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THE BROADWAY MUSICALS OF 1988 Send This Review to a Friend
The Broadway musical centerpiece of 1988 was the opening of “The Phantom of the Opera,” which is still running. Inevitably, this was the core for selections of that year in the latest of The Town Hall series created, written and hosted by Scott Siegel. I didn’t care much for “Phantom” when I saw it, but, as evidenced in this latest concert (June 3, 2013), the music endures, although there were no falling chandeliers at The Town Hall. There was terrific and fortuitous casting, with the performances by two who have starred along the way in the long-running hit, Howard McGillin and Jennifer Hope Wills. In general, I found the level of singing greater than the quality of the songs from shows of the chosen year.
The musicals that opened then included “Carrie,” “Legs Diamond.” “Romance, Romance, “Mail,” “The Gospel at Colonus” (Who remembers that one?) and “Chess,” the latter being an underrated production which had more dialogue inserted for Broadway than was the case when it played in London. Siegel made a point, which is true, that even flops often have songs worth hearing anew. The excellent singers assembled to honor the 1988 crop were impressive in their own right and enabled us to take a fresh look at the selected numbers. That also goes for the Broadway by the Year Chorus, by now a staple of these concerts and counted upon to provide extra exuberance.
McGillin and Wills were powerful from the start, singing the title song from “Phantom,”
teaming on the show’s “All I Ask of You,” and later, Wills singing “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” and McGillin holding the audience captive with his mesmerizing “The Music of the Night.” Both are amazing performers. Wills has a very special leading lady quality of her own to go with her sensational voice, as when she soloed without a mike, singing “Think of Me” from “Phantom.”
Other stars were Lisa Brescia, Kevin Earley, and Scott Coulter, the latter having handled the evening’s direction and musical staging, with musical direction by Ross Patterson, whose Little Big Band provided the demanding accompaniment. Brescia has the ability to switch moods appealingly, capturing the acting nuances required for her numbers excavated from “Carrie.” She was striking singing “I Remember How Those Boys Could Dance” and “When There’s No One,” both from “Carrie,” and also with “The Music Went Out of My Life,” a strong survivor from the flop “Legs Diamond.” She also injected omph into “Technique,” from the long-forgotten “Mail.”
Earley has a great voice, plus leading man DNA, shown by his performance of “Where I Want to Be” from “Chess” and his unplugged “Anthem” from the same show. He delivered special sensitivity with “Words He Doesn’t Say” from “Romance, Romance.”
Farah Alvin can belt powerfully and project personality plus, established with “I’m Not Alone” from “Carrie,” with “Someone Else’s Story” from “Chess” and with “How Did I End Up Here?” from “Romance, Romance,” as well as teaming with Scott Coulter on “I Know Him So Well” from “Chess.” The music from “Romance, Romance" got a further lift with “Romantic Notions,” performed by the foursome Alvin, Brescia, Coulter and Earley. Coulter is always reliable, as fans of the series know, with his elevated voice and interpretive sensitivity.
Curiously, one of the evening’s high points came in the form of gospel, with Kyle Scatliffe and Carlton Terrence Taylor, Jr., standing out and soaring in the Broadway By the Year Chorus rendition of “Lift Me Up (Like a Dove)” from “The Gospel at Colonus.”
What the performers shared in common was the ability to make one take a new look at songs from the shows of 1988. Who knows—I might even get to like Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music from “Phantom,” thanks to McGillin and Wills. At The Town Hall, 143 West 43rd Street. Reviewed June 4, 2013.
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