Review: Norm Lewis at Theatre Raleigh

Within the past few months, Theatre Raleigh has brought Broadway stars Norbert Leo Butz, Rachel Bay Jones, and Ariana DeBose down to the Triangle area for one-night-only concert performances. On November 3rd, they brought down Tony-nominated actor Norm Lewis to their De Ann S. Jones Theatre. General audiences have probably seen him on screen before. He had a recurring role as Edison Davis on the Kerry Washington-led ABC drama series, Scandal, a featured role as Caiaphas in NBC’s 2018 Emmy-winning live telecast of Jesus Christ Superstar, and a supporting role as Eddie in Spike Lee’s 2020 Oscar-nominated Netflix film, Da 5 Bloods.

I myself have actually seen Norm Lewis on stage twice before. First as King Triton in the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid in 2009. Then at the Garner Performing Arts Center as part of their Broadway Voices series in 2014. Seeing him perform this time reminded me a lot of what a true class act he is. Not just as a talent, but as a gentleman. It begins with a classy rendition of ‘My Favorite Things’ from The Sound of Music. From there, Norm told several different stories about his upbringing and career, many of which led to great songs that were tied to them. One of the first stories he told was how he got to sing with Johnny Mathis once and hopes to do so again someday. Some of the highlights regarding songs Norm sang include 'Fever' by Peggy Lee near the beginning of the show and 'No One is Alone' from Into the Woods at the very end.

Another story Norm told was about how the opportunity for him to audition for the 2012 Broadway revival of Porgy & Bess came about. At first, he assumed the creative team wanted him for the featured role of Sportin' Life as that character is usually played by a traditional musical theatre performer in the opera. However, they were crafting a version that would be more accessible to be performed by musical theatre talent. So he got to play the male lead of Porgy opposite Audra McDonald as Bess, and was Tony nominated for it. Which then led to him performing his big solo, ‘I Got Plenty of Nothing,’ first in a more operatic voice, then in a more musical theatre voice.

Another highlights of the evening was Norm inviting the audience to participate in the chorus for the song, ‘Ya Got Trouble,’ from The Music Man. He previously starred as Harold Hill in the Kennedy Center’s 2019 production along with Jessie Mueller and Rosie O’Donnell. Getting to sing the chorus parts of that was a lot of fun. Norm also sang two songs from Les Misérables (a musical he performed in as Javert on both Broadway and in the West End). First, one of his character’s big solo numbers, ‘Stars,’ followed by ‘Bring Him Home,’ which he then said that every time he heard it offstage, he wished he got to sing it.

Another story Norm told was about how one of the first musicals he was ever obsessed with was The Wiz, which then led to a stunning rendition of its signature anthem, ‘Home.’ Norm then talked about another musical he did on Broadway that didn’t last long, but went on to gain a massive cult following called Side Show. One of his fellow cast members was Lauren Kennedy, who is now producing artistic director of Theatre Raleigh. Norm paid tribute to her by performing the 11 o’clock duet, ‘I Will Never Leave You,’ as a solo.

In 2014, Norm made history by becoming the very first African American to have ever played the title role in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. He talked about how playing that character was a dream of his ever since he saw Colm Wilkinson do it in Toronto 20 years earlier. When a friend of his was finishing up his run in the role in New York, Norm managed to get himself an audition to take over, which he successfully booked. One of the most exciting things about that experience for him was meeting people of different ethnicities at the stage door after the show who felt so inspired by his accomplishment. At the end of that discussion, Norm gave us a haunting rendition of his big solo number, ‘The Music of the Night.’

At the beginning of the show, Norm said that he didn’t refer to it as a concert, but as a party. We the audience were his guests, and he showed us quite a wonderful time. As the first year of Theatre Raleigh in Concert is coming to a close, I think it was such an exciting one to start with. While the lineup for next year hasn’t been announced yet, I hope it at least proves to be just as exciting. For those who haven’t caught a single performance in this series, you don’t know what you’re missing.

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