Review: BROADWAY'S PRINCE at MTH At Crown Center

MTH's new virtual Musical Monday "Broadway's Prince" is a delightful decompression from the all-consuming political drama that engulfs the country. I don't know about you, but a great, locally produced and performed cabaret is a break from that I sorely need.

"Broadway's Prince" is a remembrance of the late, great, Broadway Producer and Director Hal Prince who passed last year. If you love Broadway shows or popular music, Prince was probably involved. Over a long career, Prince earned twenty-one Tony Awards.

This production is a compendium of sixteen musical numbers from a selection of Prince's shows sung by some really excellent, locally-based performers on a special stage constructed on the roof of Crown Center with Kansas City at night lit in the background.

The production is conceived, written, and directed MTH Executive Artistic Director Tim Scott. Scott is also the designer of the multi-camera video presentation. Scott chose Francisco Javier (Pancho) Villegas to host the evening. MTH fans are familiar with Pancho from his performances including MTH's recent production of "In the Heights."

The singers are uniformly excellent. They are Jon Daugharthy, Laurie Gardner, Melinda MacDonald, Douglass Walker, and Morgan Walker. Of special note is the excellent audio engineering by Jon Robertson.

Appropriately for the time we live in, the show begins with the opener from "Evita" "Oh, What A Circus..." sung by Pancho. Many of the tunes are very familiar. Others are deliberately more obscure from shows that did not have long Broadway openings. But on hearing them a pleasant memory always seems to kick in at least for me. Many of these numbers are what I would call anthems. Others make a more specific subtle point.

Douglass Walker sings "There's A Boat Dat's Leaving Soon For New York." From Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess." Morgan Walker offers a heartfelt "Maybe This Time" from Act II of Cabaret. Melinda MacDonald recalls Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" with "Send In the Clowns." Laurie Gardner ruminates that "You've Got Possibilities" and belts out the title song from "Cabaret." Jon Daugharthy is a standout with his star turn against the night sky with the "Music of the Night" from "Phantom of the Opera."

The super, four-piece backup band includes Musical Director Michalis Koursoupides, Jacob Roemer on Bass, Sam Wiseman on Drums, and Ryan Wurtz on Guitar.

Musical Mondays at MTH began as a semi-monthly cabaret that become so popular it sold out and expanded to Mondays and Tuesdays before selling out again. With the Covid Pandemic forcing live performances to temporarily cease, this online presentation does a surprisingly good job of filling a gap.

Broadway Prince is certainly worth your time and ticket price and will be a welcome break from the electoral and illness drama surrounding us while keeping you safe and sound in your living room. It ain't live theater quite, but it will help to bridge a yawning gap. Remember, unlike what you see on most TV, these performances are recorded live in one try. It is done very well.

A video password and URL address can be purchased for scheduled performances on the Musical Theater Heritage website (www.musicaltheaterheritage.com). You may watch "Broadway's Prince" on any TV, computer, tablet or phone that has internet access.

This virtual production will be available for streaming starting Saturday, November 7 and ending Tuesday, November 10. If you buy a ticket, you will access the show during that entire four day period.

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