Review: Beth Leavel Boffo @ Birth of The Black Box Broadway Series

Beth Leavel Opens Black Box Broadway Series

Beth Leavel with Musical Director Phil Reno on piano, one-night-only, Saturday, November 19, 2016, at The Black Box at the Franklin Performing Arts Company, 15 W. Central Street, Franklin, MA; Box Office 508-528-3370 or www.theblackboxonline.com

The Town of Franklin, Massachusetts, is known as the site of the first public library in America, thanks to a donation of books by Benjamin Franklin, the community's namesake. It was also the birthplace of Horace Mann, America's father of public education. Not to take anything away from the importance of the three Rs, but the Franklin Performing Arts Company celebrates the value of the arts and the three Bs with its new Broadway Series at The Black Box theater, music, and event venue in downtown Franklin. Tony Award-winner Beth Leavel launched the venture, sponsored by Childs Engineering, with a one-night-only concert on Saturday, accompanied on piano by Musical Director Phil Reno.

Best known for her star performance in 2006 in The Drowsy Chaperone, Leavel has appeared in eleven Broadway shows, including Elf, Mamma Mia!, Young Frankenstein, 42nd Street, and Baby It's You. Among her film and television credits are "This is Where I Leave You," "ER," and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." The accomplished Reno is presently the Musical Director/Conductor of Broadway's Something Rotten! and previously served in the same capacity on Elf, Promises, Promises, and The Drowsy Chaperone. Leavel and Reno have worked together for a long time and it shows in their skillful presentation and easy banter.

Returning to the Franklin stage after headlining the Grand Opening Gala at The Black Box in 2014, Leavel was welcomed like an old friend by FPAC Executive Director Raye Lynn Mercer and the family-oriented audience. She looked every part the star in a black sheath cocktail-length dress with a sequined bodice, but was warm, unpretentious, and self-deprecating when she spoke, as if hosting an intimate salon in her living room. Leavel's show biz acumen and generosity were on display when she invited FPAC students to join her in song. After a competitive audition, four young vocalists trained by the program all won the opportunity to show off their vocal chops and stage presence in "There is a Santa Claus" (Elf). Watch for these talents to appear on a stage near you: Laine DiMartinis (13), Anna Crasso (13), Tatiana McAlpine (11), and Maddie Rezendes (14). Subsequently, Leavel sang a soaring duet with a poised Susauna Wickstrom (15) on "Lovely Love," a beautiful song cut from Something Rotten!

Leavel opened the program with "Broadway Baby" and "I Get a Kick Out of You," taking advantage of the chance to display her significant vocal belt. She mixed music and mirth, telling some of her biographical details, employing a bit of shtick ("Everybody's Girl," Steel Pier), and enthralling the audience with a backstage story about the Tony Awards. She introduced "Home" from the short-lived Broadway musical Minsky's by declaring herself a champion of great songs from shows that didn't make it. She proved that you don't have to know the show to enjoy an unknown song as she turned it into a mini-musical by creating a character to tell the story.

A brief Q&A segment with the audience elicited that Drowsy was Leavel's favorite show because the role was written for her; her immediate future includes two potential Broadway shows; and she has been compared to Liza Minnelli on more than one occasion. As an homage, she embraced her inner Liza, donned a sparkly red fedora, and belted out a brassy rendition of "City Lights" with a few exaggerated dance moves thrown in for good measure. For her penultimate number, she appropriately displayed some more brass in "Before the Parade Passes By" (Hello, Dolly). Finally, knowing that the audience wouldn't let her leave without doing so, she concluded with her signature song "As We Stumble Along," her rousing anthem from Drowsy. It was over the top - just what you'd expect from the Tony Award winner.

Photo: Beth Leavel at The Black Box