SOUND OFF SPECIAL EDITION: White House Salutes Broadway

Children Will Listen

On Monday night, the Obamas hosted a starry event at the White House that was streamed live on the White House Official Website and right here on Broadway World that featured the top talents of the Great White Way singing the very best songs by (mostly) American composers. Among the participants were Elaine Stritch, Nathan Lane, Tonya Pinkins, Brian D'Arcy James, Audra McDonald, Chad Kimball, Karen Olivo and Idina Menzel. Additionally, the concert featured Marvin Hamlisch, who accompanied Idina Menzel on his song from A CHORUS LINE, "What I Did For Love", who I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing yesterday and whose InDepth InterView will be going live tomorrow. First, a review of the Washingtonian events that were online only until the concert premieres on PBS on October 20.

Free

It is all too rare in politics on either side of any issue today to witness someone taking the side of the arts and the future of theatre in this country. Musical theatre, like jazz, is one of the very few wholly original American art forms and it is for that fact alone that the form should be championed, cherished, celebrated and cemented as an American legacy far more than it has been until now. First and foremost, yes, Broadway is a business. But, it is also much, much more. President Obama voiced a true and deeply felt affection for theatre in this country on Monday night - more so than any of the three presidents I've seen in my lifetime until now, certainly - and I sincerely hope that bodes well for the future of federal funding of arts in America. It is desperate times, as this season‘s stillborn season insofar as any variety of new scores or even somewhat innovative revivals attests, so we need some presidential support on Broadway more than ever. That certainly seems clear. But, back to the razzle-dazzle and best of Broadway, as well as a thrilling discovery or two.

George C. Wolfe and Jerry Mitchell are without question two of the most talented and visionary theatre artists directing and choreographing plays and musicals today so to have them so involved, with Wolfe helming the evening, was an enticing delight, their talents giving the entire event a pristine polish and sheen. This made the fantastic performances all the more better, beginning to end, being showcased in such an exemplary way. It was a true treat to have so much Sondheim celebrated - from "Free" to "Broadway Baby" and "I'm Still Here" to WEST SIDE STORY‘s "America" - as well as some Schwartz courtesy of the original, Tony-winning Elphaba: the incomparable Idina Menzel who also treated us to a Marvin Hamlisch warhorse accompanied by the master maestro and the song's composer himself. Highlighting the highlights may be a tricky trek so perhaps it's best to boast the benefits blow-by-blow.

"We are here to sing show tunes for the most powerful man in the free world, and God help anyone who gets in our way!" Nathan Lane related at the show's beginning, following the irascible Elaine Stritch's candid and always-changing and evolving rendition of Sondheim's Broadway paean from FOLLIES, "Broadway Baby". The 12-year-old Sata Olsten singing "Gimme, Gimme" by Jeanine Tesori from THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE was an unexpected surprise, with the young girl possessing a voice a good decade or two beyond her years and demure appearance. What a future this girl has ahead of her! While the song is admittedly a tad cloying, she certainly created a three-dimensional portrait of the character singing it, letting it build organically and convincingly out of the quaintly deceiving downplayed opening though the big note missed the mark a bit. The top-level performance quality was certainly maintained from here on in, with the performers giving their absolute all for the Presidential audience and the audience online and throughout America. Nathan Lane's intermittent banter also remained ribald and hilarious and he revealed himself the true emcee and clown of Broadway if he hadn't already up until now. Back in 2002, the SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS discovery was Brian D'Arcy James who was unforgettable in the central role in that blazing phoenix of a brilliant show, with much of his material tailor-made to his silky-smooth, creamy baritone by fellow participant in the White House Event, three-time Oscar-winning composer/arranger/conductor Marvin Hamlisch. "Blue Skies" is a deceptively difficult song and D'arcy James navigated the treacherous rhythms and exact phrasing with ease and suaveness. He possess one of the best Broadway voices this side of Norm Lewis and Marc Kudisch so his presence here was quite appreciable and hopefully next time we see him onstage it won't be in green make-up ala SHREK. Indeed, perhaps the very finest attribute of this evening was showcasing the best of the new generation of Broadway talent, as great as the older generation certainly are. This was a true showcase for the new blood and the result was bloody wonderful.

Would it be possible to have a more apropos song than "America" from WEST SIDE STORY at a concert in the White House? I think not. Never an admittedly dazzling dancer to begin with - and just out of a cast due to a sprained ankle - was Tony-winning Anita in Arthur Laurents' gigantic hit revival production of WEST SIDE STORY singing just that song alongside some of her castmates from the show: the spunky and saucy stage siren Karen Olivo. Olivo always lights up a room, and she certainly did here - bum leg or not! She looks and simply embodies Anita - and, like Stritch, McDonald, Menzel and the rest of the very, very best - always mines the material for something new every time she sings and acts it. And she's done this one a lot! Four-time Tony-winner Audra McDonald - also on TV's PRIVATE PRACTICE co-starring Mr. Menzel, Taye Diggs - was a breathless (literally, in this case) bombshell, looking perhaps the best she's ever looked - glowing - and singing Frank Loesser's tricky "Can't Stop Talking About Him" which she sang like few others can - or ever could. She's truly among the very best talents in America today. As are all of the participants here, again, giving the new generation of Broadway a chance to strut their stuff for a national audience. Chad Kimball sang "Memphis Lives In Me" which is without any question whatsoever the middling MEMPHIS score's best song by far and even though he sings it every night he never seems to get it quite right on TV and this is no exception which is a shame because it would be nice to have a permanent document of his otherwise flawless portrayal of the generally unlikable role he plays in that show. Perhaps it just was not meant to be. A fly or two in the ointment, alas. By the way, Rob Berman and the Eastroom Quartet certainly made the best out of the material, as well, though an actual orchestra - perhaps conducted by the master Maestro Mr. Hamlisch himself - would have been a vast improvement. Tonya Pinkins recreated her Caroline and the always risky "Gonna Pass A Law" from Jeanine Tesori and Tony Kushner's masterpiece CAROLINE, OR CHANGE - which was, of course, originally directed in the excellent original Broadway production by George C. Wolfe - though perhaps it is a bit too dark and depressing a number to do these days. Or, maybe that was the point. Either way, it was even better than her blisteringly powerful performance on the Tony's back when she was nominated so for that it was nice to have this preservation of a recently anointed iconic portrayal such that Ms. Pinkins' Caroline undoubtedly is.

"Iconic" is also acutely accurate to ascribe to Idina Menzel and her creation of the characters of Maureen in RENT and Elphaba in WICKED, perhaps the two most high-profile and well-known musicals of the last two and a half decades since THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. "Defying Gravity" always sounds at home in her glorious, rich and increasingly more vivid instrument and the green dress will never look better on anyone else (No offense, Brian D'Arcy James). Stephen Schwartz's rangy rock and pop melodies are surprisingly resilient when taKen Down to the bare minimum, or nearly that, as they are here (I also love "Proud Lady" from THE BAKER'S WIFE done unadorned). That is a testament to the visceral, aesthetic - if not always intellectual - charms of WICKED's score, particularly in this entertaining solo arrangement (the song features a duet section in the show version). Plus, you can always rely on Ms. Menzel to throw caution to the wind and test out a new riff or three, as she does here. Lastly, Lane and D'Arcy James were, in a word, perfection portraying the bawdy slaves of Sondheim's "Free" from A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM. A perfect pairing and the best possible upbeat way to end the first half of the show.

A few of these leading ladies got a pair of songs to sing, so the second half of the evening changed things up a bit with the performers singing - for the most part - diametrically opposed material to what they had sung earlier in the evening. Case in point: Audra McDonald's first act Loesser patter-song-on-crack "Can't Stop Talking About Him" is met with the languid, lilting and haunting "Happiness Is Just A Thing Called Joe". McDonald has such range and such a clarion, crystalline tone to her diamond-encrusted vocal instrument that it never ceases to astound. The vocalization section of this song in particular was spine-tinglingly entrancing and evocative of the steamy Southern summer afternoon the song seems to exemplify and very much embody. Up next was the incandescent Idina Menzel alongside Marvin Hamlisch performing the true centerpiece crowning achievement of the night and the most memorable - and most moving moment of all. "What I Did For Love" from A CHORUS LINE has been sung millions of times by seemingly millions of people, but this is among the very best - perhaps the absolute best - it has ever been sung. What a great choice! The song is about Broadway and what it means to truly love what you do and one's willingness to sacrifice all to satisfy that passionate, inalienable desire to make it on Broadway. Thanks to Michael Bennett, A CHORUS LINE is Broadway and this song is the most shining example of the message of that masterpiece of a musical. So, Elaine Stritch singing "I'm Still Here" is just royal icing on this richly decadent Presidential cake. Add in a jolt of "You Can't Stop The Beat" from HAIRSPRAY by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and you are assured to leave them wanting even more and dancing in the aisles on a Broadway-bred high like no other. Yes, not much more could one have wished of this intimate and emotional evening celebrating the best of Broadway right now than this delectable and delightful event at the White House. Or is it the Great White Way House?

If you didn't catch the online stream on Monday, be sure to set your DVRs for October 20th! This is something all Broadway babies surely can't miss!