Barbara Cook & Audra McDonald – The Power of Two

Broadway's Audra McDonald, who was part of the 2001 Opening Celebration at the Kimmel Center, is joined by veteran performer Barbara Cook, making her Kimmel Center debut for an unforgettable evening of music.

They share numerous awards - Tonys, Grammys, Drama Desks, recordings and several international venue appearances. But in one night on one stage, it all comes down to two incredible ladies quite obviously humbled by each other's gift to capture the hearts of the crowd. This diva loving Philadelphia audience was well prepared to be melted into their seats and Audra and Barbara did not disappoint. From their opening duet of "Sing a Song," sing they did! Audra offered wonderful and unique selections from various composers including Jason Robert Brown, Michael John LaChiusa and Adam Guttel.

From the sultry jazzy "Lola Sings", the heartfelt "What Can You Lose," sung by Madonna from the movie Dick Tracy, and "Not A Day Goes By," from Merrily We Roll Along, to Audra's appealing storytelling songs such as "Glamorous Life" from A Little Night Music and "Stars and Moon" written by Jason Robert Brown, she blends a luscious, classically–trained soprano with a gift for dramatic truth-telling songs. The audience was especially tickled with her rendition of Frank Loesser's "Can't Stop Talking About Him" from the movie Let's Dance.

Barbara Cook has been delighting audiences around the world for more than 50 years. Her ability to light up the stage is unprecedented. Cook wrote the book on presence and delivery as she opens with "Oh What A Beautiful Morning" and "Surrey With a Fringe On Top," then reduces the crowd to butter with a trio of the most heartfelt versions of "Long Before I Met You", Jule Styne's "I Fall in Love Too Easily" and "This Nearly Was Mine," leaving both ladies tearful and the audience simply in the palm of her hands.

Cook's silvery soprano, pure tone and honest, gutsy delivery is the perfect match for a Sondheim song as Barbara gladly complies with two favorites from Into The Woods - "No One Is Alone" and a riveting "No More". 

Audra and Barbara share a "mutual admiration society" for one another as they happily join forces in a duet of "Blue Skies" and armed with paper scroll of accolades, they name of all the wonderful things they admire about each other with a whimsical "The Grass Is Always Greener."

The audience, not ready to give them up, stand and cheer until they return for an encore. Audra shines with "I Wish I Were in Love Again" from her third solo album and Barbara sets down the mike, approaches the end of the stage and flawlessly delivers "We'll Be Together Again," which renders the crowd numb.

Both ladies finish off the evening with a patriotic medley of "Of Thee I Sing/America the Beautiful and God Bless America." The ladies were joined by their individual musical directors/pianists Ted Sperling (Audra) and Lee Musiker (Barbara) as well a Dave Ratajczak on drums, and Peter Donovan, Audra's husband, on bass.

Photo credits: photos # 1, 3,and 4 (Kimmel Center PR), photo #2 ( Barbara Cook) Mike Martin

Kimmel Center Presents Barbara Cook and Audra McDonald played as a special engagement at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, PA on Sunday March 18, 2007.

For more information about the Kimmel Center events visit: www.kimmelcenter.org

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