Broadway by the Year: The 1970s

Ron Forman | June 28, 2016

Broadway by the Year

The 1970s

The Town Hall, NYC, June 20, 2016

Reviewed by Ron Forman for Cabaret Scenes

Broadway-by-the-Year-Cabaret-Scenes-Magazine_212 The 1970s was a decade of great change on Broadway. There were no hit musicals by Richard Rodgers, Irving Berlin, Alan Jay Lerner or Frank Loesser. In their place were Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Marvin Hamlisch, to name a few. Not only did the names of the composers and lyricists change, but the type of music heard changed dramatically, as rock musicals began to be produced more frequently. The 23 songs performed in this edition of Broadway by the Year came from a most diverse group of shows including Beatlemania, Grease, Mack & Mabel, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and A Chorus Line.

Kerry Butler opened the show with a bright “Here Comes the Sun” (Beatlemania). Maxine Linehan brought the audience to its feet with her soulful “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” (Jesus Christ Superstar) and her very moving “Don’t Cry for Me, .Argentina” (Evita) that closed Act I.

Rachel Bay Jones performed three numbers, including an especially beautiful “Send in the Clowns” (A Little Night Music) accompanied only by Sean Harkness on guitar. Farah Alvin amazed by holding the final note of “Gethesmane,” a song performed by a male in Superstar, seemingly forever. She returned to do an unplugged “Tomorrow” (Annie). Robert Creighton and Jeremy Benton sang and tap danced brilliantly in “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile” (Annie). Creighton returned for a hilarious “Mr. Cellophane” (Chicago). Carlton Terrence Taylor brought the right pizzazz to “Your Feet’s Too Big” (Ain’t Misbehavin’) and “Stormy Monday Blues” (Bubbling Brown Sugar). Morgan Weede did justice to my personal favorite Jerry Herman song, the oh-so-poignant “Time Heals Everything” (Mack & Mabel). Noah Racey sang and danced delightfully with “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love” (Ain’t Misbehavin’). Maxine Linehan closed the show by beginning “What I Did for Love” (A Chorus Line) as a solo and then was joined by the entire cast for the finish. As they are in all of Scott Siegel’s productions, his introductory remarks to each song were incisive, interesting and often quite amusing.