Outdated selections tarnish Cape Symphony’s Broadway bash
Posted by Spencer Koch | Posted in Entertainment Guide | Posted on 13-02-2011
Tags: Broadway, Broadway Bash
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Waving his hands and sashaying to the beat of every Broadway hit, Pak’s direction and charismatic persona were a nice complement to the “terrific threesome,” which showcased the skills of actor-singers Sarah Uriarte Berry, Edward Watts and Rosena Hill.
IN CONCERT
What: “Today’s Broadway,” Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra, Jung-Ho Pak, conductor, with Sarah Uriarte Berry, soprano, Rosena Hill, soprano, and Edward Watts, tenor
- When: Saturday, Feb. 12, and Sunday, Feb. 13
- Where: Barnstable Performing Arts Center
All three boast some impressive credits on the Great White Way: Uriarte was Belle in “Beauty and the Beast”; Watts, El Gallo in “The Fantasticks”; and Hill, standby for Lady of the Lake in “Spamalot” — among many, many credits.
But the complicated task at hand was finding songs that these three wildly different vocal talents could all belt together.
Unfortunately, the evening began with a misfire: three selections from “Mamma Mia!” based on the music of Abba — a band never known for its complex harmonies. Because of limited space on stage in front of the orchestra, the staging relied a little too much on some awkward gesturing and mugging for the audience and the pyrotechnics of a star-spangled disco ball.
However, the three fared better at the top of the second half, tackling selections from flower child favorite “Hair” — strong in particular, “Aquarius.”
Over the course of two hours, the night suffered no lack of surprises. The usually buoyant “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!” from “Mary Poppins” fell flat, again because of the lack of movement.
The more complex and moving pieces, in general, succeeded, like the all-instrumental rendition of hits from “A Chorus Line.” The simpler, the better.
All three performers got a chance to shine on their own, too. Berry pulled off a sultry “All That Jazz” from “Chicago,” and then later a delicate “Send in the Clowns” from “A Little Night Music.”
And while Watts seemed miscast during the self-affirming “I Am What I Am” from “La Cage Aux Folles,” he had fun as a smooth Frankie Valli from “Jersey Boys,” crooning “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” while sauntering into the audience to plant a kiss on one blushing audience member’s hand.
The highlight of the night, predictably, was the entire “West Side Story” block, with an absolutely sublime “Tonight” sung by Hill and Watts, with Hill a standout. The orchestra followed that with an electrifying “Mambo,” bringing out a bold and brilliant brass section and making me want to leap, dancing, out of my seat.
There were solid programming choices — like “Wicked,” which allowed Berry to channel her inner Kristin Chenoweth on “Popular,” and Hill to belt out the show-stopping “Defying Gravity” — there were also some real head-scratchers in terms of how the show was organized.
Like why would you immediately follow Hill’s stunning, luminous, transcendent take on “I’m Here,” from “The Color Purple” with the cynical silliness of Spamalot’s “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (complete with bad Eric Idle impersonation)? This is Broadway. Can we not take a moment to be emotionally moved?
I also had to wonder, after the orchestra performed the entire score of “Phantom of the Opera,” only to be followed later by yet more “Phantom,” with “Music of the Night” and “All I Ask of You,” could we not have branched out a little? Yes, it’s the longest-running show in Broadway history (a fact featured in an audience-participation trivia bit), but one can take only so much Andrew Lloyd Webber. The only standing ovation of the night during the concert itself was for Watts’ performance of the Phantom.
In the end, except for the occasional Spider-Man joke, the concept of “Broadway Today” in this concert was a little misleading, since many of the musicals here were older, and noticeably period — even if they are all being revived on Broadway currently.
I found myself wishing for some newer, and fresher, material. Nothing crazy, mind you. I won’t go so far as to ask the symphony to perform Green Day’s “American Idiot.” But how about, say, “Billy Elliot,” which won 10 Tony awards in 2009? Or even something from “Avenue Q” might have been fun.
