Review: BROADWAY BY THE SEASON Was a Reason to Rejoice.... at Merkin Hall

Unlike certain sports and juicy fruits that depend on the changing weather, live concerts and cabaret shows with juicy songs will never be out of season if you leave it to folks like that seemingly indefatigable fellow named Scott Siegel. His most recent series of concerts at Merkin Hall centered around what was heard during specific Broadway seasons. The final song of the final concert of this season of Broadway by the Season referenced the seasons of the year with the full company singing “Winter, spring, summer or fall/ All you have to do is call/ And I’ll be there/ You’ve Got a Friend.”  The old pop hit was included because it was featured in the jukebox musical, Beautiful, about the life and career of its writer, Carole King.  Mr. Siegel, a man for all seasons, brings programs called 54 Sings Broadway’s Greatest Hits!, with selections from musical theatre scores (drawn from seasons recent and not) to the nightclub known as “Broadway’s living room,” 54 Below, with several singers each time.  The next dates are  November 11 and 25.  Those are both Saturday nights.  The Saturday night in between will find him with another group of performers continuing his ongoing salutes to the vocalist whose vast repertoire included nods to that day with “Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)” and “Same Old Saturday Night” and standards that referenced every season (“Autumn Leaves”; “Spring Is Here”; “The Summer Wind”; “Winter Wonderland”).  There’s even a show on Sinatra’s actual birthday, December 12, and into the new year. 

Some participants in those upcoming 54 Below November nights were also on stage at the very enjoyable October 30 Broadway by the Season concert revisiting productions from the seasons of 1987-88 and 2013-14: Ryan Knowles (soaring with “Anthem” from Chess and cavorting with “Friend Like Me” from Aladdin), Adan Gallegos (uber-hilarious as one of the Into the Woods princes experiencing “Agony”), and Molly Bremer.  She was the night’s first singer, deftly beginning the proceedings without using a microphone, to send her soprano through the hall with “Think of Me” from The Phantom of the Opera, which lingered season after season after season after season to be the Great White Way’s greatest hit.  That musical was also represented when a last-minute replacement, Cooper Grodin, who played the title character on tour, came to the rescue to fill in for the originally announced performer who’d become ill. The appreciative audience was treated to his exceptionally powerful rendition of “The Music of the Night.”  The music of the night in question also included three brass instruments being played at the same time by one one-of-a-kind performer (you read that right!) who also sang and danced:  Gunhild Carling, a true showstopper and major audience favorite.  

The choice of numbers reflecting the 2013-14 Broadway season emphasized the presence of songs from the past used in jukebox musicals and revues, with Beautiful getting three nods, including Courtney Long covering “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.” Adriane Lenox, who was in After Midnight, entertained with pizzazz on two of its treats, and two oldies recycled for Bullets Over Broadway were heard, too.  So, often, it felt more like nostalgia for the tunes of the previous century than nostalgia for the previous decade. But that’s a good feeling, too. 

The company included two talented women named Kelli.  There was Kelli Rabke with “I’m Not Alone,” a taste of a notorious Broadway flop, Carrie, as well as a scary-good rant Stephen Sondheim wrote for the witch in Into the Woods.  The other Kelli: Kelli Barrett-- Her appearances included a passionate number introduced by yet another Kelli– Miss O’Hara– with her co-star in The Bridges of Madison County, about a woman tempted to leave her husband. But Kelli Barrett got to share it with her real-life spouse, Jarrod Spector, in their touching duet “One Second and a Million Miles.” 

I am still chuckling remembering the aforementioned “Agony” and the ecstasy of its performance with Adan Gallegos sharing the stage with the also resourcefully antic man of a thousand facial reactions, the delightful Tyler McCall.  Likewise, Danny Gardner was a comic highlight riding around on a horse (OK, it wasn’t a real horse, but this was thoroughbred entertainment) nailing the clueless snobbery of “I Don’t Understand the Poor” from A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.  And, not so incidentally, his dancing was (as always) dazzling.

The paper program given to audiences was lacking in detail, not giving bios of the performers, and not listing the songwriters or the musicians other than pianist/musical director Ross Patterson.  His colleagues were Tom Hubbard (bass), Sean Harkness (guitar), and Greg Joseph (drums). However, some of this info was related in Scott Siegel’s comments – which also included opening remarks to talk about what was happening in the world while these Broadway shows were going on.  I understand that it gives context to the times, but I had to wonder if rattling off those happenings didn’t rattle the audience by reminding us of tears shed and “Agony” experienced due to wars, disasters, and political strife when we may be coming to a music show to escape the current wars, disasters, and political strife.  This was cutely offset by mention that, relevant to those woes, maybe it was good timing that – wait for it — the late 1980s also saw the introduction of Prozac. 

Glorious singing, humor, and memories will be the perfect “Seasoning” to bring out the flavor of Broadway in Broadway by the Season, season after season to come.  

You can sign up for early notification of next season and other Scott Siegel-hosted events HERE 

Look for listings of the regularly scheduled Scott Siegel 54 Below shows HERE.

Photos by Sophie Rapiejko

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