REVIEW: BROADWAY BY THE YEAR-- THE BROADWAY MUSICALS OF 1935

Somehow, the Broadway by the Year series gets better with just about every edition. Perhaps not coincidentally, each edition features more and more songs performed sans amplification, the way they were meant to be heard before microphones made strong voices insignificant.

And what strong voices were featured at the Town Hall last week! This was the largest cast a Broadway by the Year presentation has had yet, with Tony-winners Gretha Boston and Chuck Cooper, Tony nominees Karen Akers, Emily Skinner, Barbara Walsh, and Douglas Sills, cabaret stars Todd Murray and Lumiri Tubo, and rising stars Darius de Haas, LaurieWilliamson, Noah Racey and Nancy Lemenager. Of course, the true star of the show was, as always, Mr. Scott Siegel, who created and produces the series, writes the historical narration, and serves the evening's host. Once the Ross Patterson Little Big Band had finished the Overture, Mr. Siegel gave us some facts to put the songs in context: 1935 was the worst year of the Depression, and one of the worst for Broadway, considering that musical comedy was enjoying its heyday. Only ten musicals opened, and none of them turned a profit.

The first song, then, was very apt for the Depression. Chuck Cooper presented Porgy and Bess' "I Got Plenty of Nothin'," and the lack of a microphone let his powerful voice resonate through the theatre. Barbara Walsh performed a sassy "I've Got to Get Hot", which was nicely countered by Tubo's rendition of "You Ain't So Hot" from George White's Scandals of 1936 (which actually opened in 1935). Douglas Sills sang the hit "My Romance" from Jumbo (rather surprisingly, Sills' voice seemed to be the weakest of the evening, and while his renditions of the songs were certainly good, they paled in comparison to the rest of the crowd), and Racey and Lemenager danced a sparking "Gringola" from Earl Carroll's Sketchbook, conjuring, as they did in Never Gonna Dance, images of Fred and Ginger. Emily Skinner used the concert to show off her impressive soprano voice, a delightful change from her usual brassy belting. Unamplified, she and Barbara Walsh sang a duet from Jumbo, "Over and Over Again," just beautifully, showing off their ranges to full potential. Solo, Skinner sang "Red Sails in the Sunset," which became the hit from the Provincetown Follies. '30's-esque innuendo was represented with a charmingly seductive "Cigarette" that Douglas Sills offered to Karen Akers, and Barbara Walsh, without a microphone, sang the innocently sexy "May I Have My Gloves?" both from George White's Scandals.

The intermission was surrounded by the two highlights of the evening, courtesy of Porgy and Bess: Cooper and Williamson let their natural voices soar as they sang "Bess, You Is My Woman Now," and after the entr'acte, Williamson returned alone to present "Summertime" in its full glory, hitting magnificently high notes in whistle-voice. These were moments of heart-stopping beauty that could not have been matched with amplified voices. When the audience had returned to earth, Sills and Murray performed a charming vaudeville-esque piece, "Let's Swing It," that had both of them dancing, followed by Darius de Haas singing a gentle and lovely "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World."

1935, it seems, had many shows that prominently featured African-Americans, more than Porgy and Bess. Lumiri Tubo performed the Ethel Waters' standard "Hottentot Potentate" from At Home Abroad, and Gretha Boston and Chuck Cooper sang the upbeat "Got A Bran' New Suit" from the same show. De Haas offered a jazzy "It Ain't Necessarily So," and, unamplified, Boston sang the politically charged "Life Could Be So Beautiful" from the revue Parade.

Sills performed an unamplified "Begin the Beguine" from Cole Porter's Jubilee, but to much less effect than his comic numbers. Ms. Akers then returned to perform the evening's finale, "Dance My Darlings," but gracefully allowed Racey and Lemenager to return to the spotlight in a beautiful pas de deux. The moment was just lovely– a wonderful combination of words, music, and dance. It was easy to imagine Depression-era New Yorkers watching just a song-and-dance combination, and feeling their weary spirits rise with the music.