Though Ervin Drake's 'The Friendliest Thing (Two People Can Do),' from his 1964 hit What Makes Sammy Run?, has been called the first song from a Broadway musical to be directly about having sex, Suzanne Carrico employs no vampy winks or purring vocals as she observes with heightened intellectual interest the unnecessity of foreplaying drinks and dances when a couple in lust could simply get right to it. (Yes, I just made up two words in that sentence. Deal with it.) Her new show at The Metropolitan Room, opening less than three weeks afters winning the MAC Award for Outstanding Debut, is named for this suggestive showtune but the self-described geek cleverly treats the song as a subtext to Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields' 'Welcome To Holiday Inn,' sandwiching the cerebral sexuality between slices of broader, comical pass-making. This is either the smartest show about sex or the sexiest show about smarts in town.In outstanding company both offstage (Mary Cleere Haran is her director) and on (she's got music director/arranger Tedd Firth on piano and Steve Doyle on bass), Carrico has the kind of sunny, uncomplicated voice that can fill Harold Arlen and Leo Brown's 'Hooray For Love' with perky glee, matched with the kind of acting skill that can explore the dark dramatic longings of Arlen and Johnny Mercer's 'I Had Myself a True Love,' climaxing in an anguished belt that is far more about the woman she portrays than her ability to vocally shine.She calls this her hanky-panky show and most every number has something to do with sex. There's the sweet simplicity with which she approaches Jimmy Roberts and Joe DiPietro's 'I Will Be Loved Tonight,' where a woman who has gone too long without a lover's touch anticipates how the evening's date will end, and the wry exasperation of 'Toothbrush Time,' William Bolcom and Arnold Weinstein's tense contemplation on why last night's lover is taking so long to get out of the apartment. She savors the snazzy jazz jauntiness of Michael John La Chiusa's 'The Thief' and turns George Gershwin and B.G. DeSylva's 'Do It Again!' into a lopsided debate between the mind and the libido (guess who wins).The very funny sexpot character song, 'Femininity' (Jay Livingston/Ray Evans), is given an interesting personal twist as she introduces it with some of her own feelings as an adolescent girl surprised by the different way boys would look at her once she started developing. Her admiration for the romantic passion expressed by Alan and Marilyn Bergman fuels her detailed story-telling in 'Like a Lover' and 'The Island.And for those who believe that hanky-panky is never complete without a bit of cuddling after, she finishes the evening with a very satisfied and satisfying 'Embraceable You' by the Gershwins.
William Bolcom News
The Hartt School presents the Music of Stephen Michael Gryc: An Anniversary Celebration The Adaskin String Trio, along with Hartt faculty and students, perform music of Professor Stephen Michael Gryc on Sunday, November 1, at 3:00 PM in Berkman Recital Hall.
The American Brass Quintet will perform the first concert in The Richard P. Garmany Chamber Music Series on Thursday, October 29, at 7:30 PM in Hartt's Millard Auditorium, on the University of Hartford campus.
The American Brass Quintet will perform the first concert in The Richard P. Garmany Chamber Music Series on Thursday, October 29, at 7:30 PM in Hartt's Millard Auditorium, on the University of Hartford campus.
The American Brass Quintet will perform the first concert in The Richard P. Garmany Chamber Music Series on Thursday, October 29, at 7:30 PM in Hartt's Millard Auditorium, on the University of Hartford campus.
Kaufman Center and New York Festival Of Song (NYFOS, www.nyfos.org), will premiere Great American Songwriting Teams, an evening of famous and rarely-heard songs honoring the genius of America's classic collaborators, on Tuesday and Thursday November 17 and 19 at 8 PM at Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center. Merkin Concert Hall is at 129 West 67th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenues), New York, NY 10023.
A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE: - William Bolcom's tragic opera about Red Hook longshoremen finds its Brooklyn voice with Vertical Player Repertory. World premiere of a two piano arrangement developed in collaboration with the composer.
The American Brass Quintet will perform the first concert in The Richard P. Garmany Chamber Music Series on Thursday, October 29, at 7:30 PM in Hartt's Millard Auditorium, on the University of Hartford campus.
The Hartt School presents the Music of Stephen Michael Gryc: An Anniversary Celebration The Adaskin String Trio, along with Hartt faculty and students, perform music of Professor Stephen Michael Gryc on Sunday, November 1, at 3:00 PM in Berkman Recital Hall.
The Hartt School, the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford, is pleased to announce that its newest music initiative, a four-concert chamber music series, has been named The Richard P. Garmany Chamber Music Series.
On September 10, 2009 Performance Network Theatre will host 'PN 09/10: Decade of Dreams Cabaret', an evening of food, wine and entertainment to begin the 2009-2010 season and to celebrate a decade of excellence in their downtown location.
On September 10, 2009 Performance Network Theatre will host 'PN 09/10: Decade of Dreams Cabaret', an evening of food, wine and entertainment to begin the 2009-2010 season and to celebrate a decade of excellence in their downtown location.
The Hartt School is proud to announce its 2009-2010 Instrumental Studies Division performance schedule. Please call the University Box Office at 860.768.4228 or 800.274.8587 or visit www.hartford.edu/hartt for ticket prices and up-to-date scheduling information.
Upright Cabaret, L.A.'s premier theatrical showcase featuring an eclectic mix of artists from stage, screen and recording, announces the complete cast for its third and final of its wildly successful 'WICKED' Summer Night at the Ford, featuring the man who has given the world such musical theatre treasures as Wicked, Pippin, Godspell, The Baker's Wife and many more, STEPHEN SCHWARTZ: MAKING GOOD, featuring the West Coast premiere of songs from his new opera Séance on a Wet Afternoon, with musical direction by Chris Bratten, directed by Upright Cabaret Artistic Director Billy Porter and performing ONE NIGHT ONLY, Sunday, August 23 at 7:30pm at the Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East in Hollywood.
Upright Cabaret, L.A.'s premier theatrical showcase featuring an eclectic mix of artists from stage, screen and recording, presents its third and final of its wildly successful 'WICKED' Summer Night at the Ford, featuring the man who has given the world such musical theatre treasures as Wicked, Pippin, Godspell, The Baker's Wife and many more, STEPHEN SCHWARTZ: MAKING GOOD, featuring the West Coast premiere of songs from his new opera Séance on a Wet Afternoon, with musical direction by Chris Bratten, directed by Upright Cabaret Artistic Director Billy Porter and performing ONE NIGHT ONLY, Sunday, August 23 at 7:30pm at the Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East in Hollywood.
The Hartt School, the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford, is pleased to announce that its newest music initiative, a four-concert chamber music series, has been named The Richard P. Garmany Chamber Music Series.
Upright Cabaret, L.A.'s premier theatrical showcase featuring an eclectic mix of artists from stage, screen and recording, announces the complete cast for its third and final of its wildly successful 'WICKED' Summer Night at the Ford, featuring the man who has given the world such musical theatre treasures as Wicked, Pippin, Godspell, The Baker's Wife and many more, STEPHEN SCHWARTZ: MAKING GOOD, featuring the West Coast premiere of songs from his new opera Séance on a Wet Afternoon, with musical direction by Chris Bratten, directed by Upright Cabaret Artistic Director Billy Porter and performing ONE NIGHT ONLY, Sunday, August 23 at 7:30pm at the Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East in Hollywood.
On September 10, 2009 Performance Network Theatre will host 'PN 09/10: Decade of Dreams Cabaret', an evening of food, wine and entertainment to begin the 2009-2010 season and to celebrate a decade of excellence in their downtown location.
Upright Cabaret, L.A.'s premier theatrical showcase featuring an eclectic mix of artists from stage, screen and recording, presents its third and final of its wildly successful 'WICKED' Summer Night at the Ford, featuring the man who has given the world such musical theatre treasures as Wicked, Pippin, Godspell, The Baker's Wife and many more, STEPHEN SCHWARTZ: MAKING GOOD, featuring the West Coast premiere of songs from his new opera Séance on a Wet Afternoon, with musical direction by Chris Bratten, directed by Upright Cabaret Artistic Director Billy Porter and performing ONE NIGHT ONLY, Sunday, August 23 at 7:30pm at the Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East in Hollywood.
New York Festival Of Song (NYFOS, www.nyfos.org), founded by Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, who 'redefined the song recital with daring and dramatic programming,' (The New Yorker) announces its 22nd Season for 2009-2010 with performances at Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center and at The Juilliard School.
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