Review: TALE AS OLD AS TIME Salutes Howard Ashman with Style at 92NY (The 92nd ST. Y)

Who hasn’t smiled when hearing — or sung along with — the lyrics of Howard Ashman?  If you were a child of the years when the 1980s gave way to the 1990s — or had a child during that time — maybe you watched the Disney animated movies The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, or Aladdin over and over.  You might have seen them come to life later on– on stage or TV.  And let’s not forget the musical about everybody’s favorite man-eating plant, Little Shop of Horrors, which came along before those three titles and has been back on the New York stage, yet again, these days. Audiences can be reminded of these musicals, all with music by Alan Menken, with the latest concert program in the  Lyrics and Lyricists series.  But, wait—there’s more than these most famous items from the Ashman oeuvre in the fond salute to rekindle and increase appreciation.  They dig deeper – always a major plus when that happens in these celebrations of songs that have been a tradition at the 92nd Street Y, New York for decades.  Also making us smile are three socko samples from the Broadway musical Smile. It may not have made the critics smile, but the short-lived score about a beauty contest, with music by Marvin Hamlisch, has the beauty of a song called “Disneyland” about a contestant who wishes she could live there.  Nadina Hassan, one of the event’s five singers, captured its heart and heartbreak. 

And the presentations from an unfinished Ashman/Menken musical about Babe Ruth were effectively done, too.  Heather Ayers was quite moving with Babe’s reflection on the “Hero.”

Also hitting a home run musically were  John Cariani and Khadija Sankoh, more than game for batting around the lively and very good “Good of the Game.” And, as long as we’re being punny, and baseball-centric, hats off to Manu Narayan for his fine “Hundreds of Hats” from Diamonds (music by Jonathan Sheffer).  In his “spare time” from his duties as a star of Some Like It Hot, Christian Borle took on the reins to direct this treat. Saturday’s opening performance is followed by a Sunday matinee (October 29) and the final showing the next evening.    

Unlike many past entries in the series, with Tale As Old As Time: The Songs of Howard Ashman there was not a single narrator/host reading from notes at a podium; instead, the task of giving context and history was shared among the five singers.  Also different from the usual M.O.: no intermission and no audience sing-along with words projected on a screen.  Instead, projected on the back wall throughout the proceedings were various colorful images that enhanced the moods (designed by Kylee Loera) without upstaging the performers or the six fine musicians conducted by Nate Patten.  Beth Crandall provided some effective choreography, an element not typically prominent at 92NY’s L&L programs I’ve seen.  The choice of that addition for this edition probably explains why the attire was not of the more fancy formal wear of former days.

There were two points of especially prolonged applause.  One came at the conclusion of Khadija Sankoh’s endearing rendition of “Part of Your World,” taking on the yearning of the mermaid who wanted love and legs instead of having the lower half of her body be a tail as old as time.  The musicians and song swelled perfectly with one of Greg Jarrett’s splendid orchestrations. 

The other showstopper was “Sheridan Square,” the moving penultimate number that addressed the tragedy of AIDS, the condition that caused the death of Howard Ashman before he reached the age of 41. His early death and his determination to keep working were mentioned several times throughout the evening, casting an unavoidable shadow, so this emotional homage to those lost by a man who knew he’d share their fate was powerful.  John Cariani handled the solo with grace. The versatile performer shone throughout, and was a particular hoot with “The Count’s Lament,” written for the Sesame Street character of the purple-faced vampire Muppet about his inability to pronounce the “W” sound.  

The optimist in me who wants to give an opening night’s company the benefit of the doubt makes me hope that those on Sunday and Monday won’t have the disappointment and frustration I had in some of the early numbers, familiar though they were. I’m talking about not being able to clearly hear those clever words. In a program called LYRICS and Lyricists, one would think this wouldn’t happen more than a tiny bit.  It only seemed to apply to the women, so it took me a while to warm up to them as performers, and I was relieved when the problem almost completely disappeared, as if I’d communicated a wish to the genie in Aladdin.  It wasn’t about volume issues; it was diction. Lots of words packed into fast-moving music and singing while doing some fast-moving choreography can certainly be a challenge.  The singers were all outfitted with those wrap-around face mics that can present problems, too.   

Tale As Old As Time is a valentine to an especially skillful wordsmith and all-around man of the theatre, whose work brought such pleasure and entertainment to generations. 92NY’s next  Lyrics and Lyricists comes along in the first week of December with the focus on Stevie Wonder as songwriter and singer of other people’s works.  Leading the visit to Wonder-Land will be Darius de Haas.  The next week will see a program called  Lyrics and Lyricists Junior – a 45-minute, family-friendly presentation with young performers saluting Stephen Sondheim.  
 

Events take place at the venue (1395 Lexington Avenue at East 92nd Street), the website of which is HERE   

Photos by Richard Termine 

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