Broadway Sings Their Own
Broadway Sings Their Own
Feinstein’s/54 Below, NYC, August 29, 2016
Reviewed By Victoria Ordin for Cabaret Scenes
Julia Mattison
In Broadway Sings Their Own, a spinoff of Corey Mach’s series Broadway Sings, eight current and past Broadway actors (along with one making her Broadway debut soon), treated a packed house at Feinstein’s/54 Below to original songs in a variety of genres. The quality of songwriting varied, but the performances did not, nor did the always stellar playing and arrangements of Musical Director Joshua Stephen Kartes, and the singular band made of up Jacob Yates on cello, Colin Dean on bass, David Cinnquegrana on guitar, and Dominic Lynch on bass.
It was a particular pleasure to hear multi-talented musical theater stars like Spring Awakening‘s Katie Boeck—whose range and vocal power (improbably) evoke Mariah Carey—and Christy Altomare (soon to play the title character Anastasia) accompany themselves on guitar. Post-college and pre-Broadway, Boeck was a pop singer who enjoyed success in a girl band that traveled widely (India, among other far-flung places). Beginning with Boeck, a confident performer with musical experience beyond Broadway, was smart, and she wisely opened with her stronger of two songs, “All I Need.”
Not all Broadway actors shine in cabaret, uncomfortable or just dull when not speaking words written by someone else. But these performers held the audience’s attention with their patter, speaking with honesty and, often, wit and vulnerability, about what these songs mean to them. The strongest raconteur was Julia Mattison (pictured) (Godspell), whose career straddles musical theater and comedy. In “The History of America,” she took devastating and hilarious aim at Americans’ historical ignorance, the dangers of which are daily apparent this electoral season. Equally dazzling was “Like Every New Yorker Does,” about a caustic Broadway has-been, for which the conventional blonde beauty donned a turban she might have been lifted from Shirley MacLaine’s dressing room on the set of Postcards from the Edge. If Samantha Bee wrote and sang songs, they’d sound like this.
The beautiful simplicity of “The Flood” and “My Time with You” by Alex Wyse (Finding Neverland) reminded one of Stephen Schwartz, though the opening of “The Flood” sounded more like “Falling Slowly.” Coming to New York with songwriting aspirations but soon finding himself on Broadway, the charismatic, funny actor put writing on the back burner. If these songs are any indication, he has real writing chops. Jonathan Ritter’s (Finding Neverland) luminous voice and strong stage presence never disappoint, but “Don’t Let Me Go” and “Lovers” each had a generic sound.
“Bones” and “Yolk,” a pair of songs by charming and talented real-life couple Allison Luff (Les Misérables) and Jonathan Magnusson (Breaking Through at Pasadena Playhouse) were crowd-pleasers, though the second was by far the better and more original. Their courtship story is priceless as well as timely: the two fell in love while writing a song together via text message, reinforcing that many relationships today begin, or at least take flight, electronically. In “The Facebook Song” (not the first on the topic I’ve heard in cabaret this year), Kristy Altomare—visibly giddy about performing an original song with a band for the first time—cleverly explored another inescapable aspect of the electronic age: social media.
The show concluded with Laura Michelle Kelly (Finding Neverland) whose vocal ability and charisma stood out even in a lineup like this. Kelly’s grief for her recently deceased mother was raw and heartbreaking in “Butterflies.” Also moving and well-written were “This Is a War” and “There Was a Time.”
One came away from the evening impressed with the imagination, generosity of spirit, artistic courage, and genuine musicality of each actor performing their original material. One could not but think how different the contemporary rock and pop scene would be if more musicians had actual voice training (or even enunciated song lyrics). Given the unlikelihood of this, I hope that Broadway Sings Their Own becomes a regular part of Corey Mach’s series.
Category: Cabaret Reviews, New York City, New York City Cabaret Reviews, Regional
