They were awesome together last night. You could tell that Aaron and Kelli were a little unsure of the stage protocol with Peter Nero, but it was kind of cute. They didn't know if they were "allowed" to speak to the audience between numbers. I mean, it's clear when you see Nero on stage with the Pops that it's HIS show and he's in charge. He did not really engage either of them, so they pretty much came on and off stage in turn and together when they did the duets. They both were in excellent voice and looked fabulous. Kelly wore a WOW of a form-fitting black cocktail dress and 3-inch stacked black and white pumps. Aaron, who now has a beard, was in a standard tux. We sat in the pit, one row removed from the stage. They are each so beautiful to look at, but unfortuately at the Mann, the closer you are to the stage, the worse the sound is. So it's always a trade-off there between seeing and hearing. They closed with a medley from Little Shop of Horrors then left the stage. Nero brought them back, but didn't offer them an encore. Instead he had the orchestra play their traditional Washington Post March closing and that was it. It was a great evening of entertainment, but I can't help but think that Peter Nero somehow held them back. He, of course, played an overlong, overindulgent, overimprovised version of "A Boy Like That" from West Side Story. I think it left the audience wanting more of the guest artists. I know I did.
Criticism is prejudice made plausible. -- H.L. Mencken
I wish they had gotten a chance to play opposite each other on Broadway.
