Broadway by the Year: 1955

It's rather surprising to remember what a weak year 1955 was for Broadway. After all, the season that gave Damn Yankees to the world could hardly be dismissed as insignificant, but that show was the only true hit of that year. Fortunately, as Scott Siegel demonstrated on Monday at the latest edition of his Broadway by the Year series, 1955 may have only given us one classic show, but it also offered quite a few songs that deserve to be classics.

Featuring a strong directorial debut from Emily Skinner, this edition of the series felt vaguely different from its predecessors. Perhaps taking a welcome cue from last month's 1945 edition, which featured the complete Bench Scene from Carousel, many of the songs in this edition felt rather like complete scenes, even without any dialogue from the shows from which they were excerpted. It kept a nice air of theatricality to the evening, reminding us that these songs grew out of full situations in their shows.

Following Mr. Siegel's opening narration that set the scene for the year, the cast kicked off the concert with "Stereophonic Sound" from Cole Porter's Silk Stockings. Love was the theme of the next four songs: Cabaret artist Connie Pachl sang a sassy and funny "Nothing Can Replace a Man" from the sexy musical comedy Ankles Away, and Sal Viviano sang the smooth and romantic "All At Once You Love Her" from Rodger and Hammerstein's Pipe Dream. Tony-nominated Broadway star Dee Hoty sang "Kiss Me and Kill Me with Love" from Ankles Away, and fellow Broadway star Liz Larsen serenaded up-and-comer Justin Bohon with the silly "I've Always Loved You" from the Carol Channing vehicle The Vamp. The next two songs took on a more sensual tone, with "A Little Brains, A Little Talent" from Damn Yankees performed somewhat awkwardly but with great style by Ms. Hoty, and the ode to premarital sex "Honeymoon" from Ankles Away performed by Justin Bohon. Huband-and-wife team Liz Larsen and Sal Viviano sang "Two Lost Souls" from Damn Yankees, and Assassins star Alexander Gemignani sang an impassioned "Young And Foolish" from the Amish musical Plain and Fancy. Opera and Broadway performer Ray McLeod sang a soulful and intense "Headin' for the Bottom Blues" from Ankles Away.

And then, for an Act One finale not likely to be matched any time soon, we were treated to a "surprise guest star" who had not been mentioned in any of the publicity for the concert, nor in the programme. As Mr. Siegel explained, "We weren't sure he'd make it up from Hades in time." Fresh from his recurring stint as Albin in La Cage Aux Folles, sporting a red blazer and sharp goatee, Mr. Bryan Batt performed the devilish showstopper from Damn Yankees, "Those Were The Good Old Days" with boundless energy and enthusiasm, reveling in the naughty glee of the witty lyrics. Who knew the Devil's anthem could become a camp classic?

Act Two began with Pachl, Gemignani, Larsen and Viviano celebrating the quirks and foibles of the artistic set with "Be Happy You're a Misfit" from The Vamp. Fosse and The Look of Love star Rachelle Rak draped herself around a suspiciously willing Mr. Siegel to sing one of the best-loved classics from Damn Yankees, "Whatever Lola Wants." Denis Jones provided choreography that gently echoed the legendary work of Bob Fosse, but stood perfectly well on its own. Liz Larsen sang the cute lament "It's A Helluva Way to Run a Love Affair" from Plain and Fancy, and Bohon and Rak burned up the stage with "The Ritz Roll & Rock" from the movie version of Silk Stockings. Again, Denis Jones provided the exuberant choreography, making it easy to forget Fred Astaire's dancing in the film. (No small feat, that.)

The highly anticipated and always popular "Unplugged" portion of the evening began with Ray McLeod filling the Town Hall with his rich voice, singing "Everybody's Got A Home" from Pipe Dream. Director Skinner similarly showed off her pure, sweet soprano range with "This is All Very New to Me" from Plain and Fancy. The evening ended with the men of the cast performing Damn Yankees' breakaway hit, "Heart," lead by Mr. Gemignani. The guys were joined by the rest of the cast (and Mr. Siegel) to reprise the popular anthem of both baseball and theatre fans alike, and as the audience left this penultimate edition of the season, we could only be grateful that we would not have to "wait 'til next year" for the next concert, but only until June 13. Grab up those tickets now– the 1962 edition will feature songs from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Stop the World I Want to Get Off, I Can Get It For You Wholesale, and Little Me.

Photographs courtesy of Maryann Lopinto