All Singin', All Dancin': The Hottest Hoofin' in Town

It has been said that when the emotion in a scene gets so strong that the characters can no longer say it, they sing it. And when the emotion gets so strong that they can no longer sing it, they dance it. The combination of song and dance is more than merely aesthetic: the two art forms, when united, express emotion better than almost any other. And perhaps that is why the All Singin'! All Dancin'! concert at the Town Hall last week was more emotionally fulfilling than just about any other in recent memory.

Using classic and contemporary songs and numerous styles of singing and dancing, director and choreographer Noah Racey carefully crafted multiple layers of emotion for each musical moment, and shared them using a veritable who's-who of Broadway performers. The end result was no mere revue or showcase, but a powerful demonstration of how glorious individual songs can be when they are thoroughly re-examined, re-envisioned and expressed by the best artists in the business. 

After a brief introduction by producer Scott Siegel, Racey was joined by Lorin Latarro and Megan Sikora to open the show with a smart rendition of George M. Cohan's "Nothing New Beneath the Sun," with witty new lyrics from Racey himself.  Nancy Anderson and Kevin Bernard performed an adorable "Button Up Your Overcoat,"  and John Bolton performed the first non-dance number of the evening, an energetic "Tonight at Eight" from She Loves Me. Matt Loehr began a dreamy "Ten Minutes Ago" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, and Megan Sikora joined him to jazz it up with some fancy swing dancing.

Rachelle Rak, one of Broadway's brightest (and, let's be honest, hottest) gypsies, went against type to sing a fierce and funny "City Lights" from The Act. (If any gypsy on Broadway today has what it takes to be the next Chita Rivera, I'd lay my money on Ms. Rak.) Julia Murney sang a rapid-fire "Can't Stop Talkin' About Him", proving that she needs to play Amy in the next revival of Company… or, at the very least, Fanny Brice.

Gypsy legend Harvey Evans, who appeared in the original casts of West Side Story, Hello, Dolly!, New Girl in Town and Follies, shared some stories of working with Bob Fosse during rehearsals for New Girl..., and how demanding the legendary choreographer was. He then launched into an energetic "It Ain't No Sin" that earned him a joyous ovation from the appreciative crowd. (He needs a one-man show à la At Liberty to share his stories and songs.) Lorin Latarro, Marty Lawson and Joe Aaron Reid followed with a white-hot and aerodynamic "Keeping Out of Mischief" from Fats Waller's Ain't Misbehavin', and Nancy Anderson returned to sing a sensual "That Means Nothing to Me!", which she danced to while remaining seated on a piano bench.

After all the sensuality and humor, the mood was gently brought back down with Christopher Spaulding's plaintive rendition of Irving Berlin's "What'll I Do?"  Lorin Latarro watched him sing the number, and then began a ballet with him that silently created a backstory for their characters, and a reason for the song. It was easily the most emotional moment of the concert, and proved how much dance can add to a scene.

Lest the act end on a ballad, Josh Prince and Kevin B. Worley performed a cute and utterly charming "Educate Your Feet" that would have made Astaire smile proudly, and sent the audience to intermission with smiles.

To begin Act Two, Carolyn Doherty, JoAnn M. Hunter, Mary MacLeod, Jennifer Savelli, Amanda Watkins and Jennifer West entered in street clothes and performed a fiercely energetic "Cool" from West Side Story that nicely echoed both Jerome Robbins and Twyla Tharp. Julia Murney and John Bolton returned to reprise their solos from the first act, and then joined together for a lovely duet of Kander & Ebb's "A Quiet Thing."

Scott Siegel pointed out that not all songs are appropriate for dance, and to illustrate his point, husband-and-wife team Meredith Patterson and Shonn Wiley performed "The Inappropriate Medley," dancing to numbers that no one should ever, ever dance to. (For the record, the chosen songs were "Tomorrow Belongs to Me," "Pore Jud is Daid," "Castle on a Cloud," "The Gun Song" from Assassins, "Seasons of Love," "Bui-Doi" from Miss Saigon, "Gethsemane," and "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going.")

To bring down the mood after the hilarious inappropriateness, Kendrick Jones turned Eubie Blake's "Hot Feet" into a lovely salute and tribute to the late, great Gregory Hines, sharing some lovely stories before launching into a fast and fun tap routine that did Mr. Hines (and hell, Mr. Blake) proud. Julia Murney returned one last time to combine Sondheim's "Good Thing Going" with "Not A Day Goes By," balancing the songs beautifully and letting them become a roar of regret and rage. (For the next revival of Merrily, can she play Mary? Please?) Mairi Dorman's lovely cello work did much to help express the mood, letting the notes themselves grow from melancholy to furious.

Racey returned to explain all of the physical problems that beset Broadway dancers, and was joined by Lorin Latarro, Matt Loehr and Megan Sikora to sing Kander & Ebb's "Pain." Midway through the song, Curtains' Edward Hibbert appeared as a demonic choreographer dressed in red spandex to insult the suffering gypsies. (God bless him—I bet the cast of Curtains still hasn't let him forget that leotard.) Jack Noseworthy sang a tough and smartly sarcastic "Use What You Got" from The Life that proved him a perfect Pal Joey. (Thanks to Michael Dale for the suggestion.)

After playing smarmy villains in two recent Broadway musicals, Richard Blake got to indulge his sentimental side with a poignant "How Glory Goes" from Adam Guettel's Floyd Collins, displaying a strong and very emotive voice. Honoring the Siegel's "Unplugged" tradition, Kevin Bernard, Ward Billeisen, Matt Farnsworth, Jim Newman, Joe Aaron Reid and Christopher Spaulding sang a lovely and unamplified "What You'd Call a Dream" from Craig Carnelia's Diamonds.

Racey returned with David Baum, Luke Hawkins, Kevin B. Worley and Jason Yudoff for a stomp fest that gradually grew into a rhythm, and from a rhythm into a sort of percussion. Using only that percussion and a solo cello, Joyce Chittick performed a scorching "I've Got You Under My Skin" that turned the song from flirtatious to exuberantly sensual. Ross Patterson's Little Big Band took over when Chittick joined the dance, but faded out again as the song drew towards its end, leaving only the tapping as the heartbeat of the number. Racey's staging of this number reinvented it, changing it from the sly charm of Ole Blue Eyes into something new-- raw, passionate, powerful and utterly exhilarating.

Faced with the Herculean task of following that showstopper, Karen Ziemba ended the concert with Kander & Ebb's "And The World Goes 'Round," which she introduced in the eponymous revue in 1991. While the number may not have overwhelmed its predecessors, it was a wonderful way to see the famous dancer as a singer, and to remember how multi-talented so many of Broadway's best and brightest are, and how much they can accomplish when the right producers let them show off their stuff. May this celebration of song and dance be only the first of many others like it.

Photo by Genevieve Rafter Keddy - 1) Lorin Lotarro, Noah Racey and Megan Sikora; 2) Nancy Anderson; 3) Julia Murney