than melody, it makes one wish for a Meryl Streep recording just-for-fun.
Without a doubt, the highlight of the entire recording is a gender-reversing rendition of "Who Will Love Me As I Am" from the short-lived (only 100 performances) cult-classic musical "Side Show". In the original production, the true story of Daisy and Violet Hilton gave us a glimpse into the life of conjoined twins in a circus sideshow. The amazing David Burnham (of "The Light In the Piazza") and Max von Essen decided to get down with their feminine side and sing one of the sister's heartbreaking, showstopping duets. Two incredible tenors using their full range - fantastic. As an added bonus, their performance is followed by Emily Skinner (who was Tony nominated for "Side Show" "alongside" Alice Ripley) and they have the honor of introducing her. (Check out Max von Essen on You Tube in the Papermill Playhouse Production of Stephen Schwartz' "The Baker's Wife" singing the song "Proud Lady" - fantastic performance opposite Alice Ripley, by coincidence).
If you're a completist like me, you'll want to add this "Broadway Unplugged" to your collection before it becomes unavailable, but honestly, only about half the album is worth listening to more than once. It's also nice to get Marc Kudisch's archiving of "Winning" from "Steel Pier" since it was cut from the original production and probably isn't available anywhere else. You'll want this CD for the intimacy of the performances versus the slick production values of a standard cast recording. The whole point of Broadway Unplugged is to showcase the song and the singer - less all the other trappings of Broadway Shows. In this, they always succeed."
