Arthur Laurents Expresses Adoration For Matt Cavenaugh In The Advocate — Page 3

"There's a story that at a Dinner Party at Sondheim's,
The subject of SWEENEY TODD came up, and they went to the piano
and Steve had Larry sing, for the first public hearing:
JOHANNA."

My God, that sounds fabulous. And why wasn't this taped Steve and Hal? You taped plenty of other things!

"Wait--so Matt Cavenaugh sings the B?"

PJ, going by the video of Matt singing "Maria" on that site, he's singing a Bb.

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Matt doesn't even sing the high note every night, if I'm not mistaken. He does the G natural alternative from the movie and original cast recording. I mean, I was one of the few who enjoyed Cavenaugh but....

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Updated On: 5/14/09 at 05:01 PM

So does Matt ever sing the B-flat high note?

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I think Arthur was talking about Matt's Bj.

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Laurents says Matt "hits notes" that Kert couldn't. The statement is vague enough where he is insulting the memory of Kert but also could come back and clarify that he was talking about dramatic notes. It's appropriately vague...perfect for a meanie like Laurents.

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Namo, he sure hums a good tune

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A B flat is one single note, which was not really that much of an issue in the original staging of WSS; it doesn't erase the fact that Cavenaugh does not even come close vocally or dramatically to Kert's level of performance in WEST SIDE STORY. But let's be honest...very few performers today would compare favorably with Larry Kert, who excelled at dancing, singing and was a superb stage actor. Matt Cavenaugh is no Larry Kert and never will be but maybe someday he will find a role that will better suit his more limited vocal and acting talent than Tony in WEST SIDE STORY. I see him more as a presence on series TV and the movies than on the stage. I suspect that Laurents' adoration of him has nothing to do with his vocal cords.

I saw Larry Kert and Carol Lawrence in a mid 1960 revival of WEST SIDE STORY and they were magnificent, especially Kert, who did indeed sing the ending of "Something's Coming" as Jimmy Bryant did in the film, except that Kert was even better and his dramatic delivery of the song was superior to Bryant; this was also the case in all of the other songs, especially "Maria", and Kert is still the definitive interpreter of this song. Even though he was in his late 20s he still looked young enough to have played Tony in the 1961 film of WEST SIDE STORY and it is a crime that he did not get to preserve his brilliant performance for posterity in the film.

I saw Kert once again as the definitive Bobby in COMPANY in London in the early 1970's, a production that included the majority of the Original Broadway Cast and it was one of the greatest evenings of musical theater I have ever experienced. Kert got a deserved standing ovation at the end of his magnificent, powerful vocal of "Being Alive" and his vocal of "Someone is Waiting" was simply stunning, the best I've ever heard.

Kert recorded a pop album in the mid 1960's of Leonard Bernstein songs which included concert versions of his songs from WEST SIDE STORY (unfortunately not nearly as good as his Cast Recording performances due to the inappropriate mid 60's pop orchestration). But on the same album, Larry Kert sings "It Must Be So" from CANDIDE, a song Bernstein wrote for a full operatic tenor and Kert acquits himself beautifully on this difficult number and could possibly have been a great Candide. Kert also sings Bernstein songs from WONDERFUL TOWN, PETER PAN & ON THE TOWN on this album which has been out of print for 50 years, although it was recently released in Europe by a public domain label.

Below are links to Sendspace MP3 files of:
It Must Be So
http://www.sendspace.com/file/e2oxxa
Happily Ever After/Someone is Waiting
http://www.sendspace.com/file/f8kig9

And for those interested in hearing the entire Larry Kert sings Bernstein album
http://www.sendspace.com/file/2nx73m

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Updated On: 5/17/09 at 07:59 PM

Thanks dayao.

Kert was so wonderful in COMPANY that although he did not originate the role on Broadway, the TONY committee still nominated him for Best Actor in a musical that year.

Thank Sondheim the London COMPANY was recorded.

Yes, Joey, Kert's voice is indeed glorious, with a heroic, youthful, exuberant sound that can be heard even in his later shows and recordings. He was truly one of Broadway's greatest stars.

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"What did Laurents have against Kert?"

It seems to me, and I may just be thinking silly here, that Laurents has something against people who died of AIDS and I don't know why. Remember the old story of how he giggled when he found out Tony Perkins had it? I don't understand how a person could be so cruel.

Thanks for those observations Joey. Such a shame those men had to grow up in such a homophobic world, although little has changed to educate mainstream America on this so called "disease."

Wouldn't it be terrific if Adam Lambert came out nationally after he takes the prize next week ? Not that it would change much, but the more people who are brave enough to honestly express themselves would sure be a step forward.