Review: LEA MICHELE Makes a Landmark Debut at Carnegie Hall

Every decade or so, there is a zeitgeist event at Carnegie Hall, the kind of sensation that audiences talk about for years and bear witness to as a personal bragging rite. The Hall opened in 1891 with a performance by Tchaikovsky himself. Two years later Dvorak premiered the New World Symphony. In 1918 Enrico Caruso created a sensation there. Marian Anderson broke barriers there in 1928. Duke Ellington and his orchestra defined jazz in 1943.  Billie Holliday brought the blues to Carnegie Hall in 1948. Van Cliburn had a triumphant concert there in 1958 after being the first American to win the prestigious Tchaikovsky Festival in Moscow. In 1961 Judy Garland gave what many have called the concert of the century at Carnegie Hall that was preserved on a best-selling double LP. In 1974 Pavarotti made his debut and Callas gave her farewell concert on the stage of Carnegie Hall. In 1992 there was an all-star tribute to composer Stephen Sondheim. In 2002, Robin Williams sold the place out. And the list goes on and on.

It is safe to say that Carnegie Hall has been the premiere showcase for what is great in American Art and Culture for over 130 years. It is also safe to say that the hallowed halls of the Stern Auditorium still reverberate with the memories of some of the great artists who have graced her stage. It is not hyperbole to say that the concert given Monday night by Broadway and television star Lea Michele will be remembered as one of those defining zeitgeist events. Her two-hour intermission-less journey through her career so far was the kind of powerhouse performance that people talk about for years. For the young Millennial set, it is their Judy Garland moment, the thing they will reminisce over cocktails, “I was there for…”

It should, of course, be no surprise to anyone. Lea Michele has been astounding audiences with her vocal gymnastics since she was 8 years old. She recounted it all in her show, in chronological order. She charmingly told the story of her slow and steady rise through Les Miserables, Ragtime, and Spring Awakening, her sudden stardom on Glee, and her incandescent return to Broadway as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. She is, in her 30s, one of the great Broadway divas with an almost limitless future. She is also, in her 30s, a fairly new mother with a realigned perspective on fame and her meteoric career. Her demeanor onstage is remarkably pragmatic and humble for someone with such genuinely titanic gifts. She is straightforward, down to earth, and tells her story simply without a lot of ostentatious filigree. Wearing a sheer and yet elegant black off-the-shoulder gown she looked like a million bucks….and then there is that voice.

It is an elemental thing - the kind of voice that can only be achieved through years of study and practice. The seeming ease of her performance belies the amazing technique that makes it all possible. Ms. Michele is a pyrotechnic artist who makes it all seem simple. Her program consisted of one 11 o’clock number after another with no sign of vocal fatigue. And the joy she feels in performing is unmistakable. She inhabited songs like “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” "Broadway Baby,” “I Dreamed a Dream,” and “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” (her audition song for Spring Awakening).  Belting like this is the stuff of Broadway dreams. But she also gave us a lovely introspective moment in “Gliding” from Ragtime.

The most delicious moments of the concert were those she shared with her very talented guest stars. She was most at ease with her co-star and best friend, Jonathan Groff, who re-created their Spring Awakening duet “The Word of Your Body,” which they combined with a passionate “Somewhere” from West Side Story. Groff also gave Lea Michele her one short break by covering with a parody of “You’ll Be Back” from Hamilton with lyrics tailored personally to Michele. She went full-throttle theatre geek with Glee co-star Darren Criss, who gave us a marvelous “Suddenly Seymour.” They also gave us a warm-hearted “To Make You Feel My Love” which Criss also accompanied on the guitar.

Ms. Michele was at her most delightful when she took requests from the audience to sing their favorite songs from Glee, after which she returned the favor with a medley of her own personal favorite numbers from the hit TV show. In particular her arrangement of “Papa Can You Hear Me?” from Yentl was ravishing. The final section of the concert was a medley of tunes from Funny Girl that brought the house down. She ripped through “I’m the Greatest Star,” "People,” and “The Music That Makes Me Dance” to standing ovations. She ended with Fanny Brice’s real-life hit “My Man” to shouts of “Bravo.” It truly was an amazing performance.

The mostly unsung hero of Ms. Michele’s concert was music director Steven Jamail and his mostly string orchestra. The arrangements and orchestrations were first-rate and the players were virtuosic without ever distracting from the main event. The night was really almost too good just to be a one-night event. We can only hope Lea Michele and Steven Jamail will tour the country with this beautiful evening of songs and stories. It deserves to be seen by the widest possible audience. It is the best advertisement for Broadway I can imagine.

For more about Lea Michele, go to her website, leamichele.com, or follow her @leamichele on Instagram. For tickets and information about other great artists at Carnegie Hall, visit carnegiehall.org. 

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