BROADWAY WINNERS At Town Hall

In hindsight, it's rather surprising that it took as long for the Siegels to present a concert like Broadway Winners as it did. It's really the perfect setup: showstopping hits that have earned awards (Grammy, Tony, or other) sung by Broadway's best singers. Sometimes, the simplest solutions for a hit take the longest to reach the stage.

On Monday, Broadway's best singers gathered on the Town Hall stage to perform some of the funniest, most dramatic, most rousing and most poignant showstoppers from musicals. Ably directed by Scott Thompdon and musically guided by musical director Fred Barton (who must surely have an aging portrait locked in at attic somewhere, and who performed mere days after sustaining injuries in a car accident), the evening represented songs ranging from jazz standards by Eubie Blake to this year's Tony winner for best score, Next to Normal.

Ute Lemper redeemed herself for last month's bizarre "Ladies Who Lunch" by performing an intense and gritty (and not to mention wonderfully appropriate) "Cabaret" from the eponymous show. JeAnne McDonald sang a lovely "No One is Alone" from Into the Woods, Alex Gemignani (whose voice becomes more refined every time he sings) performed a giddy and energetic title song from She Loves Me, and Jenn Colella sang a poignant and emotional "I Miss the Mountains" from Next to Normal.

Bill Daugherty sang a sweet "I Believe in You" from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying unamplified, getting the Unplugged portion of the evening off to an early start (always a good thing). Lorinda Lisitza (who, we hear, will be bringing back her award-winning cabaret act of Joe Iconis/Robert Maddock songs Triumphant Baby), sang a wild and rather surprisingly poignant "So What" from Cabaret. Lumiri Tubo's rich voice was perfect for the sassy 'My Handy Man Ain't Handy No More" from Eubie, and Donna Lynne Champlin proved that she needs to play Agnes Gooch as soon as possible with her hilarious "Gooch's Song" from Mame.

Rising star Farah Alvin, who earned a Drama Desk nomination for her work in the off-Broadway musical The Marvelous Wonderettes, proved herself a worthy successor to La Streisand with her energetic and brightly comic "I'm the Greatest Star" from Funny Girl. Debbie Gravitte's "If He Walked into My Life" from Mame was rather bittersweet and beautifully poignant, and nicely matched with Martin Vidnovic's "I Am What I Am" from La Cage Aux Folles (paring early Jerry Herman work with his final masterpiece--very nice).

Carousel's "Soliloquy" is the test for any baritone, and William Michals aced beautifully it with his
unamplified rendition that managed to be optimistic, funny and quite intense all at the same time. Lisa Howard sang a lovely "Holding to the Ground" from Falsettos, and Jack Noseworthy sang a sweetly innocent and boyish "Neverland" from Peter Pan. (For the record, Peter Pan didn't actually win any awards in any of its Broadway incarnations, but Noseworthy got to play the role when he subbed for Charlotte d'Amboise in the Tony-winning Jerome Robbins' Broadway, so it counts. Oh, who cares? It's a gorgeous song and he sang it beautifully. Let's move on.)

Broadway by the Year stalwart KendRick Jones ripped up the stage with "Ain't Misbehavin'," tapping away with his usual flair and even throwing in a moonwalk for good measure. Sharon McKnight sang a very emotional "The Impossible Dream" unplugged, and Jeff McCarthy sang a deliciously over-the-top "The Legacy" from On The Twentieth Century. (Is anyone else crushed that the first show to play the newly renovated Henry Miller Theater is Bye Bye Birdie rather than a revival of Urinetown with the original cast repeating their roles? It's enough to drive people to atheism.)

Tovah Feldshuh, who starred in Paper Mill Playhouse's production of Hello, Dolly! several years back, tore up the stage with a wonderfully energetic medley of "Before the Parade Passes By" and "So Long, Dearie." James Barbour, who stopped the recent Paper Mill production of 1776 cold with his chilling rendition of "Molasses to Rum" repeated his feat for New Yorkers who didn't make it to Milburn, complete with evil smirks and grins.

Tony-winner Anika Noni Rose put in an unannounced appearance to sing "Home" from The Wiz (if the recent City Center production transfers, please please please let Ms. Rose star!) as an 11-o'clock number, and the entire company of 23 singers gathered to end the evening with "Brotherhood of Man" from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. (Woe unto those who snuck out of after Ms. Rose's song. And shame, of course.)

Next up for the Summer Cabaret Festival: Broadway's Rising Stars on July 20, and All Singing, All Dancing on July 27.

Photos by Genevieve Rafter Keddy