Review: The New York Pops Bust Out Some Broadway With BROADWAY BLOCKBUSTERS at Carnegie Hall

Heigh-Ho, My Merry Rainbow Tribe! Bobby Patrick, your RAINBOW Reviewer here. Putting the silent T in cabareT to bring you ALL the Tea!

We all know, my lovelies, that Bobby almost always prefers the close quarters of the dark corners of the cabarets of our city. But every so often we find ourselves uptown and fancy as we did on Friday night at the very Carnegie Hall for the New York Pops BROADWAY BLOCKBUSTERS - how could we not?! Maestro Steven Reineke, an out and proud LGBTQ+ artiste BTW, assembled a cast of 4 guest voices AND the fab chorus of Essential Voices USA to belt the best of the Broadway. Nikki Renée Daniels, Jordan Donica, Matt Doyle, and Broadway World Cabaret favorite Melissa Errico gave their all, adding their vocals to Rieneke's athletic baton, EVUSA, and the Pops' superb instrumentalists in a program that included some Steve, some Jule, some Richard & Oscar, some Jerry, and of course that English Lord What's His Name (ALW - wink). For two glorious hours, the Hall rang out with songs near and dear to any musical theatre fan's heart, and, in the hands of Rieneke and the throats of his guests, these classics never sounded better... and here's why...

Maestro Stephen Rieneke

Kicking off the evening with Calvin Custer's sweepingly rich arrangement of selections from Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA we were, as the saying goes, "Off To The Races". When we said above that the man's baton was athletic, we meant just that. Several times throughout the evening, when Maestro turned to talk to his audience, he was well out of breath and needed to blot his brow. You see, my dear ones, a conductor is doing, oh, so much more than just beating time up there with that stick of his. He ain't called a conductor for nothing, since it is his hard work, his sense of the music, as well as the moments, that keep his train on track. It is his ear that maintains the integrity of what has been scrupulously rehearsed, taking one section down in volume to favor another, matching his work to the players, blending them in the cauldron he is stirring, to convey it all as a cohesive whole. His players are working with him, and he with them, throughout, especially if the conductor has a momentary inspiration to make a change OR if something happens that is a surprise (pleasant or otherwise) from the musicians or the vocalists. His interpretation for his Act II opener, the overture to the musical GYPSY, was filled with interesting choices that made that old chestnut come alive. His attention to his guest artistes was the net they needed to play freely on that historic platform.

Essential Voices USA (EVUSA)

This was Bobby's first-ever experience with this magnificent choir's artistry. Under the direction of Judith Clurman and the performing baton of Reineke, this chorus ain't your high school glee club. There really is nothing quite like this finely-balanced ensemble of adult voices providing support to the soloists throughout the program. unless it's the chorale taking center stage and singing the most rousing rendition of R&H's OKLAHOMA it has ever been this writer's pleasure to hear. We had forgotten how much we really love this song and being reminded was truly eye and ear-opening.

Nikki Renée Daniels

A veteran of a dozen or so Broadway and Touring company productions, NRD's performance Friday night showed why her chorus-understudy-replacement days should move well behind her, as she is more than a match for any show, any composer, any challenge, and full-well deserving of her own original spotlight. Her solo renditions of I DREAMED A DREAM from LES MIS, and HOME from THE WIZ left the audience wanting so much more - perhaps an evening's concert all to herself. Bobby wrote down a one-word note in the program for HOME and that word was WOW!

Jordan Donica

We also have just one word for Jordan Donica and that word is SOLILOQUY. Taking on this 5-act opera of a song from Dick & Oscar's CAROUSEL is a daunting challenge, even to the best voices, but this young man (singing in the BASSO part of his seemingly unlimited range) proved he is better than the best, as was evidenced by the near full-house standing ovation he received after he was done. For this writer, he eclipsed everyone else who came before him in both the acting and singing of this juggernaut, and it is our sincere hope that this role will be added to his resume at some future date.

Matt Doyle

Soloing on WHO CAN I TURN TO? from ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT... (arr. by Philip J. Lang) and the rousing WHY GOD WHY from MISS SAIGON, this tenor's wide, bright voice filled and thrilled the hall, but it was his performance of the Sondheim uber-patter song GETTING MARRIED TODAY (joined by his cast-mates) that demonstrated his comic chops, and why he received a Tony Award for playing Jaimie (OG Amy) in the recent revival of COMPANY. Singing it up to tempo really intensified the character's panic and left everyone breathless from his exertions and from laughter.

Melissa Errico

What can be said about this singing actress that Broadway World has not already said time and again? A true creature of the theatre, one can see the change come over Melissa in that moment before she sings a note, where she drops into the story, the character, and the scene she is playing from any of the musicals represented in this program. Reviving her rendition of WOULDN'T IT BE LOVERLY from the 1993 revival of MY FAIR LADY (joined by 4 EVUSA backup boys) was a real treat, and being surprised by the revelation that this was her Carnegie Hall debut made being in the audience even more of a privilege. She soloed only once, the rest of the time, mixing it up and acting with her cast-mates for everything except for Sondheim's LOSING MY MIND from FOLLIES. This was a serendipitous song for her, as Reineke told the house that M.E.'s great aunt had been a Follies Girl in her youth. With a gorgeous arrangement by Doug Besterman, Melissa's performance was another that elicited a single-word note from our pen - BOOM!

This cast of singing actors harmonized and played musical scenes together beautifully through the night as well. Doyle & Errico tugged heartstrings with Sondheim's MOVE ON from SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE. Errico and Daniels knocked I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU from SIDESHOW right out of the building, Donica & Doyle's vocal blend with Willliam D. Brohn's orchestrations on LILY'S EYES, as the rival brothers from THE SECRET GARDEN, was magical to hear, and Donica & Daniels' duet from PHANTOM... ALL I ASK OF YOU thrilled the house, especially in the employment of NRD's full-voice legitimate soprano.

In all, my dear rainbow readers, Bobby had a whale of a time with the swanks and swells of Carnegie Hall for the NEW YORK POPS BROADWAY BLOCKBUSTERS, and, while we do love our dank and dark watering holes with music that is our usual fare, Friday's performance of some of broadway's best music was well worth ironing our bowtie for and so we give this one a hearty...

5 Out Of 5 Rainbows

You All MUST check out ALL programs by our wonderful pops on their website: HERE

Richard Termine's photos were provided by Carnegie Hall.

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