Broadway by the Year: 1959

1959 will go down in history as the year that premiered three shows to win the Tony Award for Best Musical, but as Scott Siegel showed his audience at the latest Broadway by the Year concert, there was more to admire than just Redhead, Fiorello!, and The Sound of Music. Gypsy premiered that year, as did Once Upon a Mattress, which launched Carol Burnett to stardom. Other, less famous shows also had noteworthy songs that may have fallen into disuse, but deserve to be heard once again. Presented at the Town Hall by Scott Siegel, backed by the Ross Patterson Little Big Band and directed by Marc Kudisch, the evening presented some of Broadway's most legendary songs performed by a wonderfully capable cast of top-notch actors, singers and dancers.

The concert began with a lovely, four-part choral rendition of the iconic title song from The Sound of Music performed by Emily Skinner, Sarah Jane McMahon, Mark Jacoby and Manoel Felciano. (While half the fun of attending BBTY concerts is hearing how classic songs were originally performed, the other half is hearing new renditions of said classics.) After Scott Siegel set the metaphorical stage, Skinner returned to sing a lusty "I'll Marry the Very Next Man" from Fiorello!, wisely omitting the painful verse that makes light of spousal abuse. (Another wonderful part about these concerts is learning about the un-PC lyrics that used to permeate popular songs, even if we don't get to hear them sung. Sometimes, just knowing they exist is enough.)

Mark Jacoby, who played the Major General to Mr. Kudisch's Pirate King in last month's The Pirates of Penzance at City Opera, returned to sing "I'm Back in Circulation" from Redhead, and Mr. Felciano, his Sweeney Todd co-star, sang a soulful and poignant "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" from The Nervous Set. (Mr. Siegel mentioned at this point that Mr. Felciano had put on 35 pounds for a film project. First of all, Mano, you look wonderful now that you're no longer Toby-emaciated, and second of all, if you leave Broadway for Hollywood, you'll be doing the world a horrific disservice. That is all.)

Young Sarah Jane McMahon, who also co-starred with Mr. Kudisch as the sassy Mabel in Pirates, sang "Do Re Mi" from The Sound of Music, but turned it into a sing-along for the audience that dragged the energy of the moment down. Ms. McMahon has a gorgeous voice, and would make a top-notch Maria, but she probably would have done better to sing the song as a solo. Director Kudisch performed his first number of the evening: a ribald and deliciously chauvinistic "Old Fashioned Girl" from The Girls Against the Boys. Josh Prince and Nancy Lemenager were joined by Ms. McMahon and Mr. Felciano for a rich and charming title song of Take Me Along.

To a vamp of "Let Me Entertain You," Hairspray's Bruce Vilanch entered in a pink silk bathrobe that he threatened to remove before launching into Once Upon A Mattress' "Shy." Mr. Jacoby sang a rich and powerful "When Did I Fall in Love?" from Fiorello!, evoking Howard Keel and Richard Kiley with his emotional rendition of the gorgeous ballad. In keeping with the Broadway by the Year tradition of performing songs unamplified, Kudisch and McMahon sang Once Upon A Mattress' love duet "Yesterday I Loved You" sans microphone, reveling in the silliness of the number but also letting the lovely music soar.

Mr. Prince returned to sing "All I Need is the Girl" from Gypsy, raising a few eyebrows when he began the number seated on a stool. While seated, he began to tap dance, and finally rose to launch into a fantastic self-choreographed routine that perfectly captured the enthusiasm and energy of the song. In a showstopping turn, Messrs. Jacoby, Kudisch and Felciano demonstrated their own "talents" with "You Gotta Get a Gimmick" from Gypsy, with Mr. Jacoby playing Miss Mazzeppa's trumpet, Mr. Felciano playing Tessie Tura's violin, and Mr. Kudisch shining flashlights on his pecs. (Mr. Doyle, don't get any ideas. Please. I beg you.) Emily Skinner was then saddled with the unenviable task of wrapping up the act right after the three gentlemen had stopped it cold, and while she wasn't able to top them, she sang a fantastic "Some People," proving that she is more than ready to take on Mama Rose's mantle. Mr. Sondheim, Mr. Laurents, may I humbly recommend Ms. Skinner for your next Gypsy revival? Please? 

After a surprisingly mellow entr'acte of "Love Held Lightly" from Saratoga, three very unique performers put their unique spins on "Let Me Entertain You," Gypsy's vampishly innocent ode to showbiz. Nancy Lemenager, in a sequined leotard, leapt powerfully about the stage; McMahon performed some startling acrobatics; and Bruce Vilanch finally performed his promised striptease... to reveal a t-shirt that announced he was "Still Shy." Backed solely by a bass, Emily Skinner sang a quietly powerful "I Say Hello" from Destry Rides Again. The three "ecdysiasts" from "You Gotta Get a Gimmick" returned to sing a haunting three-part harmonic "Edelweiss" from The Sound of Music-- the final song for which Oscar Hammerstein II ever wrote lyrics. Sarah Jane McMahon returned to sing a melodic and lovely "I Wish It So" from the flop musical Juno—the only number from the show to make it into the concert.

A beautiful theatrical medley-of-sorts followed; the kind that could only happen at BBTY. Mr. Kudisch serenaded a plaintive-faced Manoel Felciano with "Ballad of the Sad Young Man" from The Nervous Set, and Mr. Felciano, in turn, serenaded Nancy Lemenager with "Rose Lovejoy of Paradise Alley" from Destry Rides Again. The two songs complimented each other beautifully, and as performed by Messrs. Kudisch and Felciano, told a wonderfully emotional story.

Lightening the mood, Mr. Vilanch and Ms. Skinner sang a sweetly endearing "But Yours" from Take Me Along, and Mr. Prince and Ms. Lemininger did an adorable vaudeville-esque hobo act to "I'll Try" from Redhead, with some spectacularly fancy footwork from the two dancers. Two more unamplified numbers ended the concert: Mary Bond Davis ripped into "Everything's Coming Up Roses" with gusto (though perhaps somewhat under-rehearsed), proving herself the second should-be Mama Rose of the evening. In a bit of an anti-climax, Ms. McMahon brought the evening to a close with a lovely "Climb Every Mountain" that, by its very nature, paled after the energy of the previous song. Still, she sang it flawlessly, paying careful attention to the lyrics and conveying their emotion with great care. The entire cast gathered one last time to bid the audience "So Long, Farewell" from The Sound of Music, which will have to tide fans over until we can see The Broadway Musicals of 1964, Part II on June 18.

Photographs courtesy of Maryann Lopinto.