Broadway By The Year: 1929

It's back! It's back! Ring the bells! Sound the trumpets! Turn off the microphones! Yes, the Broadway By The Year series has returned, after a seemingly endless hiatus, to the Town Hall, and continued the tradition of each edition being better than its predecessor. Starting off the series' fifth season was a look back at the Broadway Musicals of 1929, and while the stock market might have devastated America economically that year, Broadway was in peak shape. Directed with witty panache by />Gabriel Barre/> and starring a bevy of Broadway's hottest stars, the evening honored the musical contributions of some of the brightest names in the industry's history, featuring songs by Cole Porter, Noel Coward, George and Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, and Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, all complimented with intelligent and insightful narration by />Scott Siegel/>.

The evening's energetic mood was set with the bright "I Can't Remember The Words" from Murray Anderson's Almanac, performed by the cast. />Bryan Batt/>, currently standing by for />Gary Beach/> in La Cage Aux Folles, proved that it is, indeed, impossible not to smile when he is onstage with his rendition of "Liza" from the Gershwin's Show Girl. The lovely />Christine Andreas/> sang an equally lovely rendition of"You Don't Know Paree" from Cole Porter's 50 Million Frenchmen. Two of the Hottest Young Things on Broadway, />Noah Racey/> and />Nancy Anderson/>, sang "I've Made a Habit of You" from The Little Show, the first number of the evening to feature Mr. Racey's bright choreography. />Emily Skinner/>, stunning in a burgundy dress with a black coat, lamented her romantic luck with "I'm Unlucky At Gambling," also from 50 Million Frenchmen. Brilliant comedienne and singer (and trombonist) />Leslie Anderson/> somehow managed to belt and chew the scenery at the same time when she sang "My Husband's First Wife" from Kern and Hammerstein's Sweet Adeline, and she and Mr. Batt set of comic sparks with "Keep your Undershirt On" from Top Speed.

Ms. Skinner returned to sing the sweetly plaintive "Why Can't I?" from Rodgers and Hart's Spring Is Here with />Nancy Anderson/>, and />Noah Racey/> sang a wistful and lovely "Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" from The Little Show. Ms. Skinner performed witty and sassy "Find Me A Primitive Man" from 50 Million Frenchmen, and just as people began wondering why every song had thus far been amplified, we arrived at the "unplugged" part of the evening. Three consecutive songs were performed without microphones: />Nancy Anderson/> sang "It's You I Love" from Son o' Guns, />Mary Bond Davis/> defended her position as one of Broadway's greatest voices with her soulful rendition of "Moanin' Low," and />Ron Bohmer/>'s rendition of "Without A Song" from Great Day was nothing less than breathtaking.

/>Christine Andreas/> opened Act Two with a lovely and heartfelt "If Love Were All," Noel Coward's signature tune. After a problematic opening, she began the song again with a quick apology heavenwards to Noel. A gentle (and surprisingly American) voice boomed from the darkness, "It's all right, Christine!" />Bryan Batt/> and />Nancy Anderson/> returned to spoof traditional love duets with the hilarious "I May Be Wrong But I Think You're Wonderful" from Murray Anderson's Almanac. />Leslie Anderson/> cooled down the mood with the gently plaintive "Can't We Be Friends?" from The Little Show, and />Mary Bond Davis/> wailed out a soulful "Why Was I Born?"from Sweet Adeline. Ms. Skinner sang a truly lovely and poignant "More Than You Know," and we only learned at this point that she was suffering from a terrible cold. (Her voice and energy certainly did not betray her condition.) />Nancy Anderson/>, whose dresses matched her voice in loveliness, burned up with the stage with "I Want to be Bad" from the golf musical (yes, you read that right) Follow Thru.

/>Noah Racey/> returned with The Producers' diarist />Jeffry Denman to do an utterly delightful, grin-inducing old-school tap-dance routine from Murray Anderson's Almanac, "Educate Your Feet." Two poignant songs from Cole Porter's Wake Up And Dream followed: an openly gay love lament, "Gigolo," performed by />Bryan Batt/> in a lavender blazer, and "What Is This Thing Called Love," performed by />Ron Bohmer/>. />Mary Bond Davis/> returned to sing a sassy "You Got That Thing" from 50 Million Frenchmen, and the cast gathered once again to end the evening with the oh-so-apropos "With a Song in My Heart" from Spring Is Here and the sweetly cheerful "Button Up Your Overcoat" from Follow Thru.

Considering that every edition of Broadway by the Year is generally better than the one before it, April's The Broadway Musicals of 1945 will most likely surpass The Broadway Musicals of 1929, though I'm not sure how that would be possible. In the meantime, get tickets for the April 4^th concert now and get ready for an evening of songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, Comden and Green, and Weill and Gershwin.

The Broadway by the Year series is held at The Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street. Tickets are available at the box office or through Ticketmaster.