In a swirl of sequins, velvets, bugle beads and the occasional
palate-cleansing tuxedo, a heady lineup of Broadways distaff stars
rising, risen and en-route-to-legendary paraded their talents at
Carnegie Hall Monday night in a benefit for AmFAR and Broadway
Cares/Equity Fights AIDS that was also taped for broadcast on Great
Performances. The nearly three-hour concert, presented by co-producer
Continental Airlines, was an often intoxicating display of vocal
artistry that might only be faulted for its overabundance: How much
rich dessert can one be expected to consume in an evening? Hearing
Jennifer Holliday tear into her signature song from Dreamgirls
followed by the potent comic astringency of Elaine Stritch saluting
The Ladies Who Lunch was like capping a hot fudge sundae with a
heaping helping of tiramisu; not that Im complaining. Special guest
females Robert Morse and Tony Roberts opened the show in period drag
with Beauty That Drives a Man Mad, a snazzy song from the Jule
Styne-Bob Merrill musical Sugar, based on Some Like It Hot, in which
Morse and Roberts starred as the stage counterparts of Jack Lemmon and
Tony Curtis. But from a gracious introduction by Julie Andrews
straight through to a land-of-a-thousand females finale, it was
wall-to-wall divas, among whom we can even count tux-clad, pompadoured
firecracker Lea DeLaria, giving a jazzy taste of the upcoming On the
Town. The evening was commendable for its celebration of such
up-and-comers the absence of established names Patti LuPone,
Bernadette Peters and Betty Buckley, to name a few, gave these
aspiring performers more time in the spotlight. Audra McDonald, with
three spots and three gowns (one for each Tony?), growled out a
delightfully sharp-edged rendition of Down With Love, among the few
rarities on offer (from Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburgs Hooray for
What!). Her Ragtime co-star Marin Mazzie sang a sultry Bewitched,
while both were later joined by Judy Kuhn for a
best-of-Lloyd-Webber-love-ballad medley (Love Changes Everything,
Unexpected Song and I Dont Know How to Love Him, which blended
together with rather illuminating ease). Linda Eders Streisand-esque
power-pop style blazed distinctively from her songs, Jekyll & Hydes
Someone Like You and the title tune from Man of La Mancha, and was a
marked hit with an audience that was appropriately unstinting in its
enthusiasm for all the performers. Breaking up the string of solo
belting turns was Show Boats Life Upon the Wicked Stage, sung with
tongue-in-cheek wit by High Societys young Anna Kendrick, backed by
the dissolute dames from the Roundabouts Cabaret. The number teetered
on the edge of tastelessness as Kendrick, in perky pigtails and pink
party dress, mimicked the lewd chair-straddling antics of the Kit Kat
Klub chorines, but this young performers startlingly precocious grasp
of irony served to bring down any raised eyebrows. Also leavening the
ballad-freighted evening were two choice comic segments from Faith
Prince: her memorable Adelaides Lament and Im Going Back, from Bells
Are Ringing, both models of vocal wit. Among the more seasoned
performers, Dorothy Loudons tremulously touching song from Ballroom,
Dee Hotys angular elegance cutting through Sondheims Could I Leave
You? and Debra Monks exuberantly vulgar tramp number from Steel Pier
stood out. Andrea McArdle, who might be called a young veteran, looked
smashing in red velvet, and brought an aching sense of loss to the
easy optimism of her Annie medley of Look for the Silver Lining and
Tomorrow. Closing out the evening was Holliday, whose signature vocal
pyrotechnics were probably the only thing capable of upstaging her
hairdo (picture Mount Vesuvius, modeled in gold ribbons, frozen in
mid-eruption), and the inestimable Stritch, herself a simmering
volcano of sarcasm. But in an evening of vocal excellence, its sad to
have to report that Liza Minnellis contribution was almost
heartbreaking. Valiant and generous though it was for her to
participate, she looked unwell, and struggled to keep her strained
voice in control through a most unhappily chosen Sing Happy. She then
got through Some People on sheer willpower and on the palpably felt
goodwill of the audience. Its to be hoped that a genetic
predisposition toward comebacks will kick in, and this once-impeccable
performer can again attain the high standard of vocalism so
marvelously displayed throughout the evening, a standard she herself
has helped set.
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concerts
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20/09/2019 Last update