By William Wolf

THE BROADWAY MUSICALS OF 1940-1964  Send This Review to a Friend

Overkill can be a good thing. Where else could you find the line-up of talent and great numbers that were on display at the latest edition of the Broadway By the Year celebration of 100 years of Broadway musicals? The cultural feast took place March 31, 2014 at The Town Hall as part of the super idea by creator/writer/host Scott Siegel—a song for each year over a century of Broadway. The 1940-1964 span was the second in the series that needs four events to cover the extensive territory.

The period in this show was especially fertile for striking, durable numbers from a broad list of productions. Whether the shows were hits or misses, appealing songs endure. And what talented performers were assembled to bring the music to resounding life! Men and women with thrilling voices. Stars and relative newcomers.

Of course, there’s nobody who can top Marilyn Maye. I’ve heard “Guess Who I Saw Today” from “New Faces of 1952” so many times. But Maye sang it with such interpretive perfection that it seemed I’d never heard it before. The mate she was exposing would cringe in the face of her final line, especially when she pointed her accusing finger. That would have been enough of a triumph for one night, but she returned in the second act to cap the show with “Before the Parade Passes By” from the 1964 “Hello Dolly!” In her mid-eighties, Maye can still sing rings around everybody else with her fabulous energy, dynamic voice and skill at making every syllable count.

At the relative newcomer part of the spectrum, the first act ended with vocally-gifted Maxine Linehan giving a fresh, passionate rendition of “I Love Paris” from the 1953 “Can-Can.” She sang with such affection and feeling that I felt ready to book a flight.

The impressive men’s voices included those by the ever-superb William Michals singing “This Nearly Was Mine” from the 1949 “South Pacific,” in which he did the male lead in the latest revival; Robert Cuccioli doing “Were Thine That Special Face” from the 1948 “Kiss Me, Kate;” Aaron Lazar performing “They Call the Wind Maria” from the 1951 “Paint Your Wagon;” Ben Davis soaring with “If Ever I Would Leave You” from the 1960 “Camelot;” Brian Charles Rooney singing the durable “Maria” from the 1957 “West Side Story” and Ron Bohmer performing “Her Face” from the 1961 “Carnival.”

There were numerous specialty treats. Patrick Page, assisted by the Broadway By the Year Chorus, opened the second act with a rousing and amusing “Captain Hook’s Waltz” from the 1954 “Peter Pan.” Jason Graae is expert at putting over a song, shown by his spirited “She Loves Me” from the 1963 show of that name. Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano, the epitome of a successful performing couple, with Comstock at the piano as well as singing, gave us “Ev’rything I’ve Got” from the 1942 “By Jupiter” and “You’re Just in Love” from the 1950 hit “Call Me Madam.” Jeffrey Schecter deftly extracted the comedy from “When I’m Not Near the Girl I Love” from the 1947 “Finian’s Rainbow,” as did Carolyn Montgomery-Forant with “I Can Cook, Too” from the 1944 “On the Town.” Liz Larsen kicked off her shoes and stretched out atop the piano to bemoan “Ooh! My Feet!” from the 1956 “The Most Happy Fella.”

Gavin Lee, who recently did the Fred Astaire role in the London musical “Top Hat,” defined the word debonair with his lithe dancing to and singing without a mike “I’ve Got Your Number” from the 1962 “Little Me,” for which he did his own choreography. Erin Denman and Jeffry Denman are always a delight when they dance together, and they choreographed a splendidly stylish performance of “Two Lost Souls” which they also sang, from the 1955 “Damn Yankees.”

Among the especially appealing women, Anita Gillette, shapely in a clinging gown, offered a bonus number treat performing “Nightlife,” the song she did back in the 1962 show “All American,” providing plenty of pizzazz with her years of Broadway know-how experience since then. Natalie Douglas gave a sampling of her trademark jazz interpretations when she opened the show with her twist on “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” from the 1940 “Pal Joey.”

There was a striking range of expertise dispensed by the selection of female singers. Nancy Anderson did a beautiful rendition of “My Ship” from the 1941 “Lady in the Dark.” Marissa McGowan made “People Will Say We’re in Love” from the 1943 blockbuster “Oklahoma!” seem fresh. Alexandra Silber didn’t need a mike to radiate with “If I Loved You” from the 1945 “Carousel.” The program also included effective performances by Amber Iman singing “Come Rain or Come Shine” from the 1946 “St. Louis Woman,” Deborah Tranelli singing “Love, Look Away” from the 1958 “Flower Drum Song” and Lisa Howard doing “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” from the 1959 “The Sound of Music.”

The Broadway By the Year Chorus collaborated on “Sunrise, Sunset,” from the 1964 “Fiddler on the Roof,” with Scott Siegel taking time form his introductory chores to amusingly stomp on a glass to suggest a wedding ritual. Members of the show’s choral group include Sean Buhr, Paula Buresh, Kristin Dausch, Nikki Guevara, Mary Lane Haskell, Jeanette Minson, Joanne Shea and Dominique Solano.

Of course, all the singing and dancing could not have happened without the super musical accompaniment by the Ross Patterson Little Big Band, with Patterson conducting and at the piano, Tom Hubbard on bass and Eric Halvorson on drums. Scott Coulter’s direction of the show consistently maintained the excitement inherent in all of the terrific Broadway music and the dazzling array of performers. The final concerts in the series will be The Broadway Musicals of 1965-1989 on May 12 and The Broadway Musicals of 1990-2014 on June 23. The Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street. Phone: 800-982-2287. Reviewed April 1, 2014.

  

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