Review: AUDRA MCDONALD Gives Grace And Has Fun At Carnegie Hall

Audra McDonald took the night off from her Broadway show on Saturday. Did she stay at home with family? Did she go out to see some of the sights of New York at Christmastime? Did she get to bed early and have a good night's sleep? No. She went to Carnegie Hall to sing for two hours for 2,804 people (more, actually, because of the wonderful Carnegie Hall staff who was in the room for the concert).

Those two hours were some of the best entertainment to be found this holiday season, this calendar year, or any other time in one's life. In brief, it was an evening of absolute perfection.

There. The review is done. What, really, can a person say about Audra McDonald or an Audra McDonald concert? Just walking in the door, you know you're going to get the best that can be gotten from a live music program. Audra McDonald is a legend at fifty-two (she told her age during the show). She has been a legend for a while, now, hailed as the greatest - in fact, there are those who have given her the nickname Godra McDonald. Fitting, isn't it? But not just because of the insane amount of talent that the singing actress possesses, and not because of the multitudes of awards and accolades that have been bestowed upon her. It's the whole Audra McDonald experience, and that's what you can say about Audra McDonald.

On the Carnegie Hall website, and in the Carnegie Hall Playbill, there was no title to the show. It simply states: Audra McDonald. During the program, though, Ms. McDonald talked about "feeling sentimental" - she explained that she and her Musical Director and Conductor Andy Einhorn (we'll get to him in a minute) had put together an evening of selections that leaned into the feeling sentimental mode of thinking, that the songs would be compositions that had meant something to her, throughout her life and career, and Audra touched on those individual histories, throughout the night. The singing was beyond compare. The music from the orchestra was of the highest quality in the world. The musicians that received special billing and performances (Jeremy Jordan, piano; Gene Lewin, drums; Mark Vanderpoel, bass) were sensational. All of that was a given, and even though it was a given, there were moments of surprise and astonishment, so otherworldly was the musical program. It was, though, the moments of conversation that made the Carnegie Hall concert really and truly special.

One of the things that makes our idols more resonant in our hearts and lives is their humanity. Were Audra McDonald to stand on the stage and sing "Mr. Snow" (which she did), her audience would be satisfied. But when Audra McDonald makes a joke about singing the song because "I don't know how much longer I'll be able to sing it in this key," she becomes tangible. Were Audra McDonald to sing "I Am What I Am" (which she did), her audience would be thrilled. But when Audra McDonald relates the LGBT anthem from La Cage Aux Folles to the heinous bigotry and violence that the Queer community is experiencing in this country right now, she becomes an activist (which everyone already knows she is, as one of the biggest LGBT allies in the puplic eye). Were Audra McDonald to sing "Summertime" (which she did), her audience would be overwhelmed. But when Audra McDonald does so after, slowly, lowering her mic stand to the lowest possible level while telling the audience, "If you don't know this next song, I can't help you.." so that she can do the Gershwin classic without amplification, she becomes the biggest diva of all time.

Everything Audra McDonald did on that stage on Saturday night was a moment of humanity and a moment of elevation. She raised art to new levels. She raised personal contact to new levels. She raised visibility to new levels. Audra honored important women in show business and her life by singing songs to, for, from, about them. She spoke eloquently about the lessons she learned, the inspiration she derived, from Diahann Carroll, from Barbara Cook, from Leslie Uggams, and in the sharing of those lessons, she opened minds to a broader understanding of life.

For example, just before singing "Being Good Isn't Good Enough" from Hallelujah Baby, Audra McDonald detailed how the lyrics to the song describe an experience that all black people have of being told "You have to be twice as good to get half as far." Every black person is told this, she said. I have black friends. None of them ever told me this. My experience in life is that of a gay Filipino/Cherokee; it's a different experience than the black experience. Nobody ever told me this, so I never knew. I've been listening to "Being Good Isn't Good Enough" for decades and I was never before able to immerse myself into the full extent of the lyrics, until Audra McDonald broadened my field of vision.

Audra McDonald also shared with the Carnegie Hall audience that, early in her career, she would pass out when she sang. In fact, Ms. McDonald confessed that she had never spoken publicly about this pattern, but that, at that time in her career, she felt so much pressure to perform perfectly that the terror led her to faint, even at her audition for Carousel. It was, Audra explained, Barbara Cook who taught her to relax, to let go of the pressure, to give grace, and to have fun. McDonald told stories about Cook, about how natural and at home she was on stage, how she would cuss if she forgot a lyric and keep going, and how she would gather the band together and tell them to "Have. Fun." The personal touch of these private reminiscences and experiences made "Will He Like Me?" even more tender and beautiful.

Audra McDonald knows how to play with her audience. There were exchanges between her and the people in the front row, between her and her mother (whom she introduced to the crowd), and between her and Andy Einhorn, one of the most exciting conductors you could ever hope to watch (he actually leapt into the air at times) and inventive arrangers you could hope to hear (the arrangement of "Cabaret" that closed the show was breathtaking), and he can sing, too. For the encore, Audra and Andy did the famous Garland/Streisand "Get Happy/Happy Days" duet, with Einhorn taking the Garland track, and it was a very special moment to see two friends who, clearly, love and adore one another have so much fun.

Fun. That's what it is about Audra McDonald. There is the music, oh, the music. There are the stories, beautiful, touching, eye-opening, hilarious stories (her children are fodder for much of the touching and hilarious) that tell an audience who Audra McDonald is when she's off the stage. But the Fun Factor - now that is what you can say about Audra McDonald. Where she goes, the fun follows, along with all that other artistry and storytelling. And fun is everything.

Dear readers, how I wish you had been there for the fun.

Chris Lee's photos of Audra McDonald were provided by Carnegie Hall.

Visit the Carnegie Hall website HERE.

THIS is the Audra McDonald website.

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