#1
Posted: 6/10/05 at 10:57am
There are days when it seems the entire city is weighing down on you, so much so that you wonder how you live in such a fenetic, fast-paced, psychotic place. You'd give it all up to have a cute house with a yard, a car and some peace and quiet.
And then there are those moments when you realize that you live in the most spectacular place on Earth, and you're life simply wouldn't be as thrilling to live were you in the 'burbs.
Last night was one of those nights. As I took my seat in Carnegie Hall, it dawned on me how lucky I am. This beautiful cathedral to God's greatest gift, music, is here for me whenever I need to escape the chaotic noise of the city for the ordered sounds of music. And when something is truly wonderful, as the SOUTH PACIFIC concert was last night, you know you'll never be able to leave this marvelous town for long.
The St. Luke's Orchestra, under the direction of Paul Gemignani, was magnificent. From the first strains of Bali H'ai to the moving Final Ultimo, they played with passion and precision. And then there was the cast. Brian Stokes Mitchell may have had some accent problems (sounding more like a Pearl Cream commercial than a Frenchman), but his glorious voice made you forget every small flaw. His This Nearly Was Mine was simply the best musical moment of the year. Jason Daniely, who has never received the acclaim he deserves, sounded stunning on Younger Than Springtime. His seething You've Got to Be Carefully Taught was a hilight, although it was all too brief. It's amazing how complete a characterization this actor can come up with after only three days of rehearsal. Lillias White was marvelous, offering a beautifully sung Bali H'ai. She then did the impossible. By singing the hell out of Happy Talk, she made a case that this silly song is as important to the score as the rest. Alec Baldwin was terrific as Billis, getting every laugh and looking quite fetching in his Honey Bun ensemble. Solid support was provided by Conrad John Shuck, Dylan Baker and Alexander Gemignani. The male chorus sounded huge and looked sexy as hell, with a good number of the men sporting nicely-fitting tank tops.
And then, of course, there was the reason for this concert: Reba McIntyre. I will be the first to agree that she was too book bound. Her I'm in Love With a Wonderful Guy was not particularly effective because she was too worried about getting the words right. And if you thought Mary Martin scooped on notes, ya shoulda heard our dear Reba. But, in the end, I was very impressed by her commitment to the emotional arc of the character in Act II. And her Honey Bun (off book) was a show-stopping hilight.
SOUTH PACIFIC did not have the emotional affect on me that the CAROUSEL concert did three years ago...simply because I'm always reduced to tears when I hear CAROUSEL. SOUTH PACIFIC does not do that for me. But, in many ways, this was a more consistently cast and performed concert than CAROUSEL. A terrific evening that I hope you all watch when broadcast on PBS.
And then there are those moments when you realize that you live in the most spectacular place on Earth, and you're life simply wouldn't be as thrilling to live were you in the 'burbs.
Last night was one of those nights. As I took my seat in Carnegie Hall, it dawned on me how lucky I am. This beautiful cathedral to God's greatest gift, music, is here for me whenever I need to escape the chaotic noise of the city for the ordered sounds of music. And when something is truly wonderful, as the SOUTH PACIFIC concert was last night, you know you'll never be able to leave this marvelous town for long.
The St. Luke's Orchestra, under the direction of Paul Gemignani, was magnificent. From the first strains of Bali H'ai to the moving Final Ultimo, they played with passion and precision. And then there was the cast. Brian Stokes Mitchell may have had some accent problems (sounding more like a Pearl Cream commercial than a Frenchman), but his glorious voice made you forget every small flaw. His This Nearly Was Mine was simply the best musical moment of the year. Jason Daniely, who has never received the acclaim he deserves, sounded stunning on Younger Than Springtime. His seething You've Got to Be Carefully Taught was a hilight, although it was all too brief. It's amazing how complete a characterization this actor can come up with after only three days of rehearsal. Lillias White was marvelous, offering a beautifully sung Bali H'ai. She then did the impossible. By singing the hell out of Happy Talk, she made a case that this silly song is as important to the score as the rest. Alec Baldwin was terrific as Billis, getting every laugh and looking quite fetching in his Honey Bun ensemble. Solid support was provided by Conrad John Shuck, Dylan Baker and Alexander Gemignani. The male chorus sounded huge and looked sexy as hell, with a good number of the men sporting nicely-fitting tank tops.
And then, of course, there was the reason for this concert: Reba McIntyre. I will be the first to agree that she was too book bound. Her I'm in Love With a Wonderful Guy was not particularly effective because she was too worried about getting the words right. And if you thought Mary Martin scooped on notes, ya shoulda heard our dear Reba. But, in the end, I was very impressed by her commitment to the emotional arc of the character in Act II. And her Honey Bun (off book) was a show-stopping hilight.
SOUTH PACIFIC did not have the emotional affect on me that the CAROUSEL concert did three years ago...simply because I'm always reduced to tears when I hear CAROUSEL. SOUTH PACIFIC does not do that for me. But, in many ways, this was a more consistently cast and performed concert than CAROUSEL. A terrific evening that I hope you all watch when broadcast on PBS.
"I'm so looking forward to a time when all the Reagan Democrats are dead."
