Broadway by the Year: The 1950s

Ron Forman | March 30, 2016

Broadway by the Year

The 1950s

The Town Hall, NYC, March 28, 2016

Reviewed by Ron Forman for Cabaret Scenes

Broadway-by-the-Year-Scenes-Magazine_212 My parents took me to see Damn Yankees for my bar mitzvah. That experience fostered a lifetime love of Broadway musical theater. As a teen I acquired most of the original cast recordings of the 1950s. So, the Broadway of that decade has a special place in my heart. In his latest Broadway by the Year, The 1950s, Scott Siegel captured the essence of the ’50s by featuring some of the best songs from My Fair Lady, Damn Yankees, West Side Story, The Music Man, The King and I, Gypsy and 10 other musicals from that period.

The 1950s was a decade of big voices on Broadway and Siegel gathered, perhaps, his best-ever collection of uniformly outstanding singers to perform the numbers. The ageless, always energetic Marilyn Maye opened the show with “All of You” and later stopped the show with “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.” Josh Grisetti (pictured) sang and did a soft shoe while Luke Hawkins tap danced to “Very Soft Shoes.” Grisetti would open the second act with a soaring “On the Street Where You Live.” The elegant Karen Akers performed three love songs, including an especially beautiful “Love, Look Away” accompanied by Sean Harkness on guitar. Douglas Ladiner’s booming baritone did justice to “They Call the Wind Maria” and “Stranger in Paradise.” Jim Brochu had the audience join in on “Trouble” and led a rousing “Heart” to close the first act. Jill Paice brought her beautiful soprano to “Till There Was You” and “Make the Man Love Me,” before having her voice blend delightfully with Ladiner’s masculine sound on “One Hand, One Heart.” Lisa Howard performed “Never Never Land” and later thrilled the audience with her stirring closing number, “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.” As per usual, as in all of his Broadway by the Year shows, Siegel’s comments were informative, interesting and often amusing.