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Sassy 'Yankee' Comes Out Swingin' Usually, a 42nd Street Moon production begins with a pianist strolling out and sitting down at a baby grand resting, as inconspicuously as a piano can, at the back of the stage. With Rodgers and Hart's "A Connecticut Yankee," however, the curtains open on a 26-piece orchestra directed by Aaron Gandy -- the first indication of a knock-your-socks-off evening. And sometimes, first impressions are accurate. The production is thoroughly wonderful, a delightfully well-wrought musical that transports a World War II-era hipster Navy man to the court of King Arthur, and sends the audience into a sort of time warp that makes you feel you've leaped backward to 1943. The time travel is enhanced by the theater, the venerable Herbst, which is part of the building where the United Nations Charter was signed; it includes an imposing stage curtain that makes the business end of the joint look like a red-wrapped candy box. The orchestra re-creates the sassy sound of the era, and the cast, led by Davis Gaines, who has a killer voice and the boyish innocence of a 1940s MGM leading man, all enhance the '40s feel. And that's good, because the musical version of the Mark Twain tale has much more form than substance, like most of the musicals of the time (this was just before Rodgers teamed with Hammerstein to write "Oklahoma!" and change the American musical comedy forever). But fluff, especially wrapped in the muscular music of Rodgers and Hart, was what audiences of the time wanted, and as you relax into this concert version of the show, you can understand why. Basically it's just a whole lot of fun, right from the start, when Lt. Martin Barrett (Gaines) finds himself engaged to a woman he doesn't love, Fay Morgan (Lesley Hamilton), and faced with never seeing his true love, Alice Carter (Stephanie Rhoads), again. As he is about to make the fatal mistake, he gets whacked on the head and is transported in his unconsciousness to the year 543 and the Camelot court of King Arthur (a slyly funny Bill Fahrner). He brings the court a new, hip sensibility, loading the early A.D. lords and ladies with the latest in everything but zoot suits. Before any time at all, the court is speaking jive talk, dancing swing and working on projects that include the telephone, the radio and any number of other mid-20th century wonders. Those who populate Camelot are just like the friends he left behind, including the evil queen Morgan Le Fay (Hamilton) and the ever lovely Alisandre de La Carteloise (Rhoads). Naturally, Le Fay is in love with him, and he is in love with Alisandre, who is a member of the king's court. That's about it for plot, and, of course, it ends happily. But on the road to seeing that the right match is made, you get some excellent Rodgers and Hart songs and some innovative action by director Greg MacKellan and choreographer Jayne Zaban. What sparkles most in the show is the music. There are some standards, "Thou Swell," performed stunningly by Rhoads and Gaines, and "My Heart Stood Still," another triumph by those two, plus the hilariously show-stopping "To Keep My Love Alive," played beautifully for all it's worth by Hamilton. All three of the leads bring an outstanding humor and vigor to the musical, and the supporting cast is excellent in making the production one of the true highlights of the year. The show only runs through Sunday (with performances at 8 tonight through Saturday and 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday), but even at this short notice, it is well worth making an effort to see. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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OASIS PUBLICATIONS
Los Angeles & Valley Scene
by Marilyn Long
July 30, 2002
On Sunday, July 28th, the John Anson Ford Theatre, nestled in the parklike surroundings of Hollywood Hills reverberated to the delightful, powerful voice of Davis Gaines singing a well chosen selection of 25 songs. Works of illustrious songwrites and lyricists included Cole Porter, Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen and Jule Styne. The music was artistically arranged by many multi-talented well known members of the band.
Davis Gaines personal appearances include symphony pops, concerts, cabaret, corporate and private shows, benefits, television/radio, special events, the National Anthem and of course, recordings. All too many to list individually by this extremely busy, always in demand entertainer. The Ford patrons were treated to a variety of songs without having Gaines be type-cast to a specific show and has gone on to even bigger and better outstanding performances. This evening, Davis was given rousing applause and a standing ovation from a sold out house. He captivated the audience with his strong delivery, ease of presentation, simplicity of style and sparkling youthful personality.
Carol Anderson, conductor and pianist, accompanied by the professionalism of a 17-piece band, made for a fantastic night of heavenly music.
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Swinging Down the Aisle
Gaines
has matured beautifully as a solo performer as he shared his
passion, knowledge, and vocal gift with the enthusiastic audience.
By
DORRAINE GILBERT
SPECIAL TO THE GREEN ROOM
Sunday,
July 28, 2002
Los
Angeles- Davis Gaines, star of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway,
Los Angeles, and San Francisco, made his long-awaited debut performance at the
John Anson Ford Theatre creating a memorable evening of the Big Band
genre. The overall show was excellent despite a few minor flaws, which did
not detract from this great event.
The
opening song was “Don’t Be That Way” arranged by Roger Neumann as an
instrumental. The talented
musicians of this big band performed their solos beautifully. Davis Gaines came
out looking great in a black shirt with white stars, black pants and black and
white saddle shoes. He sang “From
this Moment On”, the show stopper song from Cole Porter’s Kiss
Me Kate. This uplifting song started the concert off on a very
positive note proving that this rendition was an excellent crowd pleaser.
The arrangement began slowly and smooth, then ended very dramatically
bring new lift to the old standard.
The
Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen arrangement of “Come Fly with Me” would have
been an excellent choice if Mr. Gaines had not missed some of the words in the
middle of the piece. He quickly recovered, the audience laughed, so it threw him
off on the beat. He asked, “Who
needs the words?” at the end. (I did.)
Other Cahn and Van Heusen ballads performed included “Call Me
Irresponsible” (from the motion picture Papa’s
Delicate Condition) and “I’ll Only Miss Her When I Think of Her” from
the Broadway show Skyscraper. Gaines did not remember all the lines to this song as well
blaming it on the brief afternoon rehearsal session.
Next
came Cole Porter’s “Night and Day” from the Broadway show Gay
Divorcee that was made into the movie starring Fred Astaire and Ginger
Rogers. Roger Neumann arranged this modern rendition. Unfortunately the jazzy
arrangement detracted from the drama of the song.
Gaines later started off “Begin the Beguine” by telling a short story
about Cole Porter, Moss Hart and Monty Wooly going on a five month cruise to
write the show. The cruise lasted longer than the show with the song growing in
popularity. The lights were dimmed
to just a light blue background as Gaines started off singing very slowly. Unfortunately, the band drowned him out a little before the
wonderful build up to its exciting climax - any singer would envy the high notes
Davis Gaines reached. The Orlando,
Florida native followed by singing “Saturday Night” (Is the Loneliest Night
of the Week). The piece began with
the tenor saxophone played by John Yoakum with a new arrangement by Carol
Anderson.
Highlights
of the evening include “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” in the style of
Tony Bennett, “Serenade in Blue”, and Peter Matz’s medley arrangement
“I’ve Got You Under My Skin/Taking a Chance on Love” were all musically
and vocally flawless thanks to Mr. Gaines and his 18-piece band.
Prior
to the last number Davis Gaines introduced Lorna Luft, Judy Garland’s
daughter, Mrs. Nancy Sinatra, Deanna Martin, Dean’s daughter, and his parents,
Stella and Penn Gaines. He brought them on stage and they danced while he sang to
them “Kiss Me Once, and Kiss Me Twice, and Kiss Me Once Again”.
Despite
a few flubbed lines, a missed cue, Davis Gaines had taken the audience on a
memorable journey back to the era of Big Band.
Little does people realize the difficulty in performing these musical
numbers providing the right timing for each phrase and a certain amount of
emphasis on words to bring out the humor or drama in each ballad. Gaines has
matured beautifully as a solo performer as he shared his passion, knowledge, and
vocal gift with the enthusiastic audience.
The next time Mr. Gaines does revive this particular show, make an effort
in reliving the nostalgic years.
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BEVERLY HILLS OUTLOOK
Cabaret
DAVIS GAINES SHOW
BY
ROBIN ROSENZWEIG
Your little Robin had a gay time at the Davis Gaines show held at the John Anson Ford Theater on July 28th. The erstwhile phantom was all flesh and blood as he swished across the stage singing songs from Broadway and, yes, the program included those Weber tunes as well. Handsome and dashing as ever (will he ever age?), with his Matinee Idol good looks and virile voice, a visit with Mr. Gaines always leaves this little bird singing his praises!
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RECORD
REVIEW
JERRY HERMAN'S 'MISS SPECTACULAR' CONCEPT ALBUM
DRG Records #12995
by
Steven Suskin ON THE RECORD
Jerry Herman was one of
Broadway's most active composers of the 1960's,
with four musical comedies over the decade. He was Broadway's most
successful songwriter of the decade, by far. Hello, Dolly! (1964) was
Broadway's longest-running musical ever, for a while, and Mame (1966) hit
the number seven mark before being bypassed. Herman's other early
Broadway efforts, Milk and Honey (1961) and Dear World (1969), were
unsuccessful.
With such a fast and successful start, it seems odd that Herman wrote
only three additional musicals. Mack and Mabel (1974) was a major
disappointment; The Grand Tour (1979) was a somewhat more understandable
failure; and La Cage aux Folles (1983) was Herman's third major hit, the
fourth-longest running musical of the eighties.
But musical tastes had been changing since the days ofDolly! Herman was
always a songwriter in the Irving Berlin tradition, and proudly so. He
seems to have been glad to quit while he was ahead -- withLa Cage -- and
content to spend his time on other endeavors. He picked up his composing
pencil again for "Mrs. Santa Claus," a 1996 television musical, which
demonstrated that he could still write cheerfully bouncy show tunes.
Family-oriented stage shows started to invade the Las Vegas scene at this
time, and casino mogul Steve Wynn commissioned Herman in 1999 to write a
musical for a proposed new theatre in the Mirage Hotel. Miss Spectacular
it was to be called, less a musical comedy than an extended commercial
for Las Vegas. Frank Galati was mentioned as director, and then Tommy
Tune took over. But Wynn sold the Mirage, and that was the end of Miss
Spectacular.
Herman was left with a star-packed demo of nine songs from the score,
plus reprises and instrumentals. Why not release it commercially? Just
for the fun of it? Herman decided to do just that, with the CD coming out
to coincide with his 69th birthday (on July 10).
Miss Spectacular sounds like -- well, it sounds like a Jerry Herman
musical. Toe-tapping rhythms and vibrant melodies, suitable for a musical
world where sophistication is something to be avoided wherever possible.
Herman once wrote a lyric that went "There is no tune as exciting as a
show tune in two-four" -- you can sing that sentence to the opening
phrase of "It's Today," fromMame -- and that is, in a nutshell,
Jerry's
credo. While some listeners want more from their musical theatre, there's
something to be said for songs you can enjoy.
Some ofMiss Spectacular might seem a bit old-fashioned and vaguely
reminiscent. This is, in some ways, related to the nature of the project,
which was -- again -- aimed at the family market in Las Vegas. The
synopsis tells us that the show is more or less a succession of
production numbers -- cued, it seems, by the clanging bells of slot
machine jackpots. This doesn't allow Herman the type of musical variety
he would display in a theatre score; it is, by design, a succession of
stand-alone solos and choral numbers. Miss Spectacular is not a musical
comedy score, nor was it intended to be. Taken as a sampler of show tunes
in the Jerry Herman style, it is quite pleasing.
The score is enhanced by Herman's music men. Musical director Don Pippin
has worked on all of Herman's musicals since Ben Franklin in Paris in
Philadelphia in 1964, when Jerry ghosted "To Be Alone with You" and
musical director/vocal arranger Don worked it into a fine introductory
number called "A Balloon in Ascending." He knows the way Jerry's shows
sound, and sees to it that Miss Spectacular sounds -- well, spectacular.
Pippin also provides a couple of full-voiced vocal arrangements, as he
has in the past for Jerry. Orchestrator Larry Blank -- a protege of Irv
Kostal -- is one of the few people in the field who understand that an
orchestration can dress a song, in the same way that a costume dresses
the singer. (For illustration, listen to "When You Got It, Flaunt It,"
one of the songs Blank orchestrated for The Producers.) TheMiss
Spectacular Overture sounds wildly alive and fresh with excitement, like
anotherMame.
The up-tempo songs, generally, share this excitement. "Miss What's Her
Name," "Miss Spectacular" and "Las Vegas" fit right in
with Herman's
earlier showstoppers. The latter, though, has a lyric that sounds like a
TV commercial -- and Steve Lawrence himself, tongue-in-cheek, singing
about "Steve and Eydie." I especially like the score's two gentle
ballads, "My Great Dream" and "No Other Music." Feelingly
sung by Karen
Morrow, the latter is more musically sophisticated than one would expect
from Herman, with a highly adventurous B section. Christine Baranski, who
made such a phenomenal Mrs. Lovett in the Kennedy Center's Sweeney Todd,
provides a rousing "I Wanna Live Each Night." (This sounds like it was
written for La Cage, but it was actually cut from The Grand Tour.) Also
on hand are a silky smooth Michael Feinstein; Faith Prince in a comic
novelty not unlike "Gooch's Song"; Davis Gaines, doing a tender job on
his ballad; and Debbie Gravitte raising the roof.
The liner notes feature an absolutely beaming photograph of the composer,
seated before an enormous hot fudge sundae and a tureen of chocolate soda
topped with whipped cream and two straws. This accompanied by the
following statement: "Jerry Herman has received every imaginable accolade
that his industry can bestow and yet he is most proud of having written
melodic songs that can have lives of their own outside of their shows."
Who can argue with that?
Is there a place for Jerry Herman songs on today's Broadway? Miss
Spectacular brings to mind Broadway's most recent musical comedy. If only
Thoroughly Modern Millie had tunes like this!
--Steven Suskin, author of the new "Broadway Yearbook 2000-2001,"
"Show
Tunes," and the "Opening Night on Broadway" books. Prior ON THE
RECORD
columns can be accessed in the Features section along the left-hand side
of the screen. He can be reached by E-mail at Ssuskin@aol.com.
Return to Feature Stories Listing
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Reviews by Brandon Judell
1951. What a year! Price controls were introduced to curb inflation. CBS presented its first commercial color broadcast. But since the public didn't own any color TV sets, only CBS executives could enjoy the hues. Then of course," Bedtime for Bonzo" was released starring a President to be.
But for most of us the event that resonates the most was that Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I premiered on Broadway starring Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner. Baldness suddenly became a hot trait.
And this is what Scott Siegel and his bravura Broadway by the Year series celebrated the other night. No, not hair loss but a musical Siam that could only become a reality on the Great White Way.
As I've mentioned before each night of this Town Hall series gathers together top Broadway and cabaret talents to sing out the virtues of a specific year on Broadway.
The third of this year's offerings mainfested the skills of Chip (Into the Woods) Zien; Leslie Kritzer who rollerskated to acclaim as Funny Girl at the Paper Mill Playhouse; Rebecca (Ragtime) Eichenberger; plus Davis Gaines who's played the Phantom in the Phantom of the Opera over 2000 times. Don't let him near your chandelier. If this wasn't enough, there was also the succulent Alison Fraser who won over our hearts years ago in Romance, Romance and is still as marvelously winning. What a voice! What a delivery! What a cast!
That's the good news. The slightly sadder reality was that 1951 was not a great year for Broadway. Consequently, Mr. Segal had less familiar tunes to entertain us with, plus far fewer discoveries. In fact, the main joy of Broadway by the Year is experiencing the recovery of great songs that Scott has unearthed and made fresh again with his top-notch musical director Ross Patterson.
But still no one complained. Town Hall was nearly sold out, and the crowd comprised of Broadway buffs, performers, press and a few buffed gay men seemed to be in Sixth Heaven, if not Seventh. And why shouldn't they be?
From the flop review, Bagels & Yox, Zien had everyone singing and clapping to the joyously Yiddish "Chi-Ri-Bin, Chi-Ri-Bom." He was though a bit less effective with "Top Banana" from Johnny Mercer's musical of the same name. No Phil Silvers he.
Frasier, however, was a top banana, bringing the house down with her slyly vicious take on the witty "Refinement" from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Imagine a hilarious ode to premarital sex with a now-deceased bigamist whom you've wed and you've almost got it. The other four tunes from this musical that were performed went from worthy ("Growing Pains") to static ("I'm Like a New Broom").
A true audience favorite was Gaines, the ideal romantic leading man, and his unmiked forays into Lerner and Loewe's Paint Your Wagon. His butch yet yearning takes of "Wandrin' Star" and "They Call the Wind Maria" elicited bravos, a lot of heart pounding, and several reported faintings.
Also delicious was Leslie Kritzer's "I Wanna Be Good 'n' Bad" from Hugh Martin's Make A Wish. This paean to sin from a virgin should be become a cabaret standard, please. Pretty please.
Other productions represented included Seventeen, Flahooley, and Courtin' Time.
Holding the show together again with his humor and informative trivia was Mr. Segal, clearly an audience favorite. As for The Ross Patterson Little Big Band, they made even the most minor tunes worthy of experiencing once. [Judell]
Copyright © Brandon Judell 2002
THE BROADWAY MUSICALS OF 1951 Send This Review to a Friend
The "Broadway by the Year" series gets better and better. The level of performing in the nostalgic swings at Town Hall back to Broadway's past has been consistently strong, but the five-star combination in the survey of 1951 shows on May 13, 2002, hit a special high, thanks to the skills of Rebecca Eichenberger, Alison Fraser, Davis Gaines, Leslie Kritzer and Chip Zien.Congenial creator, writer and host Scott Siegel set the tone as usual with his witty descriptions of what was going on in the era, including the shows "The King and I" (Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II), "Paint Your Wagon" (Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner),"Top Banana" (Johnny Mercer), "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (Arthur Schwartz and Dorothy Fields), "Flahooley" (Sammy Fain and E.Y. Harburg), "Make a Wish" (Hugh Martin), "Courtin' Time" (Jack Lawrence and Don Walker), "Seventeen" (Walter Kent and Kim Gannon) and, if you please, "Bagels & Yox" (Sholom Secunda and Hy Jacobson). Never one to pass up a pun, his or someone else's, Siegel reached into a review of "Bagels and Yox" in the New York Herald Tribune to quote, "Better lox next time." Siegel is also helpful with setting the economic context of the hits and flops of the time.
As you can readily see, the shows were uneven to say the least. But even a forgotten production like "Make a Wish" yielded the terrific, saucy and sassy number, "I Wanna Be Good 'n" Bad," sung sexily and dynamically by the attractive and brassily talented Leslie Kritzer. One of the pleasures afforded in the series is the occasional presentation of a number sung without a microphone typical of today's amplification kick. With Davis Gaines singing "They Call the Wind Maria" from "Paint Your Wagon" who needs a mike? Gaines has a powerful voice that can also be delicate, with a delivery to match.
The evening produced some other thrilling moments, especially with the song-sharing of Gaines and golden-voiced Rebecca Eichenberger, as in their number "Shall We Dance" from "The King and I," or with Eichenberger's "Something Wonderful" from the same show. Frazer did justice to the lovely number "Make the Man Love You" from "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and scored with her comic rendition of "Refinement" from the same show.
Although he can sing a serious number well, Chip Zien was the mainstay of the funnier numbers, as when he accurately nailed the good old burlesque type humor of title number "Top Banana." Zien entertainingly mixed vintage gags (groan, groan), tried and true cornball stage movements and his deft handling of the lyrics. He did similar duty with "Chi-Ri-Bin, Ch-Ri-Boom" from "Bagels & Yox," and was very funny, although there doesn't seem any danger of that show being revived. Now "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," from which Zien, appropriate prop in hand, sang "I'm Like a New Broom" should be another story. A revival might be a nice idea.
Ross Patterson (musical director, arranger and pianist) and his Little Big Band were in top form as usual, obviously a vital element in the success of the show. There is still one more chance to get in on the series for its final event of the season on June 10. The year to be celebrated then is 1964, which yielded "Funny Girl," "Fiddler on the Roof," "Hello, Dolly!" and "Anyone Can Whistle," among others. Not so incidentally, these "Broadway by the Year" presentations are being recorded on CDs, and the 1933 and 1943 recordings are already out. Performed at The Town Hall.