BWW Reviews: Anika Larsen Charms at Birdland

Celebrating the release of Sing You To Sleep, her debut solo album, 2014 Tony Award Nominee and Drama Desk Winner Anika Larsen (Beautiful - The Carole King Musical) made her solo concert debut at Birdland on Monday, March 23. Joined by her Beautiful castmates Jessie Mueller and Jarrod Spector and her Xanadu castmate Kenita Miller, Larsen's set featured songs from her album and thematically appropriate solos that featured her guests' talents too. Thus, the evening was the perfect nightcap to an otherwise manic Monday.

Larsen kicked the show off with a jazz rendition of "Summertime" (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward), letting her lush soprano instrument fill the room and draw the audience in with a warm embrace. Like the album, the theme for her show was lullabies; yet, she clarified that the songs were chosen because of the beautiful imagery that Larsen feels people would want to fall asleep to not because they are actually lullabies. With that in mind, it was no surprise to that she filled her concert with charming takes on numbers like "Annie's Song" (John Denver), "Baby Mine" (Frank Churchill/Ned Washington), and "Four-Leaf Clover" (Abra J. Moore/David Lewis and Wayne I. Lewis).

While the album is ordered in a way that the songs get progressively slower, the concert was arranged in a way to ensure that the audience was able to be comfortably at peace without actually falling asleep. The sweet melodies of the evening were peppered in with more lively performances and in a way that mixed up tempos. Highlights of the performance include the cheerful and brightly toned rendition of "Count On Me" (Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine), which featured Miller as well. Mueller joined Larsen for a truly lovely version of "You Can Close Your Eyes" (James Taylor) before delivering a spell-binding solo on a singer-songwriter/folksy iteration of "Being Alive" (Stephen Sondheim).

Moreover, Miller moved the audience with her bluesy power on "God Bless the Child" (Billie Holiday, Arthur Herzog, Jr.). Spector and Larsen warmed our hearts on an adorable, upbeat jazz version of "Somewhere Out There" (James Horner and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil), but he really rocked the venue when he let his tenor instrument show its raw grit on a stellar rendition of "Dream On" (Steven Tyler). Both Miller and Mueller charmed the audience with their clever mash-up of "Home" (Michael Bublé, Alan Chang, Amy Foster-Gillies) and "New York State of Mind" (Billy Joel). But, the absolute best moment of the evening was Larsen's spectacular version of "Fields of Gold" (Sting/Gordon Sumner and Dusan Bogdanovic). In this number the true resplendence and majesty of her vocals were on full display, as she sang with tangible heart and emotionality.

Larsen's debut at Birdland was also backed by an incredible band. Art Hirahara on piano kept the show in line with the musical direction of the album while allowing the performers to express their skills, talents, and personalities through the songs. Pete McCann on guitar, Alan Hampton on bass, and Ross Pederson on drums brought the music to life, but Freddie Maxwell, Larsen's husband, on trumpet really gave the music soul. His numerous solos were stunning and gorgeous, adding impactful emotional gravitas to the performances.

Anika Larsen is currently on maternity leave from Beautiful - The Carole King Musical; however, she is expected to return to the show. In the meantime, fans can check out her debut solo album Sing You To Sleep, which was released by Yellow Sound Label. It can be purchased from iTunes, Amazon, and elsewhere music is sold.

Photos by Kevin Alvey.

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