I was there for the second night's performance. I thought it was incredible to see such amazing performers onstage together, as well as the legendary Paul Gemignani conducting. Anyone Can Whistle is not a great show in itself. It's scattered and erratic. But the concert was thoroughly enjoyable as long as you went in knowing that this was not Sondheim at his best, since it was still fairly early in his career.
I loved Patti doing "Me and My Town." She looked stunning in her pink suit and she had such energy and a great sense of humor doing it. It was my first time hearing her perform, live or recorded, and I was enthralled by her talent.
Cerveris, as always, was excellent. After seeing him in Assassins, I was excited to see him do something a little less serious and he pulled it off very well. He is a really wonderful stage personality and it's a pleasure to see him do his thing. And the number he had with Audra, "Play Wiz Me," was incredible, not only because they both did the hell out of the number, but because there were two chorus members holding up large placards with translations of the lyrics as they were sung. (Those two men deserve mega props whoever they are for pulling that off so smoothly.)
I think Audra McDonald was the standout on this one, though. I really don't like much of the music from Anyone Can Whistle, but the songs that she had, like "There Won't Be Trumpets," were stunning in her hands. I actually gasped when she really got going with "Trumpets." I can't wait to see this woman perform again.
I was kind of sad that John Mahoney was so underused as the narrator. I don't know what else he could have done in the show, but he's such a solidly good actor that I wish Lonny Price had found more for him to contribute.
Overall, it was a good night's entertainment.
ETA: The Sondheim Review was there and they did a really good review if you can find it.
You promised me poems. ~Tricky
Updated On: 5/12/06 at 11:06 AM
