Review: ON BROADWAY at Smothers Theatre

On Broadway comes back to the Smothers Theatre, at the Lisa Wengler Center for the Arts, on the Pepperdine University campus in Malibu, for a spectacular musical extravaganza. With a fresh lineup of new musical tunes and favorite classics, it’s pretty much the perfect Broadway concert show.  I’m still humming “Popular” from Wicked and “Razzle Dazzle” from Chicago nonstop, floating in a giddy haze of joy-soaked musical elation.

And what an absolute embarrassment of riches of talent is on display here.  Broadway stars Sarah Uriarte Berry, Jacob Haren, Terron Brooks, and Emily Jenda are all those once in a lifetime, once in a generation kind of voices.  Each singer is a whole show onto themselves, and in fact, some of them do currently have hit solo shows, like Terron Brook’s Soul of Broadway currently on tour. A premise for Terron Brook’s current Soul of Broadway show is stripping down show tunes, maybe experimenting with reframing them musically in another musical genre, to find the soulful core of the song beneath all the razzmatazz.  In a way, it feels like this is a bit of the musical context of On Broadway, too. 

I know it might be heretical to confess this in a place for devout Broadway fans, but I sometimes wince at the pop-rock-classical crossover sound of some musical scoring. In contrast, this concert hosts just four outstanding jazz musicians, Will Brahm, Mike Selfridge, Nick Stone, and Lyndon Pugeda.  They create an instrumental sound fierce in its musical craftsmanship, lean, gutsy, spare, creative, and enormously expressive.  The musical direction by Lyndon Pugeda is innovative and sublime.  I love this intimate, fresh, jazzy cabaret re-crafting of the musical sound.

Put Sarah Uriarte Berry, Jacob Haren, Terron Brooks, and Emily Jenda together and it feels like they could blow the roof right off the concert hall and not even pause for breath.  They are all stupendously talented. Together, they have wonderful chemistry and camaraderie that is a joy to see. Musically they play off each other’s strengths and tonal sounds, with superb direction by Heather Lundstedt.

I love a twisty rock-jazz number from the Jagged Little Pill musical they sing as an ensemble.  It turns into a power anthem of stumbling, survival, and grace, with a heartfelt, surprisingly gospel leaning punch.  Jacob Haren sings an electrifying, smoky honkytonk take on “Johnny B. Goode” from Back to the Future: The Musical, and Sarah Uriarte Berry, Terron Brooks, and Emily Jenda provide an old school bluesy doo wop chorus.  Jacob Haren is a Broadway star also to be found performing with the Dapper Dans, Disneyland’s sublime barbershop quartet. He has a tremendous range and an addictively watchable quality, and stood out in the show whether he was singing from the Book of Mormon, which he starred in on Broadway, or performing a delightfully bitchy, indulgent, vocally stunning “You’ll Be Back” from Hamilton.

There are many standout moments from this glorious show. Terron Brooks leans into the silky, creamy syrup of his voice and delicious comic timing for “Razzle Dazzle” from Chicago, with such perfectly timed pauses that it elicited laughs out loud from the audience.  Terron Brooks’ voice is incredible and cannot really be described.  It’s no wonder he has performed with legends like Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson.  He really has that classic star presence and voice.  His sound, rich, melodic, powerful, pure butterscotch, makes every song sound luscious and soulful.  I cannot wait to see his touring show Soul of Broadway.

Sarah Uriartre Berry does what is now my favorite version of “Popular” from Wicked, nailing the cattiness, humor, charm, and catchy nastiness and the song.  She also performs an incredibly ambitious, intimate take on a Barbra Streisand classic that is a bravura, heartrending showstopper.  Sarah Uriartre Berry has the perfect bell-like, expressive musical voice, tender and supple and crystalline, and is an utterly engrossing storyteller.  She brings delightful, self-deprecating charm to the evening and to the ensemble.

Emily Jenda turns out to have not only one of those superstar voices that give me literal goosebumps, but also to be a true vocal and acting chameleon in a way that seemed like it possibly couldn’t be the same person singing.  In “Flowers” from Hadestown, Emily Jenda sounds like a young Tori Amos, and then there are times in the evening I swear she could be Whitney Houston or Denyce Graves.  Emily Jenda’s voice is a wonder.  Her “Heart of Stone” from SIX The Musical and “Burn” from Hamilton are scorched earth, wildfire showstoppers of naked fury and passion, with unbelievable levels of sheer power.

The Smothers Theatre is an ideal venue to see a show like this.  It bathes you in superb, golden warm, buttery acoustics.  There is comfortable seating, with an innovative architectural design of several hundred seats, but only 15 rows, that makes every seat in the house feel close to the stage.  The Smothers Theatre also happens to be located on the Pepperdine University Malibu campus, considered one of the most beautiful college campuses in the US. Since parking here for the show starts two hours early, I recommend coming early if you can, sipping some tea or a drink, and just enjoying the bliss of a few hundred secluded acres of rolling Malibu hills with stunning views of the Pacific everywhere you look.

Photos by Ella Coates

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