William Michals: A Baritone on Broadway
William Michals
A Baritone on Broadway
Feinstein’s/54 Below, NYC, November 12, 2016
Reviewed by Ron Forman for Cabaret Scenes
William Michals
In what I consider the Golden Age of Broadway, musicals from the 1940s through the 1960s, musical leading men—Alfred Drake, John Raitt, Robert Goulet and their like—all had big, bold baritone voices. William Michals has a voice and sound that is reminiscent of those magnificent voices of yesteryear. He has starred in Broadway and regional productions of many of Broadway’s greatest musicals. His appearance at Feinstein’s/54 Below was his solo cabaret debut. He was particularly effective performing songs from shows that he has previously starred in: South Pacific, Man of La Mancha and Kiss Me, Kate.
After opening with “Some Enchanted Evening,” Michals did a truly spectacular “They Call the Wind Maria,” that ended with the audience cheering. He delightfully used a Robert Preston-ish voice for The Music Man‘s “The Sadder but Wiser Girl” and was able to get the audience to join in on “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’.” He was at his charming best with the two numbers from Kiss, Me Kate: a medley of “Were Thine That Special Face” and “Where Is the Life That Late I Led?.” After telling a story of growing up in a family of baritones, Michals dedicated his moving “Ol’ Man River” to his dad. I was fortunate to have seen Michals in a production of Man of La Mancha, a show that I have witnessed with five different leading men, and Michals was second only to originator Richard Kiley in the starring role. His background in the role of Cervantes produced a thrilling closing segment, beginning with dialogue from the show, then a medley of “Man of La Mancha” and “The Impossible Dream” (“The Quest”). The encore was what he referred to as the saddest of songs, “This Nearly Was Mine.”
Category: Cabaret Reviews, New York City, New York City Cabaret Reviews, Regional
