Review: Kelli O'Hara's HERE'S TO THE LADIES at 92NY Promises to 'Make Someone Happy'

Kelli O’Hara shone on Thursday October 10th with her new show at The 92nd Street Y, New York. Here’s to the Ladies honored Kelli’s connection to a handful of people, mostly women, who left their mark on her life. She kicked off the show with a vibrant and joyful “What More Do I Need?” from Stephen Sondheim’s Saturday Night, a celebration of her joy at finally living in New York City like she always dreamed of (well, technically Connecticut, but we’ll allow it). O’Hara’s voice packs a mighty punch, capable of turning from crystalline clear soprano to powerful operatic highs in the same number. O’Hara has a true Broadway voice, capable of sinking herself into the characters in her songs while maintaining that sweet, pure tone. From there, she sank into “Take Me to the World,” another Sondheim great from Evening Primrose.

O’Hara outlined the premise of the evening, a simple but poignant one: each song she sang was dedicated to a special person in her life. The next song on the docket was wonderful mashup of “A Cockeyed Optimist” (which she sang on Broadway in South Pacific) and “Tomorrow,” a shout out to her sister, who got the lead role in a local production of Annie when they were growing up. O’Hara is a wonderful voice of optimism and hope in these troubling times, and these two songs paired beautifully. She slipped seamlessly from one to the other, ending by holding the last note of “Cockeyed Optimist” as Music Director Dan Lipton played a few bars of “Tomorrow” underneath. O’Hara noted that Lipton, who arranged the music for the show, has traveled with her to shows throughout the world. He did a remarkable job accompanying her at 92NY’s grand Geffen Stage at Kaufmann Concert Hall, alongside Justin Goldner on guitar and banjo.

The evening featured a wide range of selections of mostly Broadway tunes: a lovely “Out of My Dreams” (Oklahoma) to honor O’Hara’s mother, who introduced her to the world of musicals via old movies, and to Shirley Jones, who O’Hara idolized growing up and later got to work alongside. We got to hear O’Hara lead the crowd in a lively singalong of “Getting to Know You” (King and I).

With hit after hit, it’s hard to choose just one standout moment – the simple, sweet and poignant lullaby "Fable" that O'Hara wrote for her 11-year-old daughter, or a powerful "So Big / So Small" from Dear Evan Hansen – but one of the highlights of the night was surely O’Hara’s “Not Funny,” dedicated to her late friend Rebecca Luker, who the song was written for (music and lyrics by Michael Heitzman & Ilene Reid). O’Hara’s natural humor came out in the song. She had the audience wracked with laughter with the song, opining that songs written for sopranos are “not funny.” “You can’t land a joke up here,” O’Hara sang at the top of her range, to guffaws. The upper limits of her vocal range are truly impressive, still sounding fully even at operatic highs.

Another standout number, for sure, is O’Hara’s “To Build A Home” from Bridges of Madison County, a role she originated on Broadway. She dedicated that song to her grandmother, who she said it felt like Jason Robert Brown had, in an eery twist of fate, unknowingly written the song for, as it mirrored her family history. Her grandmother had immigrated to America and taken the train through Osceola Station, the same station named in the song. She gets the trepidation of the character as a young bride to her middle-aged weariness, while maintaining the operatic, commanding tone of the song.

Although mostly sticking to the theme of honoring women, she did make a couple of exceptions, notably her friend Gavin Creel whose tragic and untimely recent passing the musical theater community is still mourning. However, even amid sadness and troubling times, it’s impossible not to smile seeing O’Hara perform. She closed the night with a number that she said describes her ethos: “Make Someone Happy.” She dedicated the song to its co-lyricist, Betty Comden, who she got to meet before her passing in 2006. (She also got to star in an Encores revival of Styne, Comden & Green’s Bells are Ringing in 2010, which she gave a nod to earlier in the night with a jazzy rendition of “Just in Time.”) O’Hara left the stage to rapturous applause before finally re-appearing for an encore, singing a joyful, simple and pure “I Could Have Danced All Night,” dedicated to Julie Andrews. Overall, the concert was a gorgeous evening guaranteed to leave you with a warm glow.

The show kicked off the Y’s 2024-25 season, which continues this Sunday October 20th with the Ottoman Four Seasons featuring the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and October 23rd with Rectangles and Circumstance.

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Header photo credit: Richard Termine.

For more upcoming events at 92NY, visit their website.

Learn more about Kelli O’Hara on her website at www.kelliohara.com.

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