A look back:  October 1996 Farewell to Phantom! Closing Night in New York City by Cyndi Ridge         (Written for the December 1996 Davis Gaines Information Network newsletter, which has been replaced by this website. At the time it was believed this would be Davis' last run as the Phantom. Subsequently, Andrew Lloyd Webber brought it back to Los Angeles for a limited run at the Pantages Theatre in 1998 and asked Davis to reprise the role, which he did.) October 5, Davis' last day as the Phantom of the Opera, came fast and it was hard to believe that 5 1/2 years of masks and capes and haunting the Paris Opera House were coming to an end.  He had two shows that day and as my plane landed on the east coast at 4pm, I remember looking at my watch and thinking that the matinee would be over soon and then there'd be only one more chance to see him portray the tortured soul that was Erik- and I was very happy to be heading for my seat amongst the crowd who came to witness it. Davis hired me to be his assistant six months into his run Phantom run [in Los Angeles] and I realized that I had never known Davis when he wasn't the Phantom.  I reflected on the five years of Phantomhood during my flight to New York -- the fan mail praising his talents and sharing heartfelt stories of empathy, people thankful to Davis for introducing them to heater or reaching their souls, making them cry and introducing them to new friends -- the benefits he sang at where the Phantom name and his talent helped raise money for good causes or raised the spirits of those in need -- meeting Mayor Bradley and being honored with a proclamation from the city -- singing at Mayor Reardon's inauguration -- the sports events that flew him by helicopter to sing the National Anthem and regarded Davis as "their Phantom" -- the young children who would tell Davis in no uncertain terms that they understood what he did and were touched by it -- the many fans at the stage door who showed their endless support and enthusiasm -- the symphonies that invited him to sing and began his concert career -- growing from a Phantom, to being known for his talent in his own right, to being recognized on the street, to being one of the most requested concert performers on the pops concert circuit, to being the world's longest-running Phantom*.  What a journey.  How privileged I feel to have been there. Davis took the stage for that final performance and his command of that stage and character was solid and gripping.  We followed him one last time from his appearance in the mirror, through his seductive rendition of "The Music of the Night", to the powerfully provocative "Point of No Return", until he let Christine go for the last time, clutching the wedding veil and singing out into the auditorium, "It's over now, the music of the night."  We knew the impact of his portrayal of Erik was not something we'd see again for a very long time, if ever. I cried. A lot! And cheered even more. Then Davis took his final curtain call.  The thunderous standing ovation went on forever, and many in the audience had no idea it was his closing performance!  It was not announced before curtain or in the program. Perhaps he was motivated by the fact that it was his last show, or perhaps, as all the letters say, it was just  one of the 1,937 performances that Davis always strived to keep interesting and moving and filled with the same energy as his very first.  I don't know. But when I saw Davis take his bow, after a stirring speech by a cast member who let the unsuspecting audience members in on the secret, I saw a man who, to me, seemed to allow himself to enjoy the praise he'd earned.  He seemed to be totally enjoying the moment and perhaps also looking forward to the next exciting step.  I didn't ask Davis how he felt.  I thought that might be a private thing he needed to keep for himself. As he spoke to the audience, sharing his thoughts on the show, thanking the cast and the fans for his Phantom experience, he joked around and also touched on what a special 5 1/2 years it had been for him.  And then, saying, "There is something I've always wanted to do," with one sweeping motion he tore most of the latex scars off his face and the wigs off his head - revealing an unadorned Davis.  The audience went wild! Everyone knows there is a man behind that mask and make-up, but to have Davis peel those layers away in a second, and let everyone share with him, the actor and not just Erik the character, that glorious final bow, was a moment no one in the Majestic Theatre will soon forget! *Footnote:  After the run at the Pantages Theatre in 1998, Davis' number of performances as the Phantom went to well over 2,000.  While other touring actors have passed his number of performances in the role, Davis remains Broadway's longest-running Phantom as of February 2002.   KGO-AM Radio San Francisco Monday, April 22, 2002 Jerry Friedman Reporting The Plush Room Davis Gaines -- remember him as the Phantom of the Opera? -- opened a one-week engagement at the Plush Room, and what a beautiful voice to behold!  Together with a great trio of piano, bass and drums, he performs a dramatic evening of love songs -- some old standards, some unfamiliar ones, some special material -- and it's a pleasure to be in his company.  His stage presence and superbly trained voice add up to a relaxing, enjoyable performance.  Unfortunately, there is only one up-tempo novelty number, and not one song from 'Phantom'.  Do catch Davis Gaines in his first appearance at the Plush Room in the York Hotel... it's an exquisite evening of cabaret.     'Sweeney' a demonic delight Acclaimed concert version airs on TV Steven Winn, Chronicle Theater Critic   Wednesday, October 31, 2001 Cellos couldn't look more menacing than they do in the concert version of Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd," airing at 8 tonight on KQED-Channel 9. As both accompaniment and visual backdrop for the singers of this gleaming musical paean to bloodlust and revenge, the San Francisco Symphony musicians are planted in the thick of things from beginning to end. It doesn't get much creepier than this in Davies Hall. "Sweeney" was a stripped-down sensation when it was presented here in July. With a somber George Hearn in the title role of a "demon barber" bent on murder and the delectably noxious Patti LuPone as Mrs. Lovett, his London accomplice, who bakes the victims into meat pies, this production puts musical firepower front and center. The other principals and San Francisco Symphony Chorus soloists burn as brightly as Hearn and LuPone. Stage director Lonny Price's minimal (but emphatic) stagecraft, an edited score and some balance problems that suppress the orchestral sound in the live recording make this a somewhat less enveloping TV account of Sondheim and book writer Hugh Wheeler's masterpiece than the 1982 PBS original (starring a more gleefully vicious Hearn). But "Sweeney," sung and acted well, does its nasty, thrilling business in any form. And it's exquisitely performed here. First mounted on Broadway in 1979, and subsequently reconceived for both opera houses and chamber productions, the piece is simultaneously stealthy and remorseless. It lures you into the horror, then plunges deeper and deeper. Sondheim's fusion of music hall numbers, Italian operetta, the "Dies Irae" theme, plangent melodies and a piercing factory whistle builds a sturdy arch to the show's hellish conclusion. Hearn's measured, rueful approach to the role works beautifully under the filmed concert conditions. Gazing balefully into the middle distance or turning arctic to LuPone's cozy seductions (in "By the Sea"), he's a doomed man who knows it. The heavy choral tread of "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" confirms his fate. Even the cheerful cannibalism waltz ("A Little Priest") has an air of internal foreboding as he partners Mrs. Lovett. LuPone, who sounded a little wayward in the concert "Sweeney" recorded by the New York Philharmonic last season, is irresistible here. Her slack, ripe mouth wraps the notes with a slatternly sense of ease. If she misses one or two, what the hell -- that's Mrs. Lovett taking her shot. A miraculously good Davis Gaines plays Anthony Hope, the trusting young suitor to Sweeney's daughter, Johanna (the vibrant Lisa Vroman). Timothy Nolen looks predatory in his flowing gray hair and sounds chillingly rancid as Judge Turpin. Victoria Clark's Beggar Woman is a potent prophetess. Neil Patrick Harris, all grown up from his "Doogie Howser" days, is the heartbreaking waif, Tobias Rigg. He grows up very fast here. Swooping around and through the orchestra on long platforms, the costumed actors create a kind of bustling London of the mind. All roads lead to Sweeney's blackened heart. The TV editing is a little fussy and restless, but by the second act the quick cuts, eerie dissolves and lurid red lighting seem perfectly natural. It's all perfectly fitting, that is, for the story of a man who can't stop slitting throats. RATING: (Wild Applause) SWEENEY TODD: Concert musical at 8 tonight on Channel 9.   CDs: Fear No More by Ken Mandelbaum THE FROGS/ EVENING PRIMROSE (Nonesuch/Warner International Records) Rrelease date October 16 The several books devoted to the work of composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim devote little space to his 1974 collaboration with Burt Shevelove, The Frogs, and that's not surprising, as the piece is neither a conventional nor full-fledged musical. As is well known, this free adaptation of Aristophanes, with a cast of characters including Dionysos, Pluto, Shakespeare, and Shaw, was created to be performed by Yale Repertory Theatre in the university swimming pool, with such Yale School of Drama students as Meryl Streep, Christopher Durang, and Sigourney Weaver among the original company. The Frogs has had numerous stagings since, but no major professional New York mounting. The brief score features just two extractable songs: The opening "Invocation and Instructions to the Audience," familiar from Putting It Together and several recordings, and the beautiful solo for Shakespeare, "Fear No More" (Sondheim's setting of a speech from Cymbeline), also previously recorded. Otherwise, the score consists of choral interludes, less overtly melodic than most Sondheim, but often striking. The oddity and brevity of the score have also meant that The Frogs has never been given complete preservation on disc. But last year's Library of Congress birthday tribute to Sondheim included a concert performance of the piece, and that cast has now been enlisted for the first recording. Filling out the 47-minute CD are the four musical numbers from the 1966 Sondheim-James Goldman TV musical Evening Primrose. (The section of the Library of Congress salute featuring songs Sondheim admires, in part or in full, was broadcast on the radio, but will apparently not be released on disc as announced.) It's good to have the complete Frogs score recorded, with Jonathan Tunick's orchstrations, Paul Gemignani the musical director, and several overqualified stars. Having done the Sondheim-Shevelove Roman show .....Forum, Nathan Lane here does their Greek one. (Lane's Sondheim credits also include the workshops of Assassins and Wise Guys.) Lane is in fine comic fettle, bemoaning "Oh, frogs can be so annoying!" But his only singing is that opening number, while co-star Brian Stokes Mitchell gets to sing just a few introductory lines of it. Thereafter, they're heard in dialogue and narration interspersed with the chorus numbers. Davis Gaines (a cover in the original Assassins, and Anthony in the Sweeney Todd concert airing October 29 on PBS) delivers a hushed, intense "Fear No More." Evening Primrose is a haunting, Twilight Zone-ish piece, and Sondheim's songs, written during a period when his work was unheard on Broadway, are superb. Ella's "I Remember" and "Take Me to the World" have by now been much recorded; all four Primrose numbers were included on Mandy Patinkin's Dress Casual disc, where he was joined by Bernadette Peters. Having acquitted himself handsomely in those Sweeney concerts, and about to continue his Sondheim career in this fall's Assassins, Neil Patrick Harris is excellent here, about as fine as Anthony Perkins was in the TV production, and far more suitable than the frenetic Patinkin. While warm of tone and vocally admirable, Theresa McCarthy (Titanic, Floyd Collins) isn't as distinctive as Peters on the previous recording. (The finest renditions of the female solos remain those by Marti Rolph and Victoria Mallory on the 1973 Sondheim: A Musical Tribute.) This disc fills a gap and is, needless to say, an absolutely necessity for Sondheim completists. **************************************************************************     COUNTING ON SUPPORT Musical 'Monte Cristo' seeks local backers Steven Winn, Chronicle Theater Critic   Monday, January 28, 2002

Cast members (left to right) Randall Gremillion, Alysa Lobo, Davis Gaines, Lisa Vroman, Elizabeth Ann Campisi and Neil Hopkins A new musical version of "The Count of Monte Cristo" got its first standing ovation last week. The audience of 60 may have been modest and the venue, an Atherton living room, well off the beaten path to Broadway. But for the creators of this lush romantic show, which aims to emulate "Les Miserables" and "The Phantom of the Opera," the applause and, more important, what it might mean, were crucial. Being loved is all well and good. Getting people to invest, with a projected price tag of $10.9 million to land "Monte Cristo" on Broadway, is the object of the game. In a rare local twist on the commercial-theater ritual of backers' auditions, a team of Bay Area artists and producers took their act to Atherton on a homegrown hunch. Why not start to raise the money for the show right here, where it was conceived and created? Backers' auditions happen all the time in New York and Los Angeles, where a seasoned pool of show business investors wise to the daunting risks and long- shot rewards can be tapped. But such auditions are almost never attempted here for projects of this size and scope. Commercial producers like Theatre on the Square's Jonathan Reinis prefer to work with regular "accredited" investors when he's raising money for a project. "Big musicals are probably the most difficult of all theatrical enterprises, " said Reinis, citing the complexities of creating and retooling a show in development. "You have to have incredibly deep pockets." Return on a theater investment isn't always the sort that can be put in the bank. For many, the gilded aura of a big new musical may be an important part of the payoff. "Who doesn't want to hop on a plane and go to a London opening-night party?" producer Regina Guggenheim asked at the Atherton home of Jennifer and Rick Degolia. The plan is to mount a production in the West End late this year before moving on to New York. (The show has no connection to the current "Count of Monte Cristo" film.) Targeting an affluent Peninsula crowd makes a certain intuitive sense. Milling with friends and fellow entrepreneurs before the 45-minute musical precis of the show, Menlo Park venture capitalist Tom Bredt compared investing in a Broadway musical to backing a high-tech startup company. "It's all personal," he said. "You share the excitement of people who are passionate about an idea." The analogy went further, with Bredt dismissing the counsel of experts. "It's not what some analyst or guru thinks. The investing community wants to know what the customer thinks. That's what tonight is about." Bredt's wife, Polly, put it this way: "You look for something that makes you tingle." Wineglasses and champagne flutes in hand, the guests polished off a last goat cheese mini-souffle or caviar cube and took their seats. Peter Maradudin, an ebullient Bay Area lighting designer who hatched the idea for this show nine years ago, introduced the six singers positioned at music stands, labeled the new work-in-progress "the next great musical" and retreated to the foyer. Maradudin co-wrote the book and lyrics (his first) with old Stanford classmate and theatrical novice Lynn Stewart. The music is by Brad Carroll, a composer and writer-director-musical arranger for Walt Disney Entertainment. Ten songs from the score were cunningly arranged, with spoken narration in between, to suggest the range and emotional impact of Alexandre Dumas' 19th century saga of love, injustice and revenge. Davis Gaines and Lisa Vroman, co- stars of "The Phantom of the Opera" during its long run in San Francisco, locked gazes, fingers and finally lips in the opening lovers' duet for the hero, Edmond Dantes, and his beloved Mercedes. "We were meant for each other," they vowed in Carroll's caressing musical phrases. "I know that like I know my name." There were snarling solos, a comic catalog of French luxuries ("That looks like saffron in the sorbet"), more love duets and a dramatic monologue from Gaines ("Angel of Vengeance") that raised some yelps of delight from the suburban crowd. "It feels like a no-brainer," Carol Walker gushed after the performance. "It's poetry." Gaines had really gotten to her. "I feel so drawn to him," she said, "I'm not ever sure I can have a conversation with him." Lisa Gordon wasn't so taken with what she'd heard. "I got a little bored. I thought a lot of the music was similar." She'd want to know the casting before deciding to invest or suggest the idea to others. "Phantom" vet Vroman loves the fact that her character "isn't 20 years old the whole show," adores working with Gaines and has a special interest in the music -- the composer is a Los Angeles housemate. But with a busy concert schedule and other projects pending, she can't commit to a hypothetical London run of "Monte Cristo" 10 or 11 months from now. The atmosphere in Atherton, both before and after the music, was one of enthusiasm tempered by reality. "No one invests in theater thinking they're going to make a fortune," noted Terri Tiffany, who does public-relations work for her namesake jewelry company. "But this is very exciting." "You've got to see it in workshop," said John Traub, who works in the semiconductor industry and is also an American Musical Theatre of San Jose board member. That not-for-profit theater company invested $500,000 in a failed production of another Dumas-based musical, "The Three Musketeers," last year. The bluntest downside view came from a member of the "Monte Cristo" creative team. "It kills you to take their 2,000 or 5,000 pounds," said director Martin Platt of the small investors he's courted in London, "and then have a show close the first week." The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requires that all investors be apprised of such risks. There are also rules about the sums that can be raised for a new show at various steps along the way. The "Monte Cristo" team has spent $160,000 of "front money." Maradudin, a 42-year-old newcomer to the commercial realm, is now conversant with these and various other mazes a big musical must traverse. None of it appears to have dimmed the itinerant lighting designer's enthusiasm for an idea he first conceived in a "dinner party bull session" and then pursued, working alone in hotel rooms for years on the adaptation of an 1,100- page novel already unsuccessfully made into musicals by others. Maradudin's energy and unfailing smile may help light the inevitable dark patches that lie ahead. "Peter is the most optimistic person I know," says lyricist Stewart. He hoped to raise $1 million or more from last week's audition. A workshop at the San Jose Repertory Theatre in March is the next step. Watching the performers from the foyer in Atherton, Maradudin and producer Guggenheim stood side by side, like parents at a talented child's first performance. Each of them held a champagne flute but didn't drink. The celebrating would come later. E-mail Steven Winn at swinn@sfchronicle.com.   · Printer-friendly version · Email this article to a friend ARTS ROUNDUP Soon on display: World's largest vulva. SF International Art Expo did well. Aussie stars take Hollywood by storm. CNN struggles to regain stride.   More arts & entertainment. FINISHER for qual furniture Min. 7yrs exp. Fa SALES Leading national home decor company CBK Ltd Inc. ACCOUNTANT Int'l airlines cargo - detail orient FINANCE COLLECTIONS COORDINATOR SF law firm DENTAL Asst. FT/PT. 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Thursday, January 24, 2002

S.T.A.G.E. Show to Benefit AIDS Funds
By Los Angeles Times

Petula Clark, Tyne Daly, Betty Garrett, Sally Struthers and Davis Gaines are among the cast slated to perform in the 18th annual Southland Theatre Artists Goodwill Event, "Dream, the Lyrics and Music of Johnny Mercer," March 8-10 at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State L.A.
     
S.T.A.G.E. has raised nearly $4million for groups supporting people living with HIV and AIDS. This year, proceeds will benefit AIDS Project L.A., the Neil Bogart Memorial Fund and Laguna Shanti of Orange County. Tickets are $30-$200. (323) 656-9069.

Copyright 2002 Los Angeles Times

May 2, 2001:  
The LA Times recap of the Kings game from 4/30/01 included this paragraph on Davis' rendition of the National Anthem:

At Kings Games, the Commoners Play Hard Too
By REED JOHNSON, Times Staff Writer

What the Kings really have needed is a good-luck talisman. Currently auditioning for the role is Davis Gaines, best known for playing the title role more than 2,000 times in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera." At Kings games, Gaines has become the voice behind "The Star-Spangled Banner," his soaring tenor a rallying cry akin to Kate Smith's booming vibrato when she serenaded the "Broad Street Bullies" Philadelphia Flyers teams of the '70s to glory.
     
On Monday, Gaines sent the sellout crowd of 18,478 into near-pandemonium. They didn't quiet down until former King Rob Blake stunned his ex-teammates with a goal less than five minutes into the game.

"Sweeney Todd" at the Ravinia Festival

Chicago Sun-Times
August 27, 2001

There was the aura of a dark, cultic ritual at work in the spellbinding concert performance of "Sweeney Todd" presented Friday night at the Ravinia Festival.

Much of this had to do with the sheer galvanic force of the massive chorus, orchestra and star-studded roster of soloists assembled on the pavilion stage, and on the blistering power and caustic humor of Stephen Sondheim's seminal 1979 musical itself.

Dressed in black, and moving among the musicians on a precarious network of raised ramps, a vast contingent of performers brilliantly conjured the masses of Victorian London's mean streets--the innocent and the guilty, the conspirators and victims, madwomen and hucksters,--with all the vigor and pathos of a Charles Dickens novel.

But the excitement surrounding the production--staged with Brechtian force and directness by Lonny Price, and conducted with fury and precision by Andrew Litton--was palapable in the audience for this one-night-only event even before the first ghoulishly melodramatic organ chords and piercing, guillotine-like screech of metal signaled the start of the tale of the "demon barber of Fleet Street."

Speaking to a packed house at the Martin Theatre just prior to the show, Sondheim explained how crucial it was for young composers to hear their works performed by top professional orchestras and singers. Yet now, at the age of 71--with his reputation as the preeminent force in American musical theater for the past four decades undisputed--he clearly feels the same hunger. And his exhilaration at this rendering was palpable as he took a bow at evening's end. "Sweeney," the first of five Sondheim shows to be staged in this manner at Ravinia between now and Sondheim's 75th birthday, seems to hold pride of place in the composer's own heart.

The show itself, rooted in the Grand Guignol tradition of Victorian-era pulp fiction, is a chilling exploration of poisoned innocence transformed into a frenzy of murderous revenge, and of capitalist ambition and the brutal struggle to survive turned into deadly enterprise. It begins with the story of how perverse and powerful men destroyed the lives of a young barber and his beloved wife. But as the corpses of the vengeful barber drop from his chair to become the best and fastest-selling meat pies in London, the whole thing grows into a great howl against a system that literally and figuratively turns people into cannibals. And it was the ferocious tension between innocence and experience, good and evil, and idealized love and twisted passion that animated the Ravinia production.

Two decades after stepping into the role of Sweeney during the musical's original Broadway run, and subsequently earning an Emmy for his television portrayal, George Hearn turned in an incendiary performance in the title role. Though riveting throughout, it was the way he grabbed the bravura aria, "Epiphany," by its bloody neck--and tore at every raw shred of emotion and violent energy it contains--that will remain etched in memory.

Adding sizzle to the fire was the incomparable Patti LuPone as Mrs. Lovett, the opportunistic widow and baker who schemes to become Todd's contentedly middle-class wife--a plan almost as comical as it is demonic. LuPone, in fantastic vocal form, brought precisely the right manic energy to the role, dancing zanily on the insane logic of her character's plans, whether musing on the various flavors of her human pies ("A Little Priest") or fantasizing about her proper retirement ("By the Sea"). Opera veteran Sherrill Milnes also was in top form--both wonderfully unctuous and revoltingly kinky as Todd's nemesis, Judge Turpin, the righteous pervert who plans to marry his guileless, sheltered ward, Johanna (exquisite vocal pyrotechnics by Heidi Grant Murphy in "Green Finch and Linnet Bird"). In stark contrast, there was Davis Gaines as the aptly named young sailor, Anthony Hope, whose beautiful voice matched his character's purity of soul, and Neil Patrick Harris (TV's Doogie Howser), tremendously touching and engaging as the tragic street waif Tobias Ragg. Hollis Resnik, the sole Chicago talent in a major role, brought her usual dynamic presence, impeccable diction and perfect timing to the role of the Beggar Woman, Sweeney's mad wife.

Adding incalculaby to the roaring thunder on stage was the chorus of 40 actor-singers, members of this year's Steans Institute for Young Artists). The impact of their sheer numbers, as well as their fierce vocal and dramatic attack, was stunning. So was the vivid, voluptuous playing of the Ravinia Festival Orchestra, more than 50 strong.

The sell-out crowd suggests that the Ravinia audience is hungry for this kind of grand musical theater, and that the festival should consider scheduling a full weekend of such performances next summer.

Hedy Weiss, theater critic

Concert review, 'Sweeney Todd' at Ravinia
By Richard Christiansen

Aug 1, 2001 - Davis Gaines, Reno Jazz Orchestra's Sensational Artown Finale

By Jack Neal
Reno Gazette-Journal

Swinging his way through his third season as a Reno Artown Festival headliner, Broadway singing star Davis Gaines joined forces with one of the best jazz bands extant, the 21-piece Reno Jazz Orchestra, for a closing Reno Artown concert that was sensational. What a marvelous way to end this year's month-long festival.

Before a vast audience of thousands jammed into the Wingfield Park Amphitheater Tuesday night (7/31/2001), Gaines and the Reno Jazz Orchestra pulled out all stops for an evening of soaring song and hip and hipnotic orchestra playing that has to go down in the annals of such summertime outdoor events as memorable.

From the orchestra's powerhouse second-half opener, Gordon Goodwin's "Sing, Sang, Sung," to Gaines's quiet closing, "All My Tomorrows" accompanied solely by pianist Carol Anderson, the emotional highs of the concert's big moments and the poignant solitude of its intimate moments provided the kind of roller coaster ride of thrilling ups and downs that makes a concert connect in magical ways with an audience. If Tuesday's concert was the stuff that dreams are made of, and it was, it was also the kind of remarkable evening of music making that can only be brought to life by exceptional performers who mirror life's shared moments and reflect them back to enthralled listeners.

Gaines, who rose to stardom playing the title role in the San Fransisco production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera," sings with a liquid sound that allows him to wrap his voice around lyrics and phrases for personal insights with words and a rapturous spinning of melodic lines that is seductive, vintage artistry of the most riveting kind. Where can one find a more finely spun interpretation of "Night and Day" or a more affecting picture of loneliness than "Saturday Night is the Loneliest Night of the Week" than with Mr. Gaines?

And so it went through over a dozen popular standards, each one a mini drama of life, an art song of revelation. From the drive of "I've Got You Under My Skin," one of the program's four Frank Sinatra arrangements, to the sophistication of "Begin the Beguine" and the exhilaration of "Come Fly With Me," everything Gaines and the band sang and played took on a reinvented fresh new life of their own. Larry Blank is Gaines's conductor. Carol Anderson is the singer's pianist. And - at least Tuesday night - the Reno Jazz Orchestra was the Gaines band of choice. All furnished their own superb ingredients making Tuesday's concert a rare showcase for some of popular music's ultimate moments.

The Reno Jazz Orchestra, lead by superstar drummer Tony Savage, is one of the very best big bands in the business. Made up of musicians who once manned house bands in the heyday of Reno's big-name entertainment years (for such stars as Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Tony Bennett, Marlene Deitrich, Elvis Pressley, Sammy Davis. Jr.), the boys in this band are equal to any in the world. The orchestra generates an exceptionally big sound. At any given moment it can erupt with vulcanic explosions of rhythmic drive. And if those two things weren't enough, it plays with a technical command that's just sensational.

Add to the excitement of hearing Gaines and the Reno Jazz Orchestra together, the elegant new Siena Hotel Spa Casino's catering of the concert's gourmet food, plus a heavenly, flawless Reno evening under the stars, and who could ask for anything more?

It's estimated that over 150,000 people attended some aspect of Reno's sixth annual Artown Festival. Here's to the people who had the massive job of booking it, letting people know about it, keeping it glued together and making it run like clockwork. Congratulations to Karen Craig, Artown's Executive Director, Beth Macmillan, Artown's Festival Manager, Tim Jones, Artown's Associate Director and Katie Perkins, Artown's publicist, for making this year’s Reno Artown Festival another smashing success.

For information on future Artown festivals and events call 775-322-5443

Simply wonderful Sondheim's masterpiece 'Sweeney Todd' gets the performance it deserves in concert Robert Hurwitt, Chronicle Theater Critic   Saturday, July 21, 2001 Stephen Sondheim looked radiant when he joined the cast for the curtain call at "Sweeney Todd" on Thursday, almost overwhelmed by the wildly cheering standing ovation that erupted throughout Davies Symphony Hall. Or perhaps he was simply as overcome as the rest of us by the stunning concert performance of a masterpiece. It wasn't only the definitive vocal and character work of George Hearn as "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" and the formidable Patti LuPone as Mrs. Lovett, who turns his victims into meat pies. Nor was it the richly textured contributions of the supporting cast, led by former "Phantom of the Opera" co- stars Lisa Vroman and Davis Gaines. It was the sense of witnessing a now legendary musical theater landmark stripped of Harold Prince's still vividly memorable staging to reveal a work of, yes, staggering genius. If you can beg, borrow or steal a ticket for tonight's one remaining show, don't pass up the chance. Presented by the San Francisco Symphony's Summer in the City program, co- sponsored by the city Art Commission, the show reprises the New York Philharmonic's concert staging last year in celebration of Sondheim's 70th birthday -- also featuring LuPone and Hearn and directed by Lonny Price. With its full orchestra and Symphony Chorus, it isn't quite the eerily intimate grand guignol the composer-lyricist had in mind when he wrote the "musical thriller," but it comes closer than Prince's epic-scale production on Eugene Lee's transplanted iron foundry set. Price's minimalist staging is brilliant, making use of the orchestra as the London through which the characters wend their way. He creates striking effects with the movement of the chorus, Greg Brunton's stark lighting shifts and flashes of red against the rich blacks of Gail Brassard's Victorian costumes. The simplicity of presentation highlights the central elements: the brilliance of Sondheim's score with its "Dies Irae," Berlioz and Prokofiev refrains blended with horror-film and English parlor-song motifs; the muscular economy of Hugh Wheeler's book, based on Christopher Bond's adaptation of a penny dreadful story that had been kicking around London for 150 years; the lyrics that range from Sondheim's wittiest ("The Worst Pies in London," "A Little Priest") to some astonishing lapses (that "I feel you . . . I'll steal you" ballad is dying to be rewritten). The score isn't complete. Part of Sweeney's contest with the barber Pirelli (a stalwart Stanford Olsen) and much of Mrs. Lovett's suspenseful parlor song duet with the Beadle (a golden-voiced John Aler) have been cut. But that loss is richly repaid by the restoration of the evil Judge Turpin's leering, self- abasing "Johanna," sung with chilling intensity by Timothy Nolen. And every note is gorgeously shaped by the soloists, the chorus directed by Vance George and a superb orchestra conducted by Rob Fisher. Hearn is, if anything, an even stronger, more deeply vengeful and eerily obsessed Sweeney than in the touring version that played the Golden Gate 20 years ago, his voice every bit as commandingly rich. LuPone creates a Mrs. Lovett distinct from but worthy to stand beside Angela Lansbury's monumental original, blithely mendacious and desperately loving, her supple voice unearthing and exploring new riches in the score. Neil Patrick Harris is brilliant as the haunted, pitiful Tobias Ragg. Victoria Clark is a rivetingly mad Beggar Woman. A boyishly fervent Gaines and starry-eyed but determined Vroman breathe new life into the imperiled young lovers. Stripped to its core, this "Sweeney" is as sharp as a razor.

Saturday, July 21, 2001
San Jose Mercury News

Hearn's `Sweeney Todd' barber is breathtaking

At 71, Stephen Sondheim is getting the attention he is due, and the composer is giving back excitement to the classical music establishment.

He has an ambitious repertoire project at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and a highly regarded recording of the New York Philharmonic's ``Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.''

It was the San Francisco Symphony's turn Thursday night to handle the national treasure with a version of ``Sweeney Todd'' that took advantage of most of New York's previous production. George Hearn sings the murderous barber; Patti LuPone plays Mrs. Lovett, the maker of human meat pies; Lonny Price directs.

A sold-out house of 2,500 roared its approval when the evening was over -- a good thing, since the production was being recorded for television, video and DVD.

George Hearn's performance as the tragic barber is so right that it takes the breath away. His interpretation -- singing, muttering or screaming out defiance -- displays such exceptional vocal control that saying it compels is almost an understatement.

LuPone doesn't sing so much as bark and croon the comic part, but her Cockney accent is good and her timing is almost perfect. She's a cheesy, sleazy Mrs. Lovett, which works interpretatively. But amplifying her voice -- which is done for all the principals -- was a mistake at Thursday's volume levels. The ear can cringe when LuPone belts out duets with Hearn, and there's work to be done on the patter songs that, even for this crass character, need a little nuance.

Lisa Vroman, who sings Johanna, the barber's daughter, is a favorite in this city, but it's hard to hear the attraction. Her voice has a brilliant timbre, but there isn't much variety to her singing.

That's not the case with Davis Gaines, who plays Johanna's heartthrob, Anthony, with fine phrasing and ardent tone.

Timothy Nolen's singing made for a terrific Judge Turpin.

As the judge's beadle, John Aler appears too nice, but his lyric tenor is precisely what is needed for the high-flying part.

Stanford Olsen, who plays the competing barber, Pirelli, strained for his high notes.

Neil Patrick Harris, however, made an eloquent Tobias Ragg, the orphan who sniffs out the rotten ways of Mrs. Lovett and her barber.

Victoria Clark is a crazy beggar woman.

The necessary clutter that infects concert versions of musicals and operas has been inventively rearranged for this semi-staging at Davies Hall. Stage director Lonny Price's mobile solutions work quite well. The orchestra, about 30 players, is wedged into several places on stage, fitted like a jigsaw puzzle around the singers.

Rob Fisher ably conducts the strings from the center in front of a central walkway and ramp that winds around the stage and permits the soloists and chorus to make their points from several spots. It is worth remarking how well the San Francisco Chorus members march across these narrow ramps to act their parts.

Sondheim gets cranky when critics write that he composes American operas. His standard retort: If it's played in an opera house, it's opera; in the theater, a musical.

But ``Sweeney'' has all the elements of Bernstein's ``West Side Story,'' Menotti's ``Amahl and the Night Visitors'' or even Puccini's ``La Bohème.'' It has catchy tunes with melodic and harmonic sophistication, a superb paring down of story into dramatic ensembles, and smart lyrics. Of course, Sondheim wrote the lyrics for ``West Side Story'' as well as his own works.

``Sweeney Todd'' was acknowledged a masterpiece when it won the Tony Award in 1979. It's still proving that assessment was spot-on. 

Music Reviews
Theatre.com News
November 2, 2000

Sweeney Todd: Live at the New York Philharmonic (New York Philharmonic Special Editions NYP2001/2002; Limited Availability Now -- see below)

For those not fortunate enough to attend the three critically acclaimed, all-star concert performances of Sweeney Todd at the Philharmonic this past May, pause here, scroll down to the bottom of the screen, order this recording, then scroll back up and continue reading. Yes, it's that good. Those who saw the concert will undoubtedly want it too.

So many superlatives have been showered on this masterwork by the master musical dramatist (and the oft-neglected book writer Hugh Wheeler) over the past two decades that I'll confine my remarks to personal memories. When I first heard Sweeney years ago, I was immediately bowled over by the scope and scale of the score. There's the crashing, descending figure that heralds Sweeney's entrance in the opening number; the chilling "At last! My right arm is complete again!" at the end of "My Friends"; Anthony's soaring "Johanna" (one of the best arguments against those who think Sondheim incapable of writing a simple, memorable tune); the sinister counterpoint in "Pretty Women"; "Epiphany" -- my God, "Epiphany!"; and the comical lyrical gymnastics of "A Little Priest." And that's just Act One! Then there's the beautifully interlocking puzzles of "God, That's Good!" and "Johanna" (quartet); the creepy/sweet "Not While I'm Around"; and the horror of "I have no time!" and "Benjamin Barker!" in the last murders. And finally, the ending, in which each major musical motif in the show is reprised -- in reverse -- so that by the time Toby slits Sweeney's throat, we've come full circle to the beginning of another cycle of insane murders. Who else but Sondheim would take the time to figure out that puzzle in a musical melodrama?

Having been produced by several major opera companies, Sweeney was a natural for the Philharmonic, but as Sondheim (and orchestrator Jonathan Tunick) have always maintained that it's not an opera, it's essential that the ideal cast include mostly musical theatre performers. First there's George Hearn, singing the hell out of the title role he first performed twenty years ago and proving that, in Sweeney's words, "life has been kind" to his voice. He invested the part, one of the most vocally and physically challenging in the musical theatre canon, with majestic pathos and mania. One certainly doesn't pine for the originally scheduled by ailing Bryn Terfel at all, though it would be interesting to hear his interpretation someday. Then there's Patti LuPone, whose excellent comic timing, unusually good diction, and great belt voice almost made one forget that Mrs. Lovett was written for Angela Lansbury.

Although the concert's lack of real costuming gave away the Beggar Woman's secret, Audra McDonald proved herself a fine actress in addition to her marvelous voice. Davis Gaines was a silver-voiced, guileless Anthony, and Neil Patrick Harris (forget Doogie Howser) was a perfect Tobias. As for the opera folk, Heidi Grant Murphy (Johanna) mercifully delivered "Green Finch and Linnet Bird" not as a shrieking aria, but as a sweet ditty. Paul Plishka and John Aler were a fine pair as Judge Turpin and his Beadle, and Stanford Olsen's Pirelli was suitably over-the-top. The New York Choral Artists provided the ideal chorus, with excellent character and diction.

Conductor Andrew Litton gave a nuanced, if somewhat restrained, reading of the score. The orchestra was enthusiastic and made up for in precision, tonal color, and dynamic contrast what they sometimes lacked in affinity for the Broadway sound. Tunick's peerless orchestrations, although not altered (though with customary Broadway pit reed doublings distributed among many more non-doubling players), translated very well. The standard joke is that orchestration is an eight-week job that has to be done in four weeks. The sheer length of Sweeney would normally require months, but Tunick did it in...that's right: four weeks. Think about that when you listen to this recording.

RCA’s 1979 double disc original Broadway cast album, featuring Lansbury and the wonderful Len Cariou, is a recording no theatre fan should be without. The 1982 video of the national tour, with Lansbury and Hearn, is also a must, though frequently out-of-print. The 1995 double-CD of the Catalan production in Barcelona is fun but probably not essential. The Philharmonic's concert was the third anniversary Sweeney concert in the past two years. Kelsey Grammer and Christine Baranski starred in Los Angeles, and Cariou and Judy Kaye performed in London. Gaines performed the role of Anthony in all three, and Harris was Tobias in L.A. as well. By all accounts, New York's was the superior concert. Thanks to minor cuts, this new double-CD, 125-minute recording makes for a most comprehendible listening experience. The Philharmonic's recording of Follies in 1985, which includes amazing performances, is considered by some to be too removed from the drama of the original show. That isn't remotely the case here. The cast may not have been performing (or even rehearsing) the show for long, but they were fully invested in the whole show, not just their star turns.

Lonny Price did a fine job staging the concert inventively in extremely limited rehearsal time, but the real heroes on the recording are producers Tommy Krasker, Lawrence Rock, and Barbara Haws, and mixer Joel Moss. They were able to construct seamless performances from the three concerts, with superb balance and no noise. The very few flaws were due to microphone placement and actor movement -- completely unavoidable in a live recording. The Philharmonic's own Special Editions label has outdone itself on packaging, including a 130-page booklet with essays from Sondheim and most of the participants, bios, a complete libretto (of the concert version), and extensive color photos.

At a press conference on October 18, New York Philharmonic Executive Director Zarin Mehta pledged that if the initial run of 10,000 copies look like they’re going to sell out, the Philharmonic will do a second pressing. This would be highly unusual, since most theatre albums sell 2,000 to 10,000 copies at most, and that only with wide release. It would indeed be a mark of the classical audience’s acceptance of Sondheim as a “serious” composer.

One small clarification: although I have had the good fortune to work with Sondheim on several projects, I had nothing to do with this concert or recording. And no, I don't get more work for writing positive reviews. In fact, Sondheim expects honest evaluation.

But you don't need to take my word for it about this album--just listen to the live audience response. But keep in mind that Krasker had to fade out in order to fit the score onto two discs. The night I was there, "Epiphany" stopped the show for five minutes. And the ovation at the end -- the applauding, stomping, and shouted bravos decidedly uncharacteristic for the average Philharmonic audience -- went on for twenty minutes -- not bad for a show written to scare people.

The recording is available directly from the Philharmonic for $45.00 by calling (800) 557-8268 or click here, then click on "E-Store" on the left side. It is also currently sold only at the Tower Records near Lincoln Center for $33.99 on sale. Call (212) 799-2500 and press 6 for cast recordings. 

Reno Gazette Journal
July 22, 2000

GAINES STARS WITH THE RENO PHIL AT LEGACY'S 5TH BIRTHDAY BASH

By Jack Neal

Thousands filled Reno's North Virginia Street Friday night (7/21/2000) for the Silver Legacy's fifth anniversary bash. Conducted by Barry Jekowsky the Reno Philharmonic was the event's centerpiece. The evening's star was "Phantom of the Opera" star Davis Gaines.  Gaines, who has appeared in the title role of Andrew Lloyd Webber's long-running musical over 2000 times, leaves no doubt whenever he performs as to why someone might select him to sing and act in a major show. That was as true last night - he was sensational...

From a strictly musical perspective, Gaines stunning arrangements, Jekowsky's stick-like-glue ability to accompany and the orchestra's willingness to follow made Gaines's after-intermission set the evening's only trully artistically viable portion of the program.  The snap-to change in the orchestra when Gaines's special materials were played indicated some care was taken (perhaps by demand) so the star could do what stars do and that's make sure their portion of the show leaves an audience begging for more. And that's what happened, earning two standing ovations.

Singing smoothly, snappily, rhythmically and ever so dramatically Mr. Gaines's pliable, chameleon kind of voice changes colors with lyrics, the usually taken directions with musical lines and does fascinating things with phrases making each song he sings not just perfect renditions of great tunes, but mesmerizing mini dramas and most certainly his own.

Opening with a fanfarish "After Today" from "Dr. Doolittle," then visiting soaring and mildly earthy versions of "I've Got You Under My Skin" and "Here I Go Again," then haunting renditions of "If Ever I Would Leave You" and "All the Way," the Gaines ability to entrance with the raw and polished talent that sells songs just grabs an audience and holds it in the suspension of an enchanted moment that's stage magic only a few performers possess. If that weren't enough, a magnetic "Music of the Night" and a thrilling "Ol' Man River" cap the Gaines segment. Both are terrific.

The purely orchestral portions of the program suffered by comparison. Jekowsky's pops programming isn't very inventive and what is played is too under-prepared to give outdoor revelers much of a hint as to what a fine orchestra sounds like. Jekowsky is infinitely musical, but his pops programs are more fizzle than sizzle.  The perfunctory play through of such offerings as "Jelico Ball" ("Cats"), "Memory" ("Cats"), Gigi Symphonic Suite, South Pacific Overture, Beauty and the Beast Suite, to name but a few in a program containing several works too many, is barely okay. Closing the concert with Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture is a good idea that works best, if the overture sounds as though it's been rehearsed.

It's safe to presume my reaction to the orchestra's playing is a minority report. The thousands of people within earshot of the concert seemed to love every second of everything that came its way. One thing for sure for all, Davis Gaines is one helluva fine singing actor.

With some alterations last night's Silver Legacy concert will be repeated tonight (7/22/2000) at the Tahoe Donner Golf Course at 8 p.m. For information regarding Reno Philharmonic events call 775-323-6393.

Music Review
Fort Worth Star Telegram
April 14, 2000

GAINES ELECTRIFIES BASS HALL

By Perry Stewart

You don't need Three Tenors when you have one Davis Gaines.
Broadway's most frequent Phantom of the Opera has a range embracing pop,
country, folk and very probably genres not yet named. And, of course, he is a
rhapsodic interpreter of musical theater from Jerome Kern and Cole Porter to
Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Gaines flashed these abundant credentials with a flourish last night in the
first of four Bass Performance Hall concerts with the Fort Worth Symphony Pops
Orchestra. He captured the crowd early on with 'Listen to My Heart,' which is at
once poignant and electrifying and a fine canvas for the singer's soft vibrato.

His stroll down Broadway yielded 'If Ever I Would Leave You,' which has vocal
and dramatic build that Robert Goulet could only dream about. With 'It Only
Takes a Moment,' Gaines performs an actual scene from 'Hello, Dolly,' turning
into Cornelius, the shy store clerk.

To be truthful, Gaines always acts when he sings. His 'Where Is the Life That
Late I Led?' from 'Kiss Me, Kate' is a robust, swaggering and regally witty
example.

His trademark 'Music of the Night,' from 'The Phantom of the Opera,' was
predictably stunning. Broadway veteran Don Pippin, who conducted Gaines' segment
of the concert, guided the symphony through a brand new arrangement of the
number. The orchestra bent to the task with some immaculate string and woodwind
playing.

Gaines concluded his 70- minute portion with 'This Is the Moment' from 'Jeckyl
and Hyde,' then offered an encore of 'Old Man River,' which demonstrated a
remarkable vocal range and brought a chorus of bravos.

The symphony and musical director John Giordano opened the program with the
final movement of Dvorak's 'New World Symphony,' producing a fulsome, balanced