NY Observer
Broadway Romance is a Delightful Evening of Cozy Love Songs
Belt-tightening measures in the new economic squeeze are being felt all over
town, but at the chic Café Carlyle—even if the marquee names lack the usual
luster in the new year—elegance still prevails. Broadway Romance, a
musical journey through the turbulent stages of love illustrated by timeless
songs from Broadway musicals, might seem under-
rehearsed and hastily
assembled, but no matter. The two versatile, attractive and immensely talented
stars sharing a tiny stage the size of a FedEx box are matinee-idol tenor Howard
McGillin and golden-haired, silver-voiced soprano Rebecca Luker. They perform
both solos and duets with dazzling skill, but the audience seems to like them
best when they blend their voices like two kites wafting toward the ceiling.
Theirs are not rolling, trilling voices, but more like buttered and battered
stage voices, ready to pop into a preset oven in time for dessert. Conjuring
memories of two shows I have enjoyed them in, it’s like The Phantom of
the Opera meets Magnolia Ravenal from Show Boat.
Under the guidance of arranger-pianist Ted Sperling, the show is pretty cut
and dried, with few surprises but lots of charm. Tracing the arc of a
relationship between two people with songs from musicals famous and
contemporary, Ms. Luker and Mr. McGillin take you through stages that begin with
anticipation (Leonard Bernstein’s “Something’s Coming”) and insecurity (“Will He
Like Me?” from She Loves Me), move up through dating hell (Sheldon
Harnick’s “Tonight at Eight”), admitting that Cupid’s arrow has found its mark
(Frank Loesser’s “I’ve Never Been in Love Before” from Guys and
Dolls), planning for rings and commitments (“An Old Fashioned
Wedding,” the hilarious Irving Berlin addition to Annie Get Your Gun,
written for an over-the-hill Ethel Merman in the Lincoln Center revival when she
was 66), and second thoughts that finally turn into total paralyzing panic at
the altar (“I’m Not Getting Married Today” from Company, which Ms. Luker
performs at breakneck speed—very hard to sing, but hilarious). Ultimately, the
love recital reaches for gratitude (“They Were You” from The
Fantasticks) and settles for lifetime commitment (Harold Arlen and
Johnny Mercer’s “Come Rain or Come Shine” from St. Louis Woman),
an optimistic anthem that rarely works out in real life. Some of the
selections are questionable. It’s tough to find much romance in “Buddy’s Blues,”
a comic baggy-pants vaudeville turn in Follies, or in Stephen
Sondheim’s cynical, hard-boiled and depressing “Could I Leave You?” from
the same show—and “First Date/Last Night” from the recent flop Dogfight
doesn’t work at all. Mr. McGillin starred in the Broadway revival of She
Loves Me, so why not reprise the rousing title song in place of the
long-winded procreation number “The Begat” from Finian’s Rainbow?
And I’m sad that Ms. Luker doesn’t do even one of the great Jerome Kern
ballads she sings so well in her own solo cabaret act. I can think of dozens of
songs her mellow voice is better suited for than “Could I Leave You?”
Still, there’s a lot to enjoy. Both singers are in peak form, and there’s a
minimum of extraneous chatter. No lofty goals here. The aim is simple—to make
you feel cozy, entertained and romantic on a cold winter night. Bring someone
special.
[email protected]
town, but at the chic Café Carlyle—even if the marquee names lack the usual
luster in the new year—elegance still prevails. Broadway Romance, a
musical journey through the turbulent stages of love illustrated by timeless
songs from Broadway musicals, might seem under-
rehearsed and hastily
assembled, but no matter. The two versatile, attractive and immensely talented
stars sharing a tiny stage the size of a FedEx box are matinee-idol tenor Howard
McGillin and golden-haired, silver-voiced soprano Rebecca Luker. They perform
both solos and duets with dazzling skill, but the audience seems to like them
best when they blend their voices like two kites wafting toward the ceiling.
Theirs are not rolling, trilling voices, but more like buttered and battered
stage voices, ready to pop into a preset oven in time for dessert. Conjuring
memories of two shows I have enjoyed them in, it’s like The Phantom of
the Opera meets Magnolia Ravenal from Show Boat.
Under the guidance of arranger-pianist Ted Sperling, the show is pretty cut
and dried, with few surprises but lots of charm. Tracing the arc of a
relationship between two people with songs from musicals famous and
contemporary, Ms. Luker and Mr. McGillin take you through stages that begin with
anticipation (Leonard Bernstein’s “Something’s Coming”) and insecurity (“Will He
Like Me?” from She Loves Me), move up through dating hell (Sheldon
Harnick’s “Tonight at Eight”), admitting that Cupid’s arrow has found its mark
(Frank Loesser’s “I’ve Never Been in Love Before” from Guys and
Dolls), planning for rings and commitments (“An Old Fashioned
Wedding,” the hilarious Irving Berlin addition to Annie Get Your Gun,
written for an over-the-hill Ethel Merman in the Lincoln Center revival when she
was 66), and second thoughts that finally turn into total paralyzing panic at
the altar (“I’m Not Getting Married Today” from Company, which Ms. Luker
performs at breakneck speed—very hard to sing, but hilarious). Ultimately, the
love recital reaches for gratitude (“They Were You” from The
Fantasticks) and settles for lifetime commitment (Harold Arlen and
Johnny Mercer’s “Come Rain or Come Shine” from St. Louis Woman),
an optimistic anthem that rarely works out in real life. Some of the
selections are questionable. It’s tough to find much romance in “Buddy’s Blues,”
a comic baggy-pants vaudeville turn in Follies, or in Stephen
Sondheim’s cynical, hard-boiled and depressing “Could I Leave You?” from
the same show—and “First Date/Last Night” from the recent flop Dogfight
doesn’t work at all. Mr. McGillin starred in the Broadway revival of She
Loves Me, so why not reprise the rousing title song in place of the
long-winded procreation number “The Begat” from Finian’s Rainbow?
And I’m sad that Ms. Luker doesn’t do even one of the great Jerome Kern
ballads she sings so well in her own solo cabaret act. I can think of dozens of
songs her mellow voice is better suited for than “Could I Leave You?”
Still, there’s a lot to enjoy. Both singers are in peak form, and there’s a
minimum of extraneous chatter. No lofty goals here. The aim is simple—to make
you feel cozy, entertained and romantic on a cold winter night. Bring someone
special.
[email protected]
Rebecca Luker perform on the opening night of Broadway Romance at the
Café Carlyle.
© Tristan Fuge
Broadway Romance at the Café Carlyle.
Broadway Romance
A new song cycle about the ups and down of love at the Café
Carlyle features the talents of Broadway's Howard McGillin, Rebecca Luker, and
Ted Sperling.
By Brian Scott Lipton •
Jan 16, 2013 • New York City
The ups and downs of love have fascinated musical theater's greatest
songwriters (and all of humanity) for the past century, so Tony Award-winning
musical director Ted Sperling (South Pacific) took on a tall order when
he selected only 14 tunes to create the new song cycle Broadway
Romance. The show is now running at the Café Carlyle, where it is performed
with grace and charm by Howard McGillin (Phantom of the Opera) and
Rebecca Luker (Mary Poppins). And even if many favorites are missing
from this sweet potpourri, this musical exploration of one fictional couple's
relationship yields satisfying rewards.
Consummate pros, blessed with pristine voices that seem to have barely aged
in the past 30 years, McGillin and Luker effortlessly tap into the feelings of
love's first blossoming in their opening numbers: Stephen Sondheim and Leonard
Bernstein's "Something's Coming" and George and Ira Gershwin's "The Man I Love,"
respectively. Immediately after, the pair remind us of the dizzying nervousness
that accompanies meeting that person for the first time with two songs
from Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock's She Loves Me: "Tonight at Eight"
and "Will He Like Me," immediately followed by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul's
catchy yet heartfelt "First Date/Last Night" (from the recent Off-Broadway
musical Dogfight).
As the cycle continues through its 70 minutes, the song choices range from
the slightly predictable (a spirited version of Irving Berlin's delicious duet
"An Old Fashioned Wedding," for example), to the less expected. In the latter
category, Luker shows off a surprising comic flair as the befuddled bride in
Stephen Sondheim's "Getting Married Today," and shortly thereafter expertly
embraces her darker side as the bitter, long-suffering spouse in Sondheim's
caustic "Could I Leave You?"
The best moments, however, brought the performers together as a group to make
true magic. McGillin, Luker, and Sperling make marvelous mischief with E.Y.
Harburg and Burton Lane's slyly satirical "The Begat," while Luker and McGillin
blend their soaring voices seamlessly on both Lynn Ahrens' and Stephen
Flaherty's gorgeous "Our Children" and Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's "They Were
You."
Indeed, to quote from another of the evening's selections, listening to
Broadway Romance was almost like being in love.
A new song cycle about the ups and down of love at the Café
Carlyle features the talents of Broadway's Howard McGillin, Rebecca Luker, and
Ted Sperling.
By Brian Scott Lipton •
Jan 16, 2013 • New York City
The ups and downs of love have fascinated musical theater's greatest
songwriters (and all of humanity) for the past century, so Tony Award-winning
musical director Ted Sperling (South Pacific) took on a tall order when
he selected only 14 tunes to create the new song cycle Broadway
Romance. The show is now running at the Café Carlyle, where it is performed
with grace and charm by Howard McGillin (Phantom of the Opera) and
Rebecca Luker (Mary Poppins). And even if many favorites are missing
from this sweet potpourri, this musical exploration of one fictional couple's
relationship yields satisfying rewards.
Consummate pros, blessed with pristine voices that seem to have barely aged
in the past 30 years, McGillin and Luker effortlessly tap into the feelings of
love's first blossoming in their opening numbers: Stephen Sondheim and Leonard
Bernstein's "Something's Coming" and George and Ira Gershwin's "The Man I Love,"
respectively. Immediately after, the pair remind us of the dizzying nervousness
that accompanies meeting that person for the first time with two songs
from Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock's She Loves Me: "Tonight at Eight"
and "Will He Like Me," immediately followed by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul's
catchy yet heartfelt "First Date/Last Night" (from the recent Off-Broadway
musical Dogfight).
As the cycle continues through its 70 minutes, the song choices range from
the slightly predictable (a spirited version of Irving Berlin's delicious duet
"An Old Fashioned Wedding," for example), to the less expected. In the latter
category, Luker shows off a surprising comic flair as the befuddled bride in
Stephen Sondheim's "Getting Married Today," and shortly thereafter expertly
embraces her darker side as the bitter, long-suffering spouse in Sondheim's
caustic "Could I Leave You?"
The best moments, however, brought the performers together as a group to make
true magic. McGillin, Luker, and Sperling make marvelous mischief with E.Y.
Harburg and Burton Lane's slyly satirical "The Begat," while Luker and McGillin
blend their soaring voices seamlessly on both Lynn Ahrens' and Stephen
Flaherty's gorgeous "Our Children" and Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's "They Were
You."
Indeed, to quote from another of the evening's selections, listening to
Broadway Romance was almost like being in love.
