October 2011 – Theatre Aficionado at Large

Carole Demas: Summer Nights

Last week, I dropped in at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in the West Bank Cafe (for the first time!) to see Carole Demas, Broadway’s original Sandy in Grease, sing “Summer Nights,” a “varied collection of music she has come to love over the years.” Ms. Demas, a petite blonde with large, expressive brown eyes and a smile that could melt the North Pole, is not unknown to me, but I have never had the opportunity to appreciate how multifaceted and compelling she is as a performer.

The voice is in impeccable form, with a wistful head voice matched by an incredibly powerful belt. Ms. Demas looks and sounds so youthful that many in the audience gasped (yours truly included) when she made passing mention of being 70. Her Broadway material included “Love Don’t Turn Away” from 110 in the Shade, “Carefully Taught” from South Pacific (paired with Bacharach-David’s “What the World Needs Now”), Try to Remember from The Fantasticks, a show she did in NY for two years. She also sang “A Sleeping Bee” from House of Flowers, gave us a delightfully ribald “My Handyman” from Blackbirds of 1930. For an encore, she offered a plaintively introspective rendition of “A Quiet Thing” from Flora, the Red Menace. Her pop selections included Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Loudon Wainwright, James Taylor and George Harrison. (My personal favorite was Harrison’s “Something”).

The first half of the evening was a bit lowkey, with more introspective moments, but during the second half, Ms. Demas took off into stratosphere in energy, wit and voice. She revisited the “Hello Song” from The Magic Garden, a popular children’s television show she hosted on WPIX in NY from 1972-1984. Her co-star/co-host/lifelong friend Paula Janis joined her onstage to share stories and that quirky song, which involved the audience shaking hands with one another. This segued into the evening’s biggest crowdpleaser: a nod to Grease, as she sang “Summer Nights” backed up by Janis and Ilene Kristen (the original Patty Simcox and featured in the original Henry, Sweet, Henry). Matthew Hydzik, of the most recent revival of Grease, made a surprise guest appearance as Danny. (He was backed up by the musicians).

The evening’s highlight; however, was hearing Ms. Demas’ rendition of “Meadowlark,” that oft-sung ballad from The Baker’s Wife that famously closed on the road before Broadway. The thing is, Patti LuPone was not the first person to sing it. Carole was the original Genevieve, opening the show in Los Angeles but was arbitrarily fired by David Merrick when the show wasn’t working. Her rendition is unlike any other I’ve ever heard. Not only was it thrillingly sung, but it was so fully realized, giving us a window into how she played the role in 1976. Carole took us through “that damn bird song” (as Merrick called it), giving us the character’s central conflict, but also showing how much Genevieve yearns for the passion that has long eluded her. It was a bona fide showstopper, and if anything, Ms. Demas needs to get into a recording studio just so that this astonishing interpretation is preserved for future generations.

Most of the concert was focused on her incisive musical interpretation. Sprinkled throughout were stories and patter, but those were few and far between. Ms. Demas radiates warmth and good will, and I wanted to know more of her life and her career. These are her favorite songs and I was hoping she’d tell us why. It didn’t diminish the impact of her singing, but the next time she must tell us more. We could have listened to her – talk or sing – for days. I look forward to the next opportunity I have to sing. And I hope all of you one day get to hear her sing “Meadowlark.”

The evening was directed by Charles Repole; musical direction by pianist Ian Herman (who was not only the perfect accompanist, but also displayed grand virtuosity with his own composition, “Too Fast”) with Sean Harkness on guitar.

“Matilda” – Original Cast Recording

Every so often, I encounter a new score that captures my ear and imagination, and I find I myself listening to it ad infinitum. There’s something about the way the words and music hit me that I find that I compulsively want to hear the new work again and again. The last time this happened was six years ago on the release of The Light in the Piazza. There have been other scores in the years since that I have greatly admired, but none has bowled me over quite like the original cast album of Matilda. I’ve had this original cast recording for a month now, featuring the show’s original Stratford players, and have been listening to it so often that all of its 17 tracks have entered my top 25 playlist on iTunes. To be frank, I haven’t been this excited/thrilled/over-the-moon about a new musical in years, and if my ear is any indicator, Matilda is going to have a long and healthy life on stage.

Matilda had its world premiere at the Royal Shakespeare Company last December, directed by Matthew Warchus, (the man responsible for the smashing revival of The Norman Conquests). Dennis Kelly has written the book with Australian comedian, singer, songwriter Tim Minchin providing both music and lyrics. The choreography is by Peter Darling. The new musical opened to rave reviews at the Courtyard Theatre, where it played a sold out limited engagement, with the Daily Telegraph declaring it the best musical since Billy Elliot. I’ll take it a step further: Matilda contains the best original British score I’ve heard in ages. Now Matilda is poised to take the West End by storm, with performances starting at the Cambridge Theatre on October 25.

The focus here is on Minchin’s music and lyrics, but I must make mention that Kelly has written a superb libretto from Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel. Minchin is new to writing musicals, though he has a background in theatre, but he makes an auspicious debut with his first full musical score. What’s so wondrous about this adaptation is that Mr. Minchin not only serves the book, but captures Dahl’s tone, with its mix of dark humor and understated emotion. Unlike most shows with child protagonists (most of which admittedly tend to send me straight for the insulin), Matilda never becomes cloying or irritating.

Matilda Wormwood is extraordinary, though she doesn’t realize it. She’s 5 going on 50 and in that old soul you find a young girl with more brains, compassion and maturity than most of the adults around her. Her parents (hilariously sung by Paul Kaye and Josie Walker) are self-centered pigs who find her affinity for reading repulsive. She meets a kindred spirit, the lovely Miss Honey – the only adult to recognize Matilda’s prodigious aptitude. However, at the same time Matilda encounters her arch nemesis, the evil headmistress Miss Trunchbull, a formidable bully who terrorizes everyone in her path.

The score is tuneful and memorable with inspired lyrics: character-based, witty and often quite clever. The opening number, “Miracle,” perfectly establishes the tone and adds the brilliant touch of Mrs. Wormwood learning of her pregnancy in the ninth month. “The School Song” is ingeniously structured around the 26 letters of the alphabet. “Bruce” is a rally song for the students as the Trunchbull punishes the portly Bruce Bogtrotter by forcing him to eat an entire chocolate cake. (One of my favorite rhymes: “Bruce/You’ll never again be subject to abuse/for your immense caboose/She’ll call a truce, Bruce/With every swallow you are tightening the noose”).

The Stratford cast utilized three actresses as Matilda: Adrianna Bertola, Josie Griffiths, and Kerry Ingram, all superb. All three are present on the cast album (though if I hadn’t known, I would never have realized it). “Naughty” shows us that Matilda is not going to go down without a fight, brilliantly using literary allusions to make her point. Throughout the musical, Matilda visits with the librarian (Melanie La Barrie) and is able to improvise stories off the top of her head. Each story is a chapter in Miss Honey’s life, though she doesn’t realize it toward the end. Musically, it climaxes with the haunting “I’m Here”. Toward the end of the second act, Matilda sings the touching “Quiet,” a soliloquy cued by a harsh diatribe from Trunchbull, in which she describes her mental escape from the unpleasantness around her.

Matilda’s mother is now obsessed with dance competitions instead of bingo, performing “Loud,” an over the top samba in which Mrs. Wormwood instructs Miss Honey on why it’s better to choose looks over books. During the interval, Mr. Wormwood makes an appearance to apologize for Matilda’s promotion of literacy before launching into the delightful “(All I Know I Learned from) Telly,” with a hilarious diatribe against famed British authors. (“Ian McEwan? Ah, I feel like spewin'”). The antidote to the hilariously appalling parents is Miss Honey, who gets the score’s more plaintive ballads, warmly sung by Lauren Ward. Michael Rouse has double duty as the kind obstetrician in the opening number “Miracle,” and as Mrs. Wormwood’s dance coach/partner Rudolpho.

One of Matilda‘s greatest treasures is British actor Bertie Carvel (Leo Frank in the London Parade) as Agatha Trunchbull, an inspired performance combining pure evil with searing wit. Miss Trunchbull gets two major numbers: “The Hammer” and the stunning “The Smell of Rebellion” in the second act, with a raucous fantasia where she imagines a world without children. In a brilliant stroke, Trunchbull is not only the headmistress, but also the Phys Ed teacher. Though she has the two solos, her presence is felt throughout much of the album. Carvel’s creation is quite possibly the greatest thing to happen to musical theatre villains since Dorothy Loudon played Miss Hannigan in the original Annie. I only hope that when the show makes its inevitable trip to Broadway, he comes with it.

The original cast album is available for digital download on iTunes or as a hard copy from the RSC website. The album contains a 28 page booklet including the lyrics. Also, when you hear the album, don’t stop listening after the finale is finished. There’s a special surprise that must be heard to be believed as it one of the most hilarious things I have ever heard on a cast album.

Broadway Originals at Town Hall

On a spur-of-the-moment invite from SarahB, I found myself attending my first Broadway Originals concert today, which also marked my first time inside Town Hall. I’d heard of the concert, but had never gone. SarahB, on the other hand, has gone for several years and is always raving about it, so I figured, why not? It turns out to be a glorious afternoon celebrating those actors who introduced so many great songs to Broadway, as well as original cast members of various revivals.

Each act started with a visit from The Manhattan Rhythm Kings (Brian M. Nalepka, Tripp Hanson and Hal Shane) revisiting their songs from Crazy For You. Lorraine Serabian sang two numbers from Zorba, first Maria Karnilova’s “No Boom Boom” and closing the show with her own “Life Is.” Daisy Eagan joked about having one song, but adding “I’m working on that…” before she sang “The Girl I Mean to Be” from The Secret Garden. Bob Stillman reminded Sarah and I how much we loved him in Grey Gardens with his “Drift Away.” I’ve only been familiar with Sarah Uriarte Berry with her rangy coloratura turn as Franca in The Light in the Piazza, so I was amused to see her rock out to “Safe in the City” from Taboo.

Jeanine Tesori accompanied the original Radio (plus one understudy) for “Salty Tears” from Caroline, or Change. Before the trio sang, Ms. Tesori talked about her experience writing the show, and working with George Wolfe (the director). The afternoon’s performance was dedicated to the late Alice Playten, who was part of the show’s original cast. Andrea Frierson was on hand to sing her beautiful solo “The Human Heart” from Once on This Island.

Alexander Gemignani revisited “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables, while in a last minute addition, Jesus Garcia and Ben Davis revisited the duet “O Mimì, Tu Più Non Torni” that they sang in Baz Luhrmann’s La Boheme (How last minute? They only rehearsed twenty minutes before the audience was let in; they were unplugged and in glorious voice). Yvonne Constant, decked out as what can best be described as France’s answer to Carol Channing, revisited her number “One of Those Songs” from La Plume de Ma Tante, the obscure ’50s French import that took Broadway by storm for over two years. Ms. Constant first sang the French lyrics, then the more familiar English lyrics with which Jimmy Durante had a huge pop hit. Marianne Tatum, with whom Sarah and I had the loveliest conversation at the Flea Market, treated us to her glorious soprano with “Love Makes Such Fools of Us All” from Barnum and “L’Amour Toujours-L’Amour” from The Three Musketeers, offering us a hilarious story of Barnum star Glenn Close’s quest for motivation.

The longest set of the afternoon came from Marilyn Michaels, who starred in the first national tour of Funny Girl and also appeared on Broadway in the revue Catskills on Broadway. She started her set with Funny Girl’s “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” combining the act one finale with its act two finale reprise. Then we went off the rails a bit with a series of impressions set to “Manhattan.” It was a simultaneously bizarre, funny and fascinating. For her third act, she reprised a bit from Catskills in which she revisited her one person version of The Wizard of Oz, which brought down the house.

The biggest surprise of the afternoon was an appearance by two-time Tony winner Tammy Grimes. Ms. Grimes has been recuperating from surgery and needed the assistance of a walker. (She quipped, “The only new part I’ve been offered recently is a new knee.”) She sang three songs from The Unsinkable Molly Brown, including “My Own Brass Bed,” “I’ll Never Say Know” and “I Ain’t Down Yet.” Her performance was perfection and that one of a kind voice is remarkably unchanged. She dedicated “I’ll Never Say No” to her co-star Harve Presnell, who sang the song in the show, who died two years ago. She said she had always hoped to see him one more time, before offering a beautiful rendition of the song in his memory – and in his key, she boasted.

The concert was directed by Scott Coulter, with musical direction by John Fischer. Scott Siegel, who created the event, sat onstage at a podium and served as the afternoon’s host. I look forward to going back next year and the year after that. And I hope Tammy Grimes is on hand to sing High Spirits’ “Home Sweet Heaven.”

“Give Our Regards to Broadway” – Manhattan School of Music

This past Monday marked my first trip to Morningside Heights. Admittedly, I rarely leave the Midtown/Upper West Side area when in town, though I do occasionally shoot downtown for a Fringe or Off-Broadway show here and there. However, there was a special concert at the Manhattan School of Music that sounded like it was too good an opportunity to pass up. The school’s Chamber Sinfonia was presenting “Give Our Regards to Broadway,” an evening of Broadway music and overtures under the baton of Paul Gemignani, with special guest artists Kate Baldwin and Alexander Gemignani. The price of admission? $20. How could I resist?

So SarahB, Follies enthusiast Tyler Martins, and I ventured up to the school’s John C. Borden auditorium. General admission had us picking seats in the second row, three on the aisle. Much to my surprise, the program withheld the evening’s line-up; it seemed as though the artists wanted to surprise us and as both Sarah and Tyler can attest, I was pleasantly surprised all evening.

Mr. Gemignani got things started with the South Pacific overture, using the original orchestrations of Robert Russell Bennett. I knew instantly we were in for a whirlwind evening. The students are magnificent. I realize that might sound like an obvious statement as they are attending one of the most prestigious music conservatories in the country, but really, these kids are aces. Bennett’s orchestration for South Pacific is among the finest ever created for a musical, and the arrangement of the overture is absolutely staggering. I found myself as overwhelmed by it as I was at the 2005 Carnegie Hall concert and the opening night of the 2008 Broadway revival.

The only verbal remarks of the evening were made by Mr. Gemignani, as he stressed the importance of introducing students to the music of classic Broadway. For 90 minutes, we were treated to a total of 23 pieces. Six of these were overtures, including Oklahoma!, Fiorello! (I practically fell out of my chair when I heard the siren at the beginning), Funny Girl, Gypsy and the special overture created by Mr. Gemignani and Jonathan Tunick for the famed Sondheim 80th Birthday concert.

Kate Baldwin took us on a journey through leading lady land: ingenue, soubrette, star. Ms. Baldwin used her lush soprano on such classics as “What’s the Use of Wond’rin'” from Carousel, “When Did I Fall in Love?” from Fiorello and “Will He Like Me?” from She Loves Me (the latter two can be found on her essential album “She Loves Him“). She also sang “On the Steps of the Palace” from Into the Woods, which works better out of context than I would have thought. But the two most surprising moments came when she tore through “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” and “Could I Leave You?” offering the audience a glimpse into two potential star turns in Ms. Baldwin’s future.

Alexander Gemignani made his entrance with the famous a cappella opening of “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'” from Oklahoma, while having a field day with “Where Is the Life That Late I Led?” from Kiss Me, Kate, “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story and “Giants in the Sky” from Into the Woods. His showstopper, though, was a specialty written by Frank Loesser for the Betty Hutton film The Perils of Pauline, called “Rumble, Rumble, Rumble.” The song is about an apartment tenant who needs to move because the neighbor is playing piano night and day. (Tedd Firth was the virtuoso on the piano).

Together, the stars shared a medley from The Pajama Game (he sang “A New Town is a Blue Town, she sang “Hey There”), “Together Wherever We Go” from Gypsy and a spirited “There Once Was a Man,” also from The Pajama Game. One of the more obscure numbers of the evening was “I Want to Be with You,” introduced by Sammy Davis, Jr. and Paula Wayne in Strouse and Adams’ Golden Boy. For an encore, and to the sheer delight of Tyler, they sang “Too Many Mornings,” from Follies.

The musicianship was superb all around. It was a pleasure for me to hear many of these pieces performed with their original orchestration. In many cases, I have only heard experienced the arrangements through the original cast albums. For a mere $20, the Manhattan School of Music gave me the sort of evening I wish I could have every time I see a Broadway musical.