Review: MY KIND OF BROADWAY And THE FRIENDS OF ALEC WILDER Illuminate the Variety at 54 Below

Dear Diary:

I went to two shows at 54 Below this week. One was at night. One was during the day. They were as different as night and day.  The nighttime performance on November 9, like many events at “Broadway’s living room.” featured many Broadway songs by many different writers, with one singer entertaining attentive attendees at the nightclub. Saturday afternoon’s event at the nightclub (or should I say dayclub in this case?) had several singers, plus instrumental groups, doing material NOT from Broadway, all written or co-written by Alec Wilder. It was a toast to the genre-spanning man of musical sophistication and elegance, except that one could only toast with water, as no drinks were served – and no food either.  But, as Shakespeare told us, “music is the food of love,” so it’s all good and delicious. The November 9 program brought us musical theatre veteran Sean McDermott with a band that included another Sean: the guitarist favored by many cabaret acts – Sean Harkness.  Yet another Sean — bassist Sean Smith — was one of the numerous instrumentalists in the Wilder concert, although with the flashing colored lights, belted songs, high-powered arrangements, and loudly cheering packed crowd, Mr. McDermott’s act was the wilder concert.

As you might guess from the title of his act —  My Broadway — was, with a few detours, one of those “...And then I was cast in the musical _________ and here’s a song from that show” kind of show-and-tell show.  But that’s what many followers of performers with musical theatre track records (and a record album called My Broadway, too, in Sean McDermott’s case) would want and expect.  The audience reaction supports that theory.  I’m not complaining. Directed by the very cabaret-wise Eric Michael Gillett, it was all well done.  Rich, robust singing served the material, rather than being self-serving showboating.  The years have been good to his voice, and so the BIG songs with BIG notes and BIG endings were really a BIG thrill still.  No corners cut here.  While many numbers sampled musicals from his résumé (with four show tunes from the aforementioned recording, for those fans who might have been keeping track of the tracks). There were some other prime picks, too.  Stephen Sondheim was well represented with three entries.  There was an earnest “Loving You” from Passion, an exciting “Something’s Coming” (soaring through Leonard Bernstein’s melody written for the character of Tony in West Side Story, a part Sean McDermott called one of his career favorites), and “Children Will Listen.” That one was combined with Rodgers & Hammerstein’s "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught," the two blended in the past by both Mandy Patinkin and Barbra Streisand , two stars he’s worked with.  (If you just guessed that he was in the movie Yentl with them, you’re wrong.)  On Broadway, he and Patinkin played lovers, coming in as cast replacements in Falsettos.  That chapter cued the sweet ballad from that William Finn score, “What More Can I Say?” which was sung to his character. He was one of a quartet of male singers in the 2007 Streisand European tour (“Something’s Coming” was on the bill then, too).  

The terrific band was made up of talented gentlemen, none of whom needed a map or GPS to find 54 Below, as they grace many a show there.  Ron Abel was pianist/musical director, Tom Hubbard was on bass, Ray Marchica was on drums, and, as mentioned above, Sean Harkness was on guitar.  

Arguably, one or two of the BIG character songs might have felt “too BIG for the room” for those preferring the much-touted “intimacy of cabaret.” And something like “Why God Why?” from Miss Saigon, in which he played the soldier Chris, has lyrics so specific to that person and story that it pretty much demands to be sung in character.   But other selections felt more generalized and personal.  Although Mr. McD. kept his patter focused on the show biz side of his life, he was amiably down to earth in his stories. So, if at the end, he got a little dramatic about how important his chosen career is to him, that just underscored other comments showing his gratitude for the successes he’s had and was revisiting.  And that seemed appropriate for a show just a couple of weeks before the holiday we call Thanksgiving.  

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54 Below was the site for Celebrating the Life and Music of Alec Wilder, the 38th annual gathering by the group called The Friends of Alec Wilder, honoring the legacy and remarkably diverse musical output of the “unclassifiable American original” (1907-1980) --pictured above  -- who gave us lilting songs for mature adults and children, operas, film scores, instrumental pieces (classical and otherwise).  It was nice to be among “Friends.” Opening remarks, with background info and fond appreciation, were made by co-producer and FOAW Board Member Mark Walter, whose father, pianist Cy Walter, had been a collaborator of the honoree.  Vocal highlights of the afternoon included: a kind of milder Wilder climate change via “Summer Is A-Comin’ In” (words by Marshall Barer) by Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano; “Unbelievable” by the believably bemused Jason Henderson nailing William Engvick’s storyline lyric; and Steve Ross delivering “Did You Ever Cross Over to Sneden’s?” with expertise and extra tenderness.  Jack Lipson was the simpatico pianist for Messrs. Henderson and Ross (the latter also served as the “honorary host,” handling introductions and bits of info and bon mots).

Two portions of the concert were purely instrumental.  One of these presented a woodwind quintet playing a suite culled from music composed for a recording of the full text of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland  (a box set of vinyl records in the 1950s, with the voice of Cyril Ritchard).  The other was a trio (piano, French horn and tuba) with Wilder’s “Suite Number 2” for those instruments – followed by melodies of two songs, “I See It Now” and “Where Is the One?” The latter’s melody is by Edwin Finckel, so it might seem an odd choice to be featured without its Wilder words in a Wilder-centric celebration, but the lyric got a reprieve with a reprise — when Barbara Fasano and Eric Comstock sang it in their segment.  Doing his usual deft double duty as laser-focused singer and pianist – joined by the collaborator he cutely introduces as his “partner in time,” the superbly skillful bassist Sean Smith – he also charmed with some material before she entered for some of her radiant vocal solos and the duets for this musical Mr. and Mrs. 

She got extended applause for her sublimely emotionally involved rendition of “Blackberry Winter” (words by Loonis McGlohon). Their primo picks, some set up with anecdotes, presented works written in four different decades (from the 1940s to 1970s) with several different collaborators.  

“So many songs, so little time…” remarked Steve Ross much later, and it then became clear, at least to those consulting the lavish program booklets with a detailed set list, that not everything would be presented as planned. The last two segments, one to feature him and the other for Jason Henderson, were severely abbreviated – cut down to a couple of things each instead of the full sets of several numbers.

“Time and Tide” was listed as a Ross piano/vocal entry, but at the piano instead was Jack Lipson, and Zachary Drake (unbilled in the program, publicity, and 54 Below’s website) was introduced as the singer. Thus we can assume this was a late-in-the-game switch that might explain a performance that seemed more insecure than inhabited, navigating Cy Walter’s challenging melody and Wilder’s mouthful of poetic words, as he looked down at the paper on a music stand brought to the stage.  Of course, folks in the crowd who didn’t follow along with the printed program during the concert might have been clueless to what was planned but lost due to the vexing “tempus fugit” reality, and it was inarguably a warm and wonderful Wilderfest of generous length.  It ended with unflappable Steve Ross leading an audience sing-along on what is probably Wilder’s best-known song, “I’ll Be Around,” reinforcing that his oeuvre and admirers will “be around” for quite some time. 

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Other credits: Friends of Alec Wilder president John Carlson co-produced the concert with Mr. Walter. The trio members: Jonathan Fowler (tuba); Elizabeth Pfaffle (French horn); Ron Stabinsky (piano).  The quintet members: Michel Gentile (flutes ); Nathan Coci (French horn); Michael McGinnis (clarinets); Katie Scheele (oboe, English horn); Sara Schoenbach (bassoon).      

BWW File photos of: Sean McDermott by Stephen Sorokoff (top) and Genevieve Rafter Keddy (later) .  Photo of Comstock & Fasano by Conor Weiss   Photo of Steve Ross (left) & Jason Henderson by Kevin Alvey. 

54 Below is at 254 West 54 Street.  See the website HERE 

Other sites of interest:

Sean McDermott's site is HERE

Friends of Alec Wilder HERE 

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