REVIEW: FROM BROOKLYN TO HOLLYWOOD

Many of Hollywood's greatest musical stars have called Brooklyn home: Mae West, Lena Horne, Danny Kaye, George and Ira Gershwin, Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, and Betty Comden have all influenced Tinseltown's music scene while keeping their roots firmly in the borough. Even composers born elsewhere, like Jule Styne, Maurice Gibb, and Johnny Mercer, wrote songs that celebrated Brooklyn life and culture. Monday's concert at the Town Hall, created by Scott Siegel and hosted by Brooklyn-born Tovah Feldshuh, celebrated the music that Brooklyn has sent to Hollywood, and starred some of the brightest names on Broadway.

Ms. Feldshuh, playing double duty of hostess and performer, began the show explaining that "The Song's Gotta Come From The Heart," a Jule Styne song from the movie It Happened in Brooklyn. Keeping with her tradition of "trouser roles" (which she jokingly chalked up to not having a figure like rising diva Natalie Douglas), she also performed "My Brooklyn Love Song" from If You Knew Susie, as a little boy. Throughout the evening, Ms. Feldshuh interrupted Mr. Siegel's script to tell anecdotes or jokes about Golda Meir, whom she currently portrays on Broadway in Golda's Balcony. The jokes, while funny, had very little to do with the evening's theme, but they certainly demonstrated what a strong comedienne Ms. Feldshuh is. In an ideal world, she would be a perennial Tony Awards hostess.

Brooklyn-born Annie Golden sang the rarely heard "Texas, Brooklyn, and Heaven" from the 1948 movie of the same name, and later performed a funny and sweet "Embraceable You" (by the Gershwins) with Stephen Bogardus. Bogardus also performed a gentle and lovely "Laura" from the movie of the same name, which starred Brooklynite Gene Tierney. Lennie Watts and Scott Coulter were in their finest form performing a medley of songs from Brooklyn-set Saturday Night Fever, although director Noah Racey stole the moment with his disco dancing cameo. Racey also performed a white-hot Fosse-esque tap dance to the Gershwin's "Nice Work If You Can Get It" that was literally breathtaking.

The ever wonderful Christine Pedi, who recently ended a cabaret gig at Mama Rose's celebrating the music of Betty Comden and Adolph Green, performed one of the highlights of her show, "Perfect Relationship," from Bells are Ringing. Pedi, who has one of the strongest and most versatile voices in the business, found the perfect balance of comedy and sentiment in the song, making the moment both charming and poignant. If Funny Girl is ever revived on Broadway, Ms. Pedi could play a perfect Fanny Brice, as she demonstrated with her flirtatious "I'd Rather Be Blue," made famous by Barbra Streisand. (Fran? Barry? Are you listening?). Cabaret star Sharon McKnight stole the show every time she was onstage, ending the first half with an unamplified "I'm The Greatest Star" from Funny Girl, and returning in the second half to pay homage to Brooklynite Mae West with the song "Come Up And See Me Sometime". Rising star Natalie Douglas, who makes belting to the rafters seem like an effortless afterthought, sang a very good "Believe In Yourself" from The Wiz, and only grew stronger with "You're The Cause Of It All" (from The Kid From Brooklyn) and Lena Horne's signature song "Stormy Weather." With such a powerful and emotive voice, one can easily imagine Ms. Douglas following in Ms. Horne's footsteps. Comedienne Alix Korey displayed both her strong voice and wonderful timing in two comic numbers ("Hey! What's Your Name" from The Kid From Brooklyn, and "The Brooklyn Bridge" from It Happened In Brooklyn), but her talents were put to their best use in the show's finale, a to-the-rafters rendition of "Don't Rain On My Parade."

In fact, the only weak aspect of the show was Mark Nadler, who seemed to be begging the audience for a smile. His rendition of "Josie" (from The Kid From Brooklyn) was very good, but his first homage to Danny Kaye, "The Ugly Duckling, " lost its humor when he dragged a clever musical joke (underscoring part of the narrative with Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake) on for too long. Fortunately, his second homage to Danny Kaye, "Let's Not Talk About Love", was adorable and deliriously clever, thanks to Nadler's timing and Cole Porter's witty lyrics. Nadler's talent is strong enough to make mugging unnecessary, and one hopes he will let his natural gifts shine through in future performances.