Review: BROADWAY IN THE PARK by Signature Theatre and Wolf Trap

Fireflies compete with spotlights. A warm breeze rustles through stage-framing treetops. An ethereal spiderweb drifts above the orchestra during a bring-down-the-house ballad.

With a dreamy blend of nature and showtunes, Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre and Wolf Trap delivered a sparkling evening of performances at their fifth annual Broadway in the Park concert. Hosted at Wolf Trap’s breathtaking 7,028-seat Filene Center amphitheatre in Vienna, VA, the show brought together local stars with Broadway greats Lindsay Mendez and Jessie Mueller.

Wolf Trap describes itself as “the only national park dedicated to presenting the performing arts,” a characterization that brings to mind soliloquizing park rangers. In fact, it’s quite the polished operation, with the Filene Center alone hosting more than 80 performances each summer. Built in 1970-71 out of Douglas fir, the space is majestic but approachable in its literal woodsiness, relying on just a few fans to circulate the hot northern Virginia air.

If a cold drink helps, that’s welcome too. Filene Center encourages audience members to bring their own food and beverages—alcohol included—to enjoy on the lawn. Before Saturday’s performance, cooling down after the uphill walk from the free parking lot, excited theatregoers could be seen leaning back into rented seat cushions from the Wolf Trap gift shop and pouring cups of rosé.

With their picnics laid out and the sun setting over the trees, the audience was ready for the main event: big Broadway belts and tender classics from the Great American Songbook. Broadway in the Park delivered on both. In one tight act, this carefully selected program of songs spanned favorites old and new, with seamless direction by Signature Theatre’s Matthew Gardiner.

Headliners Lindsay Mendez and Jessie Mueller both showcased vocal ranges and stylistic versatility uncommon even among Broadway’s elite. Recalling their Broadway roles as Carrie and Julie in Carousel, they sang Rodgers & Hammerstein’s classics “Mister Snow” and “If I Loved You” as impeccable, soaring sopranos. Later on, Mendez displayed her exceptional Sondheim interpreting chops with a funny, vocally masterful rendition of “Moments in the Woods” from Into the Woods, performed in character as the Baker’s Wife—a part she described as one of her “dream roles.” Mueller, known for originating the starring roles in Waitress and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, complemented beltier selections with an understated, totally captivating rendition of the Gershwin classic “Someone to Watch Over Me.”

Even in the shadow of these greats, the Signature Theatre crew held their ground. With a series of supremely tough-act-to-follow solos, each performer—Felicia Curry, Christian Douglas, Kevin McAllister, Tracy Lynn Olivera, Nova Y. Payton, Awa Sal Secka, and Tobias A. Young—brought their own star power to the stage. Young’s animated and brilliantly executed “Beauty School Dropout” was a highlight, as was Payton’s entertainingly Glinda-clad “Defying Gravity,” which had the whole amphitheatre buzzing with anticipation from her first bell-clear note. 

The moments when these soloists came together were some of the night’s most transcendent. The harmonies from Douglas and McAllister in “I’d Rather Be Sailing” and Mendez and Mueller in “You Matter To Me” were a musical theatre lover’s dream. The instrumentalists also had moments to shine: led by music director Jon Kalbfleisch, the Wolf Trap orchestra grabbed the spotlight multiple times throughout the evening, most enjoyably with the excellent overture to Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along.

For those who missed Broadway in the Park this year, Wolf Trap has plenty of other offerings lined up through the end of the season, including a concert with Broadway legends Sutton Foster and Kelli O’Hara accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra. And next summer, with any luck, the fireflies and stars will align once again, and Signature Theatre can continue this well-loved tradition into 2026.

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