BWW Reviews: Jane Lynch Performs with Subversive Glee at the Eccles Center

Jane Lynch's New Year's Eve cabaret show at the Eccles Center, presented by the Park City Institute, was entertaining, subversive fun.

The Emmy and Golden Globe winner recently starred as Miss Hannigan in ANNIE on Broadway and is best known as Sue Sylvester on the hit television show GLEE.

She was joined onstage by her long-time collaborator Kate Flannery (Meredith on THE OFFICE), GLEE vocal arranger Tim Davis, and the Tony Guerrero Quintet.

It couldn't be more apparent from the show that Lynch's ample vocal skills have been underutilized in her years on GLEE. She gave a full-throated performance, and anything lacking in technical prowess was more than made up for in positive energy.

Highlights of the set included her signature tune "Little Girls," which she performed both in ANNIE and on GLEE, and an upbeat verson of "Far From the Home I Love" from FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (a duet with Flannery).

Flannery injected great humor into the show, and Davis kept the whole affair musically grounded. Together with Lynch, they made a wonderful trio with surprisingly tight harmonies and a lot of fun opportunities to play off one another.

The set list included a number of offbeat selections that kept the evening anything but predictable.

A few unscripted moments proving Lynch's great improvisation skills made the audience giddy with delight. The show needed more moments like these to show off the comedy that Lynch is so beloved for. The audience wanted her to slow down between numbers and talk to them---simply be herself. Otherwise the musical numbers, which should amplify her strengths, instead overwhelm the acerbic wit that makes Lynch so special as a performer.

The Tony Guerrero Quintet was a fabulous contributor to the evening, and its out-of-the-box jazz arrangement of a WEST SIDE STORY medley was a crowd pleaser. However, its extended opening act, also featuring Davis, overstayed its welcome.

Give the people what they want: more Jane Lynch in all her comedic glory.

For more information about and to purchase tickets for future shows at the Eccles Center, call the box office at 435-655-3114 or visit www.ecclescenter.org.