Brian Stokes Mitchell at Kennedy Center

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 11:15am

Does anyone in the DC area plan on attending Brian's performance with the National Symphony Orchestra on 9/15-9/17? I'm thinking of going on Friday.

[sanda]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 11:16am

I will be there tonight. Da-da. I wait this for a long time.

[JMVR]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 11:18am

I;m going tonight. I;ll try to post a review later on.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 11:19am

Please so. I saw the song list on another site.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 3:38pm

The Kennedy Center website has a song list, though I am not sure if it is final. For you Piazza fans, the list included "selections from LITP".

Anyway, I am going tomorrow (Friday) night, sitting in the cheap $20 seats in the first tier. Literally, 10 minutes after I bought my ticket, the Kennedy Center emailed me a discount code. Today, the Post also had a huge ad with a discount code, if anyone is contemplating going and has a copy of today's paper lying around.

Brian will be back in DC in November to perform at the Lincoln Theatre. Unlike the Kennedy Center performance, this one will be without the NSO/Hamlisch.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 4:20pm

How much would the tickets have been with the Kennedy Center discount code?

I noticed tickets were $43 at ticketplace (DC's TKTS).

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 4:55pm

The code was 20% off of all tickets which range from 20-80 dollars.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 11:45am

OK, so how was it? I'm more than likely going to pick up tickets for this evenings performance.

[sanda]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 12:08pm

The night of yesterday is fantastic! This is my first time to listen to Stokes live. (Sort of, I went to his Memorial Day concert in Capital Hill two years before, but I hardly see anything being far away from the stage). OMG, what a voice. Without mic, he sang "Soliloque", "This nearly was mine" and "Impossible dream". He is the most kind, elegant and handsome person I ever saw. I love every moment of him being on stage.

The list on the program is different from what they actually performed.

Based on my memory, the real list is the following:

1.RODGERS - Overture to South Pacific
2.GUETTEL - Selections from The Light in the Piazza
3.GERSHWIN - Symphonic Picture from Porgy and Bess
4.GERSHWIN - "There's a boat that's leaving Soon For New York" from Porgy and Bess
5.GERSHWIN - "A Woman is a Sometime Thing" from Porgy and Bess
6.RODGERS - "Soliloquy" from Carousel
Intermission
7.RESPIGHI - "Danza guerresca" from Belkis, Queen of Sheba
8.PRIMA - "Sing, Sing, Sing"
9.GERSHWIN - "How Long Has This Been Going On" from Rosalie
10.FLAHERTY - "Wheels of a Dream" from Ragtime
11."Crooner Homage",The Very Thought of You","They Can't Take That Away From Me"
12."Embraceable You"
13.Sondheim - "Pretty Woman" from Sweeney Todd
14.RODGERS - "This Nearly Was Mine" from South Pacific
15.LEIGH - "Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha
Encore: FLAHERTY - unknown song

I don't know the name of 11 and 12. Some combination of romantic Jazz songs. Beautifully performed. If someone know them, please let me know.

I hope you guys enjoy the evening as much as I did.

Edit: Thanks to JMVR.

Updated On: 9/16/05 at 12:08 PM

[JMVR]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 1:24pm

To add to Sanda's review:

The other songs you missed was "Dere's a boat Dat's leaving Soon For New York" and the "crooner homage' which included "Embraceable You", "The Very Thought of You" and "They Can't Take That Away From Me", which is a recreation of part of his act at Feinstein's.

Anyway, here is my review:

Kennedy Center Concert Hall was pretty much a full house, except for very few empty seats here and there. The NSO sounded glorious and was enhanced by the Wasshington Brass which also offered two solo numbers after intermission, to much acclaim by the audience.

Marvin Hamlisch was, for me, the surprise of the evening. What at entertainer! The guy made a number of very witty remarks,, joked around with the audience and even had a couple move down from the side seats to the very front row center in order to fill two empty seats there. He was very generous in his praise of the NSO, The Washington Brass and Brian Stokes Mitchell. He also promotes a program called 'More With Marvin" which means that if you stay seated after the show, he comes back onstage with his guests (in this case Stokes) and they answer questions from the audience for a good 20 minutes. Hamlisch was clearly very happy to be conducting the evening and obviously is very fond of Stokes.

Brian Stokes came onstage after the NSO had played the South Pacific selections and the Piazza part, and all i can say is that his voice was just as amazing as ever. I have to point out that he WAS miked, he was wearing a body mike just like he would have on Broadway, but his voice was only very subtly amplified (although speakers were visible atop the stage). The truth is, I had my doubts as to whether he was miked or not and only realized that he is when he walked offstage after More With Marvin (I had moved up to the very first row after the concert part) and could plainly see some of the pins holding the mike wires shining in the back of his head and the little wire running down his neck and into his collar.

Anyway, he sang with a clear, POWERFUL and very moving voice. He really put his heart into every number and he talked to the audience a lot, too. It was a good change to see him onstage but not playing any particular character. He confessed that he had NEVER seen South Pacific (except for bits of the movie),until he was prepping for the Carnegie Hall concert (airing next year on PBS) and then gave an AMAZING rendition of "This Nearly WAs Mine". His voice even sounded more tenoresque and he even had a particular diction, as if he head been playing Emile De Becque all night. It was as if you were hearing De Becque himself, that's how good his transformation was for that song. I had never heard anyone sing it with so much passion and such a clear and beautiful voice.

Other highlights included "Soliloquy" from carousel and again, this man just went 100% into the part, acted it perfectly and sang it beautifully, making small pauses at some points in order to let the emotion sink in (like when he realizes his son could actually be a girl). After the horrible way the number was recorded in the recent revivals of the show, this soliloqiy begs to be captured on CD.

The high point of the evening of course, was "The Impossible Dream". Let me tell you, I have seen Man of la Mancha millions of times with at least 6 different actors and heard countless version of this old standard, but Stokes somehow managed to make it sound like it was written yesterday especially for him. He really makes you listen to every word as if you didn't know them already and his voice peaks and just gets to you.

There were a number of random standing ovations and outbursts of applause last night and if anyone can make it tonight or tomorrow, RUN to the Kennedy Center because seeing the NSO, Hamlisch and Stokes together is an experience not to be missed. It is rare now to see a Broadway star singing with such a huge orchestra, sadly.

Finally, the More with Marvin part was fun and Sotkes was very gracious, polite, relaxed and humble. Hamlisch was very funny. Stokes talked about being a Sondheim fan, about Ragtime, Man of la Mancha, his wife, and when asked what he thought of the future of Broadway, he said it is changing like the entire world is, but that it will never ever die.

Hamlisch did say that he disliked the idea of revivals, but I bet he is not too unhappy at the prospect of collecting royalties on the Chorus Line revival!!

I hope this review was useful.

[sanda]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 2:56pm

Damn. I forget that there was a talking after the show. I waited outside at stage door for sometime then left. God I wish I stay and listen to their talking. Want to kick myself.

[sanda]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 5:25pm

JMVR, I love, love, love your great review.

One question, during the talk, did Stokes mention when his solo album would be released? I wait for this for a long time.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 11:21pm

I just got in from Brian's concert with the NSO. What can I say, he was absolutely marvelous!! He sang a variety of songs/styles and he had the audience in the palm of his hand from the moment he sang his first notes. Marvin Hamlisch had a wonderful repore with the audience as well.

The highlights for me: Wheels of a Dream (gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes); This Nearly Was Mine (again chills); Soliloquy (amazing), but one of the most surprising moments was a compilation of romantic standards from the 30s.

I'm so glad I went. Had an amazing seat which I got from the discount ticket booth in DC. There's one more performance left for those of you in the area who would like to go. I definitely left the concert hall with a smile on my face.

*Side note: The NSO was in top form with the exception of the piece they did from Light in the Piazza. It was quite sloppy.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 11:43pm

I agree with whoever said LITP was sloppy. I was really missing the Broadway orchestra. The rest of the show, however, was spot on. I don't really have much to add on Brian's perfmance other than echoing what others have said, but I have to say that Brian is delightful on the Broadway stage and in concert. His versatility was apparent in his musical selection and execution, though I do prefer "the Brian who does showtunes" rather than "Brian the crooner/jazz artist", mainly because I think his voice/range lends iteself better to the former. However, if he likes singing jazz, and it seems that he does, given his club acts, then, more power to him.

It was a very fun evening for me even from my partial view seat. That is, other than this insane women who sat in front of me who insisted on loudly narrating every song to her clueless 20 something daughter, for the first 10-30 seconds of the song (minus LITP). I could not help overhearing her educational speech on how Ragtime's music and lyrics were written by "that Sondheim guy." Bet that is news to you all right (and Ahrens and Flaherty)?

Updated On: 9/17/05 at 11:43 PM

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 12:41am

Were you there tonight? There were plenty of empty seat towards the rear of the orchestra. I actually moved during intermission because the woman next to me was a heavy breather and it really interfered with my enjoyment of the first act.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 11:10am

Yeah, I was there on Friday. I saw all the empty seats, but was unsure about moving down to the orchestra from the first tier,though I have moved "within my section" before though. In hindsight, I should have just tried it.

[sanda]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 12:00pm

JVMR, I saw a small equipment on Stoke's ears. However, is that mic or some device for him to listen to the orchestra? I wonder this because when he sang those Romantic Jazz songs , he used mic. And what did Marvin Harmlisch mean before "Impossible Dream" when he talked about those old days when mic was not available?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 12:07pm

wat piazza songs did he do

[JMVR]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 12:59pm

Sanda, I'm very gald that you liked my review. As for your questions, he said his CD will be ready for release in a few weeks but that since he needs to put together the promotional package for it, it will not be released for another few months. He did not talk any more about the CD.

Regarding the mikes, I think the handheld mike he used for the "crooners" part of the show was put there in order to amplify his voice a little more even if the audience noticed that the voice was amped, as opposed to the rest of the show, when you were not supposed to notice it (and for the most part, none of us did). Also, I think the handheld mikes were used in those songs as props since all those crooners "crooned" into the mikes in their day.

I honestly have no idea about the earpiece. I saw those speakers on the floor called "monitors" in which he can hear the orchestra and his voice blasting right back at him, so I don't see why he would need an earpiece. Maybe since he couldn't see the conductor, he was somehow getting his cues from Marvin through the earpiece?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 1:05pm

yesssss, I can't wait for his CD.