Review: Broadway Artists Blur the Lines Between Theatre and Mainstream in BROADWAY SINGS THEIR OWN at Feinstein's/54 Below

It is an actor's intent as old as time not to become boxed into a certain type of role or performative style, be it the ingénue, the sassy sidekick, or the bad boy too smolderingly handsome for his own good (not the worst problem to have, frankly). One essential key to eluding that conundrum is the laser-sharp understanding of who you are as a performer, outside of a given character or show.

So what happens, then, when actors known primarily for their roles in musical theatre take to the stage to perform purely as themselves? The question was answered at Feinstein's/54 Below's BROADWAY SINGS THEIR OWN concert on August 29, as eight vastly disparate performers stepped into the spotlight, each to perform two original songs they wrote themselves, stripped of characters to hide behind.

Including actors from shows as recent as this past Broadway season---as well as one that is upcoming in the next ---the performances could be broadly grouped into three categories: musical theatre, comedy, and indie pop. The first performer of the evening fell into the latter, kicking off the show with the prudent indication that this audience was not going to hear subpar B sides from an apathetic romp through songwriting. Katie Boeck, seen on Broadway in the past season's production of SPRING AWAKENING, first performed "All I Need," hauntingly rhythmic in its title refrain. Her second song, "Cold Water," was about a long distance relationship, and was ironically warm in its jazz-infused flow. Accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, Boeck's vibe was inarguably contemporary and would not feel out of place on a playlist including Ingrid Michaelson and Fleet Foxes.

Nor would the stylings of Jonathan Ritter, who starred in Broadway's just-shuttered FINDING NEVERLAND. Ritter, vowing between songs to devote some of his newly-alleviated schedule to penning more original tunes, has the kind of enigmatic charisma that allows him to at once remain mysterious while still letting audiences peer through a sincere window into himself through the personal nature of his writing and performance. His songs, "Lovers" and "Don't Let Me Go," both perpetuated that amalgam further, restrained in their forcefulness but aching in truth. Both also put on display Ritter's distinct vocal gravitas, able to scale the necessary heights of a traditional Broadway belt while also ideal for these radio-ready acoustic tunes.

The last of the evening's indie pop subset was duo Alison Luff and Matt Magnusson, the real-life couple and music-makers who collectively call themselves The Bones. Their songs, "One By One" and "Yolk," were both the kind of lucky-in-love easy listening which brought artists like Colbie Caillat and Jason Mraz into prominence. Luff, last seen on Broadway as Fantine in LES MISERABLES, and Magnusson, who lead Pasadena Playhouse's BREAKING THROUGH, detailed how they met, began writing music together and fell in love--- all within a single week. Implausible a prospect as that may be, when the two crooned their simplistically stunning music, it was clear why their lightning-quick courtship was all but inevitable. After all, they managed to have an entire room swooning for them both, and that was accomplished over the course of 12 minutes.

Switching gears to the comedic were two blonde belters whom, though sharing those characteristics, were entirely distinct in their songwriting. Julia Mattison is somebody whom, even without consciously attempting to do so, makes an audience laugh the instant she opens her mouth. She did have the conscious intent to do as much with her two songs, though: "The History of America," which ran down our nation's milestone events with all the historical accuracy of a disenchanted high school sophomore, and "Like Every New Yorker Does," in which Mattison portrayed a hardened Broadway legend, recalling her bright-eyed foray into New York City and all the things that, surely, she knew all New Yorkers did ("I'll eat hot dogs for every meal like every New Yorker does."). As many performers---and audience members---have learned the hard way, comedic songs only work if they are legitimately good in both quality and performance and I happily report, through giggles, that Mattison delivered on both accounts.

Less purely comedic but as biting was Christy Altomare, soon to be seen in the title role of this season's ANASTASIA. "The Facebook Song," though funny at parts, was actually quite bleak in its questioning of whether a friend would "accept or deny?" That was also apt for her other selection, "Rare," about the isolation of a vast space where a person can at once be surrounded and alone, like the internet or New York City. With its piano-driven force and lyrical accessibility, the tune was evocative of the songwriting style of Sara Bareilles. One verse into the song, Altomare turned to look at the band as it struck up behind her, clearly taken aback as it was the first time she had ever heard her music played with accompaniment. The elation on her face epitomized live performance and, though outside of the theatre in this instant, was entirely theatrical in its fleeting wonderment.

Altomare, like many of the other performers, accompanied herself on guitar, assisted by a topnotch band, who never missed a beat jumping between the styles dictated by the artist at hand. Featuring musical direction from Joshua Stephen Kartes (also on piano, of course, as one of the best pianists on the scene at the moment), the musicians included Jacob Yates (cello), Colin Dean (bass), David Cinquegrana (guitar), and Dominic Lynch (drums). The concert itself was produced by Corey Mach.

Of course, the night as a whole was intrinsically musical theatre, as these are some of Broadway's rising best; however, two of the performers were more purely of the genre. Alex Wyse, also last seen in SPRING AWAKENING (but also known for his hilariously acerbic Twitter account), dusted off a couple songs he had written for potential musicals before his acting career took off. "I moved to the city and thought, 'I'm gonna be the next Pasek and Paul,'" Wyse recalled. It was not coincidental that he alluded to the writing duo behind Dog Fight and Broadway-bound DEAR EVAN HANSEN, as Wyse's subsequent songs fell squarely into that new type of musical theatre style which is, thankfully, becoming much less of a rarity on Broadway and beyond. "The Flood" and "My Time With You" were clearly derived with attention to a storyline, but both were wonderful pop songs in their own right, detached from any plot or character.

Closing out the show was Laura Michelle Kelly, who opened FINDING NEVERLAND opposite Matthew Morrison last year. Her two songs, though not written specifically for a show such as Wyse's, were inherently theatrical in their timbre and expressiveness. Kelly took time in her set to share that each song helped her to reconcile difficult periods, including the death of her mother: "Butterfly" and "There Was a Time," which, as Kelly explained, was meant to sound as though the Devil were after you. The latter was, unsurprisingly then, sinister in its swampy blues tone. Kelly's songs also served to drive home an important point, demonstrated with each performance, that there is nothing separating musical theatre performers from any other type of musician.

For some time, there's been a misconception in show business---louder in some circles than others---there's a fundamental difference between Broadway performers and mainstream musicians, that they're "too big" for any format but a stage. However, on this night, that frustrating myth could not have been proven more false. Throughout the evening, some performers veered more theatrical, while others absolved themselves of the genre completely.

What was undeniable through BROADWAY SINGS THEIR OWN, though, is that musical theatre is an art form, performed by artists. To relegate any two artists into a single category would be patently ridiculous, let alone an entire industry of artists. The ability to sing a Broadway score is, itself, a distinct skill which has flawless versatility built into it. Would Taylor Swift be able to successfully warble her way through an entire Broadway show? I can't answer that, but could any of these eight performers sing "Bad Blood" on the Video Music Awards with pitch perfection and style? They could, and they could do it again seven more times that week.

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