Who else caught Raul Esparza Concert in Northridge CA?

We thought it was a pretty great 2 hours of Raul singing nothing but Sondheim, which is always a good match (and no, not a peep of that annoying Leap of Faith score). Gorgeous piano accompaniment by his lovely musical director throughout (sorry--her name escapes me). If you're a huge Raul fan you probably loved the night; if you're not a great fan (like my husband), all of his vocal weaknesses were on full display too (some scratchy vocals at times, and an overabundance of passion!!!).

Best of all was his honest and revealing chitchat between numbers, tracing his connections to Sondheim over the years, and his repeated auditions for Sondheim roles he never got to play (Henrik in ALNM, and Zangara in Roundabout's ASSASSINS revival. And he does a great Steve imitation-- who knew?

A partial song list from memory--
SOMETHING'S COMING
NOT WHILE I'M AROUND
NO MORE
TALENT
LESSON #8
TAKE ME TO THE WORLD
WITH SO LITTLE TO BE SURE OF
FRANKLIN SHEPHERD INC.
EVERYBODY SAYS DON'T
I REMEMBER SKY
MARRY ME A LITTLE
MULTITUDES OF AMYS
HAPPILY EVER AFTER
BEING ALIVE
and for an encore, FINISHING THE HAT

Updated On: 11/20/12 at 12:09 PM

I was there! I thought it was a good concert, my favorite was his stories. I couldn't stop laughing when Mary-Mitchell was talking about Raul's sweaty hands.

Thanks. luv, I stand corrected -- just fixed the list.

I wonder if Raul and Mary-Mitchell are taking their show around the country. Not sure how many sondheimaniacs are out there for them to attract, but the audience in Northridge was in the palm of their hands.

Thankyou, Macaw! I was racking my brains to recall the second of the encores (GOODBYE FOR NOW).

WHAT CAN YOU LOSE was an absolute highpoint of the night-- never heard it sung live before. Sublime.

He also sang ANOTHER HUNDRED PEOPLE and told stories while singing it.

Oh, gosh! How could we forget Another Hundred People?