Review: THE AMERICAN SONG ASSOCIATION GALA Honors Maltby & Shire at Kaufman Music Center

Cabaret Scenes and the American Songbook Association (ASA) honored the multi-award-winning songwriting team of Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire with a Lifetime Achievement Award at their sixth annual gala, entitled Maltby & Shire: Our Story Goes On, held October 5 at Merkin Hall (Kaufman Music Center) near Lincoln Center. (See Rebecca Kaplan’s recent interview with Maltby and Shire here.)

Maltby and Shire have one of the longest-running partnerships in musical theater history, dating back 70 years to their meeting as Yale University freshmen in 1956, and still going: About Time, the final part of their trilogy, played earlier this year at the nearby Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater. The erudite Maltby is the Tony-winning witty wordsmith of the pair, while Shire provides the strong, memorable melodies. Shire is also the Oscar- and Grammy-winning composer of many film and television scores.

The performers were supported by the interesting choice of two pianists at back-to-back grand pianos, with musical director Deniz Cordell as the lead pianist and Annie Pasqua adding accents, obbligatos and the like to give a much fuller sound. Scott Chaurette, on bass, was the only other instrumentalist on stage.

The evening opened with a photo and video montage of the pair, including an almost startling image of them in their college years. Eddie Korbich followed with “(Time to Sing) a Show Tune,” a short number apparently written for the occasion and full of references to Maltby and Shire.

Maltby’s daughter, Charlotte Maltby, tall and radiant in a red gown, performed “Crossword Puzzle” (Starting Here, Starting Now), complete with a crossword puzzle and pen. Her wonderful, powerful voice was matched by superb presentation and delivery. Like many of the evening’s performers, she approached the song as a theatrical number rather than a recital piece, a fine directorial choice that showcased the material as intended.

George Lee Andrews, Loni Ackerman and Margery Cohen, the original cast of the 1976 revue Starting Here, Starting Now, reunited for “Travel,” their voices and tight harmonies recalling a trio that performed together nightly half a century ago.

Gretchen Cryer, who has worked with Maltby and Shire since their Yale days, offered the delightful “Little Susan Lawrence,” cut from Big before Broadway but restored for later productions. Its storytelling lyrics include: “He was Buzz Babcock. He had a Beatles haircut and he always will.” Cryer also performs with Maltby, fellow Yale student Austin Pendleton and Barbara Bleier in the sweet revue Old Friends at Pangea.

Catherine Cox, Liz Callaway and Julia Murney were exceptional in “I Want It All” (Baby), each taking a comedically dark turn with deft timing.

ASA Executive Director Carolyn Montgomery announced her own entrance from offstage in the third person, joking that the organization was cutting corners. She gave a compelling and surprisingly entertaining explanation of the ASA’s mission, even breaking into a line of “Starting Here, Starting Now” in a powerful a cappella voice.

Jenn Colella, George Dvorsky, Christiane Noll and Sal Viviano, the cast of the 2012 Off-Broadway revival of Closer Than Ever, reunited for “There’s Nothing Like It.” Barbara Walsh offered a beautiful, heartfelt “Stop Time” (Big), about a mother’s wish to freeze moments in her child’s growth. Colella then killed with the funny “Miss Byrd” (Closer Than Ever), reveling in the contrast between the dull office worker and her secret, passionate sex life.

Josh Dela Cruz revealed his beautiful tenor voice in “Once You Fall in Love” (Starting Here, Starting Now). Eddie Korbich, Marisa Kirby, Ethan Paulini and Nicole Powell were sensational in the four-part harmonies of “Manhattan Skyline,” with both pianists sharing the stage-left piano.

Josh Groban appeared by video to recall that “If I Sing” (Closer Than Ever) was the audition song that got him into Carnegie Mellon. Addressing Maltby and Shire, he said, “If I sing, it’s because of you,” then perfectly sang a few lines a cappella. It was a moving foreshadowing of the evening’s eventual highlight.

Julia Murney gave a passionate reading of “Patterns” (Closer Than Ever). Cordell showed another side of his musical-theater talents as one of the Wright Brothers opposite Ben Schrader in the charming “The Funniest Thing” (Take Flight), with Robert Picardo announcing and Cordell singing while playing mandolin.

Christiane Noll was heartbreaking in a gorgeous rendition of “Autumn,” a song dating back to Maltby and Shire’s Yale days and later used in Starting Here, Starting Now. Take Flight returned with “The Powder Puff Girls,” featuring Julia Bogdanoff, Marisa Kirby, Jenna Pasqua, Becca Ayers, Blair Alexis Brown, Nicole Powell, Erin Moore and Kendra Munger, with Picardo as announcer. The “Girls” were early aviators, including Amelia Earhart and Elinor Smith.

By far the evening’s biggest highlight was Richard Maltby, Jr. taking the stage to sing “If I Sing,” his intensely personal love song to his father, Richard Maltby, Sr., a noted musician and bandleader of the 1940s and 1950s who instilled in him a love of music. (This reviewer has heard Maltby sing it twice before in Old Friends, and it has never failed to make me cry. I relate to its lyrics more than I can say here, and, judging by the sniffles around me, I was not alone.) After an extended standing ovation, Maltby returned to his seat and embraced Shire.

The original Starting Here, Starting Now trio returned for the very cute “One Step,” with Andrews making good use of an opera hat. Liz Callaway then closed the show with the 92nd Street Y Chorus and members of the Lynbrook High School Chorus in “The Story Goes On” (Baby), which she introduced in 1983, fading out on "goes on... and on... and on..." 

The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Maltby and Shire in their seats, as Shire uses a wheelchair. It was an excellent production with a stellar cast; Tony Danza was among the notable audience members.

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Learn more about the ASA here: https://americansongbookassociation.org/why/mission-vision-history, and their magazine, Cabaret Scenes, at https://cabaretscenes.org.

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