Broadway Jukebox: A New Entrant on the Nightlife Scene

Not content to merely celebrate the best of Broadway and cabaret with Broadway by the Year, the Nightlife Awards, Broadway Unplugged and several festivals throughout the year, Scott and Barbara Siegel have started yet another program to show off the best entertainment New York City has to offer.

Broadway Jukebox is markedly different from any other Siegel show, and sits firmly between traditional cabaret and open-mic shows like Cast Party, After Party and Mostly Sondheim (Party). Unusually for a Siegel production, it’s not held at Town Hall, but at Birdland, the legendary “Jazz Corner of the World.” When guests enter the comparatively intimate venue, they are handed sheets with selections of songs for each performer. The guests select what songs they want to hear, the votes are tallied, and the show begins with nine official selections and several “bonus” numbers from each performer. As each song is introduced, host Scott Siegel shares trivia about it, offering a fresh new perspective on numbers that have (in many cases) become almost routine.

This past Sunday’s edition featured Lisa Howard, Jack Noseworthy and Tony Yazbeck, with Ted Firth and Cathy Venable taking turns at the piano under Scott Coulter’s deft direction. While some songs were predictable (Noseworthy sang an animated “Use What You Got” from The Life, Yazbeck reprised “All I Need is the Girl” from Gypsy—softshoe routine included—and Howard sang an elegant “How Could I Ever Know” from The Secret Garden), the strongest moments were the least expected. Howard got to show off her very impressive soprano voice with a wonderful “Gorgeous” from The Apple Tree (and unlike Barbara Harris, she did not need to be dubbed for the high D at the end). Noseworthy threw some Fiddler on the Roof-esque choreography into his very funny “Shiksa Goddess” from The Last Five Years, and Yazbeck performed a fierce tap routine to “I Can’t Be Bothered Now”—which somehow seems more appropriate now than it has since it premiered in 1937.

Yazbeck and Howard sang a lovely “Tonight,” which prompted Howard to quip that this might be her only chance to sing Maria, and Noseworthy sang a truly haunting “Johanna” from Sweeney Todd. (After Siegel commented that Sondheim considered the song to be about obsession, Noseworthy somberly intoned, “Obsession: A Fragrance by Stephen Sondheim.”) Noseworthy also sang a very fierce “Being Alive” that bordered on angry—although his emphasis on the line “As frightened as you” added some fascinating layers to the song. Howard’s lovely soprano voice served as a very effective counterbalance to “Children of the Wind” from Rags—a chilling song about violence, loss and hope that, again, seems more relevant now than it did when the show first opened.

Clocking in at a tight 90 minutes (6:30pm to 8) and $35 ($25 cover, $10 minimum for food or drink), Broadway Jukebox is a great value for those who want to enjoy some of the best talent of New York’s theatre and cabaret scenes. This new series seems poised to become a fun new addition to the nightlife offerings, and with its reasonable price and starting time, is one that whole families can enjoy together.

Photo Credit: Genevieve Rafter-Keddy