Baltimore Symphony Honors Broadway at Oregon Ridge Concert

Saturday night, July 14, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presented "Broadway Showstoppers" with promised selections from the Great White Way.  Associate Conductor Andrew Constantine led a split squad BSO due to a simultaneous concert in Columbia. There, the BSO was performing with the Portland-based indie rock group "The Decemberists".  Even a "split-squad" BSO sounded terrific, although I noticed right away there were only three double-bass players.

Headlining this annual Broadway-inspired concert were two veterans from the Broadway stage. You could easily call them the Phantom Fanatics. Lisa Vroman has played the role of Christine Daae in "Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway, San Francisco, and LA. She commented she has done the show 3,000 times. Her claim to fame may be she was the first actress to play both the role of Cosette and Fantine in "Les Miserables". She is also featured in the July issue of "Opera News".

Her co-star of the night was Doug LaBrecque who has played both male leads of "Phantom" on Broadway…sometimes with the mask and sometimes not. He has a new CD entitled "Opening Doors".

Close to 5,000 theater lovers were in attendance which included many children.  I noticed a pair of  concert-goers who had taken advantage of the face-painting. They chose to look like felines from the show "Cats". They were Olivia Acevedo (10) from Middle River who wore a "High School Musical" t-shirt and her cousin Jasmine Schwichter (7). They both love musical theater.

One would think that a concert billed as "Broadway Showstoppers" would only play music from Broadway shows but that was not the case. Of the twelve songs performed by the soloists, two were NOT from the Broadway lexicon. While they were beautifully performed, (Carol Bayer-Sager's "The Prayer" and Santori's "Con Te Partiro"), one would assume the concert would be restricted to Broadway. I don't imagine at an Opera concert you would hear a song from "Spring Awakening".

It is also about time that symphony orchestras recognize there is much great music from shows AFTER "Phantom". The BSO advertised one of the shows featured would be "The Producers". I even wore my "Bialystock & Blume" t-shirt. But there was nothing by Mel Brooks. The line-up included songs from "My Fair Lady" (coming this season to the Hippodrome), "Oklahoma", "Chicago", "Cabaret", "Gypsy", "The Wizard of Oz", "The Music Man", "Girl Crazy", "Carousel" and the overture from "West Side Story". The BSO missed a great opportunity to announce this is the 50^th Anniversary of "West Side Story" which opened on Broadway in 1957. The National Symphony during their July 4^th concert broadcast on PBS mentioned this fact and did a nice tribute to the Bernstein/Sondheim masterpiece with photos from the original cast.

The BSO could have presented music from the musical "Hairspray" with opens in Baltimore on Wed. July 18 at the Charles Theatre.  How terrific it would have been to hear "Good Morning (or Evening) Baltimore" to open the concert. I'm also sure many in the huge crowd would have also enjoyed music from more recent shows like "Wicked", "Ragtime", and anything from the Sondheim collection.

One problem that needs to be addressed is lighting. It would be nice if there were spotlights used on the two soloists since the lighting on the Oregon Ridge stage is less than ideal. And since no programs are available, why not post the line-up of songs at a few places such as  the BSO booth so patrons would know what to expect.

The BSO should also consider allowing local theater companies to offer the huge crowd information on the local Baltimore/Washington theater scene.

Enough criticism though. The show was really terrific. The overture to "West Side Story" was flawless.  I loved the English Horn solo by Jane Marvine during "There's a Place for Us". The BSO sounded marvelous.

The two soloists were superb. Soprano Vroman, who in Act I wore a red dress to match her red hair, has a sweet and powerful voice.

La Brecque is also a terrific talent.  I loved how he changed the lyrics from "Willkommen". He commented "Here in beautiful Oregon Ridge, the horses are beautiful and (as he turned toward the orchestra) even the orchestra is beautiful".

Both artists sang numbers from "Phantom of the Opera" and the audience was enthralled. Vroman nailed "The Phantom of the Opera" and La Brecque's "Music of the Night" was followed with much applause.

The finale "Suite from Chicago" was choreographed to a fabulous fireworks display. Needless to say, everyone in attendance got their money's worth. Many gave the BSO and the soloists a standing ovation which is tough to do from blankets and beach chairs.

The BSO has one more event at Oregon Ridge on Saturday night, July 28, featuring movie music AND fireworks. Gates open at 5 p.m. with the concert at 8 p.m. For ticket information, call 410-783-8000.

The National Symphony as a similar concert Saturday night, July 21 at 8:15 p.m. at Wolf Trap. Marvin Hamlisch conducts the NSO in a program entitled "From Hollywood to Broadway". Call 1-877-wolftrap.

And don't forget, you can see "The Phantom of the Opera" at the Kennedy Center through Aug. 12. Call 202-467-4600.

For comments, write to cgshubow@broadwayworld.com.

Photo - Andrew Constantine

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