Dear Doxy (On the Sondheim 'Children and Art' 75th Birthday Concert)

I'll post more in the morning.

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Alright, Dox, you better not have dog-eared one page of that programme by the time I see you in September. And if ANY of the pages stick together.....!

Okay, coffee. What did I miss? Yes, Sondheim was there. He came up at the end and the cast sang happy birthday, after a stirring "Children Will Listen," led by the sturdy Betty Buckley. Betty had also done "Something's Coming," which was powerful but not moving.

The orchestra, led by Kevin Stites, was excellent, and the 75-person Broadway Star Chorus was glorious, thrilling on the Sweeney Todd, Loveland and Sunday choral numbers.

I neglected to say how good the Assassins revival cast was on "Everybody's Got the Right," but I wanted MORE Annie Golden, Becky Ann Baker and Neil Patrick Harris.

Alice Ripley and Brian D'Arcy James did "Getting Married Today," which didn't really let him shine, while she did very nicely with the breakneck speed and her always-funny deadpan.

Melissa Errico and Raul Esparza did "Move On," she simply and movingly and he less simply but still movingly. They were introduced by Gerald Schoenfeld, who said how grateful he was to have been a producer of Sunday in the Park. Nice, Gerry. Thanks.

The few clunkers: Debra Monk and David Hyde Pierce underplaying "The Little Things You Do Together" so much so as to be boring, Patti LuPone flubbing lyrics to "A Little Priest," even though she's played the part and was carrying the music (what was up with that, Patti?), and Donna Murphy being a little too weird for "See What It Gets You."

In terms of solo diva songs, Audra did much better with "There Won't Be Trumpets" and Marin Mazzie, as I said before, did beautifully with "Not a Day Goes By," although they didn't let her repeat the chorus so she had to build her performance only going once through. And Stephanie D'Abruzzo sang the hell out of "Sooner or Later," entirely as Lucy T. Slut from Avenue Q. Good for Stephanie! (Lucy too.)

Best failed attempt at re-envisioning a song goes to Tonya Pinkins, who did an angry hip-hop'ish arrangement of "Another Hundred People" and "I Remember," which was not entirely appropriate to the lyrics. I couldn't exactly figure out why she was so angry at the hundred people coming off the bus. Sort of like singing "Some mother-f*cking people just got off of the ..." Only that was just subtext. I dunno. Maybe they were in her way, or something. But the woman can sing!

Ooooh--and I forgot B.D. Wong! (This is for Glebb!) B.D. did "More," from Dick Tracy as a song-and-dance numer with the male and female chorus kids from the Pacific Overtures revival. It was sexily (and wittily) choreographed by Darren Lee, and BD was terrific--slinky and sexy and sly. He would have made an exceelent Emcee!

I'll end with what was the most moving and exciting to me: "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow"/"Love Will See Us Through" from Follies, with Kurt Peterson, Virginia Sandifur, Marti Rolph and Harvey Evans--the originals! Thirty-four years later, they are no longer YOUNG Buddy, Sally, Ben and Phyllis. They are now the ghosts of their former selves, just as in the original they played the ghosts of the older actors. But, nevertheless, there they were! "Still here," as the song says, and still able to do the dazzling footwork and conceptual choreography Michael Bennett created for those two numbers, at once ballroom/soft-show love-duet steps and wicked, ironic dance comments on relationships that equal the lyrics in sophistication. I was an adolescent when I saw that show--six times!--and seeing it and Company and A Little Night Music MADE me sophisticated. (I still know the lyrics to "Lucy and Jessie" by heart.) I'm not young anymore, but I'm still here too.

So, Doxy, that was the concert. Tell me where to mail the program. And come to New York to see Barbara Cook sing Sondheim live!

yr pal,
Joey

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Updated On: 3/22/05 at 08:26 AM

What a great review! Thanks so much, PJ. Wish I could have been there, but this was such a wonderful read.

I simply have to ask...what was "Rose's Turn" like as interpreted by Harvey Fierstein?

Good heavens!

"I dreamed it for you, Chava...
It wasn't for me, Golde..."

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But what was B. D. wearing?

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Thank you so much for the wonderful review!

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As comprehensive of a review as one could want, PJ... Lucky you for going, and thanks for sharing with the rest of us.

PJ - excellent review.

Awesome...

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So Bernadette wasn't there?

That's very disappointing...

What was she doing in the film? And what was Barbra doing?