Review: LYRICS & LYRICISTS Shows Celebrate Songwriting ....at 92NY

Ever since it began in 1970, the Lyrics and Lyricists series at 92NY has endeavored to put the focus on the words of memorable songs, featuring veteran theatre writers sharing their creations and the stories behind them. In its inaugural season, wordsmiths appearing included one we lost this past year: Sheldon Harnick.  His works will be celebrated again in the June installment titled Wonder of Wonders – which might have been a punny name for the most recent entry that took on the oeuvre of Stevie Wonder.  Also spotlighted in that first season was Stephen Sondheim, who was the subject of this season’s first in a projected series of offerings to introduce young people to this world:  Lyrics and Lyricists Junior. 

One of the latter-day excursions expanding the scope beyond the Golden Age American Songbook and musical theatre, In the Key of Life: The Genius of Stevie Wonder followed other L&L looks at pop writers.  The word “genius” gets thrown around a lot, but it was attached to Mr. Wonder as long ago as 1963, when his live album Little Stevie Wonder: The 12 Year Old Genius was released. Darius de Haas, whom I’m always pleased to see and hear, led the event as the main performer and host/narrator/artistic director.  It’s territory the commanding performer has trod before and he’s a grand guide, even if the uneven set seemed a bit preachy or plainly worshipful in the commentary.  Not a full-career retrospective, the lively program concentrated on successful 1970s material Wonder wrote or co-wrote.   Information about the honoree’s birth, blindness, and early days was oddly shared towards the end instead of the better placement of near the start, as context.  Hits such as “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours),” “Living for the City,” and “Sir Duke” were kinetic. There was energy galore.  Rollicking R&B/soul material was danced through and infused with musical lightning and a rocking band with animated projections going on, all threatening to cause the music and rhythms to upstage the words, some of which were obscured by the instrumental sounds (and, after all, the series’ mission is supposed to be to bring us into the lyrics, right?).  Besides the busy visuals with lines and shapes crawling across the screen like the blue and red backgrounds on CNN, I was distracted during the narration by the otherwise commendable music director/pianist Harry Hey’s habit of sometimes non-verbally communicating things to bandmates across the stage, in the light, apparently indicating musical needs, with his hands and face, “pre-conducting” upcoming tempi or other details.  

The more thought-provoking songs commenting on social issues and injustice seemed perhaps the best fit for the agenda of appreciating him as a writer, but some strong love ballads earn poignancy points, too. “Isn’t She Lovely,” a joyful reaction to the birth of one of Wonder’s daughters, is a noteworthy mix of upbeat and sensitive.  In fact, it was the slowest, heartfelt material clustered in the latter part of the intermission-less concert that provided the best showcase for singers and material.  Fellow vocalist J. Hoard delivered a dazzling “Knocks Me Off My Feet.” Getting even more rewarding solos with the gorgeous stuff, after providing fine support for the star in group numbers, the other vocalists were able to shine with some moving renditions of heartfelt items:  Kola Rai (“Lately”); Helen White (“All in Love Is Fair”); and Richard Baskin, Jr., also credited with vocal arrangements, brought the most touching moment with a wonderfully developed “Too Shy to Say.”  Another singer-songwriter’s work is on the agenda when Lyrics and Lyricists returns in the first week of March, with the songs of Laura Nyro presented, starring musical theatre’s Judy Kuhn, whose Nyro concerts and CD are memorable.  And May 9 will bring us back to musical theatre writers again for a one-night deep dive into Jason Robert Brown, with that composer/lyricist himself performing.

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Introducing children and young teens to the world of musical theatre songs is a wonderfully worthy mission and the Lyrics and Lyricists concept, adjusted to gear itself to such a target audience, seems like a way to go.  The often dense, complex material of Stephen Sondheim might be a surprising choice to be a point of entry as the premiere of what is hoped to be an ongoing educational concert series to attract returnees. But with his catalog, it might be possible to curate a short set list (eleven pieces were chosen) of the more “kid-friendly” songs, avoiding scaring them with Sweeney Todd’s terrors or the adult passions of Passion. A phrase used a few times in “Old Friends” — “Damn few” – is tweaked to be “Darn few” so as not to use a taboo word.  But what about all that other verbiage?  Would Sondheim’s waves of words just wash over the children and be over their heads?  Economic lyrics might be the way to go, so “Anyone Can Whistle” proves to be a good candidate.  When it comes to “Children Will Listen,” is it possible that children will listen?  Well, its cautionary, pointed message is always a good reminder for the grown-ups sitting beside them.  Little context was given about the characters and the situations being acted out, choosing, instead, to use the talk to tell kids about Sondheim, how long shows ran, critics, name-dropping “Hal Prince” as if the director is a household name to school-age kids. Bits presenting history as dialog, like teenaged Sondheim showing his play to mentor Oscar Hammerstein, were wisely included, effective in the “show, don’t tell” method of stage presentation.  Regrettably, some of the magic of live theatre performance was absent because the accompaniment was pre-recorded tracks.  

It’s an uphill battle to get the words crisply delivered for young ears to absorb when the vocabulary is full of sophistication, flying by at top speed, and diction is not precise (one participant was notably weaker in that area).  Several energetic, smiling main singers (who also delivered the spoken material about Sondheim’s career) and an ensemble filled the stage with verve, with choreography and show costumes.  The children who showed up ranged in age, with many who looked to be pre-schoolers and in the first two or three grades of elementary school.  Although most were relatively quiet, they may have been most mesmerized by the active movement and friskier melodies and colorful garb.  Dance informed by gestures and pantomime helped telegraph the naysaying and resistance at the center of “Everybody Says Don’t.” With presumed limited reference points smallish vocabularies, small fry  wouldn’t be likely to know the meanings of the words in “Comedy Tonight” such as “portentous,” “aesthetic,” or “Medea,” let alone much in the rhyming line “Pantaloons and tunics!/ Courtesans and eunuchs!”   

It was a nice touch to start the proceedings with a welcoming speech by Charles Kirsch, teen-aged musical theatre maven, podcast interviewer (“Backstage Babble”), host of shows with show tunes at 54 Below, and veteran of youth theatre casts at the Y.  He told of his early interest in the genre, making exploring it sound like the worthy, fun experience it is, even sharing a letter he got from Stephen Sondheim offering advice about digging into it. 

Megan Doyle, who is in charge of young people’s theatre programs at 92NY, directed and choreographed. Upcoming children’s musical theatre shows at the venue in February will be Ice Queen and Red Riding Hood, the latter concluding on March third. Let’s hope they “march forth” with many opportunities for children to fall in love with this art form.

Visit the 92NY website HERE.
 

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