Review: Segerstrom Center's Cabaret Series Welcomes Broadway Talents to the OC

While most musical theater fans are rightfully awed when watching their favorite Broadway stars act out roles on the Great White Way surrounded by sets, costumes, a full orchestra, and other theatrical accoutrements, the thrill of seeing and hearing these same talents just as themselves in very close proximity right here in our very own zip code remains to be an incomparable thrill that only an intimate cabaret setting can provide.

As in years past, OC's Segerstrom Center for the Arts' popular and, quite often, audience-packed offerings for their Cabaret Series does exactly that for So.Cal audiences year after year. The final two weeks of January 2025 alone brought back-to-back shows inside the candlelit surroundings of the Center's Samueli Theatre, the intimate cabaret venue right next to the Orange County Museum of Art.

On January 16-18, Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown—the musical genius behind PARADE, THE LAST 5 YEARS, and THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, among others—made a return trip to the OC campus, this time accompanied by another Tony Award winner, Anika Noni Rose, the musically-gifted songstress who starred on Broadway (and in L.A.) in CAROLINE, OR CHANGE then moved on to a starring role in the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical DREAMGIRLS (singing alongside Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx, and Beyoncé Knowles) before becoming a bonafide  Disney Princess as the voice of Tiana in THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (you can even currently still hear her in the recently opened "Tiana's Bayou Adventure" attraction at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World).

Then the following week, on January 23-25, Tony Award nominee Kerry Butler (XANADU, HAIRSPRAY, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, MEAN GIRLS: THE MUSICAL, BEETLEJUICE) debuted her autobiographical cabaret showcase "Breaking Broadway" to the same performance space for the first time, accompanied by her musical director and pianist Michael Orland, who himself returns to the center after musically-directing the cabaret concert performed here by Tony winner Joaquina Kalukango back in September.

Besides all three being Broadway veterans, these stars brought decidedly different vibes to the their respective sets: Brown—similar to his show here in April 2023—offered a remarkably introspective songbook sampler of his own compositions (many interpreted brilliantly by Noni Rose) which were presented with a more archivist-leaning approach, while Butler, honing in on her unmistakable talent for comedy, brought a more cheeky, self-effacing, laugh-out-loud songs-and-stand-up routine (and slide show!) that had the audience howling.

Both intimate shows, of course, are wonderfully entertaining examples as to why Segerstrom Center's wonderfully curated Cabaret shows remain such a must-see season-long series year after year.

***

Jason Robert Brown with special guest Anika Noni Rose
January 16-18, 2025

The affably academic Brown, seated behind the piano, was accompanied by a rousing jazz trio that comprised of Linda Taylor on guitar, Dan Lutz on bass, and Jamie Eblen on drums. 

As he did in his April 2023 cabaret show, Brown showcased both old and new material from his repertoire, providing the audience an expanded overview of Brown's style of musical theater, which, naturally draws comparisons to many of his idols—particularly, of course, the late Stephen Sondheim, who became a frequently-referenced mentor that, later, allowed for an impromptu, unplanned tangent of a story that, luckily, added extra minutes to the show (as far as I knew, he only cut one song from his planned set list for the evening to make up for the elongated story).

Ever the interpreter of self-reflective songs of his own making, Brown started the Opening Night performance of a three-night engagement with "Hope" (the same song he opened his April 2023 show with), the first track featured on his 2018 studio album How We React and How We Recover, which he wrote after the inauguration of a certain divisive president. 

Of course, hearing the song again now—in the midst of a chaotic first week post-inauguration of the same guy and us now back in a revived era of uncertainty for many marginalized Americans—it seemed more than just an earnest and slightly melancholy little ditty. Now it has become an even more amplified call for renewed optimism in a world thrown into uneasiness. He followed it up with "Shiksa Goddess," a rousing declaration of love from his musical THE LAST FIVE YEARS.

Funny enough, Brown is thankful to be back with a new show at the Samueli Theatre.

"Apparently I didn't offend the Republicans too much," he joked, offering it as a possible explanation as to why he was asked back to Orange County. "So, thanks!"

The evening—much like his April 2023 set—not only gave the audience a chance to revisit many of Brown's past compositions, but it also gave us the extra special treat of some sneak peaks into brand new material he's currently working on for upcoming shows, which included songs from a new original musical THE CONNECTOR, which ran off-Broadway last year, as well as his forthcoming stage adaptations of John Berendt's 1994 book (adapted into a 1997 movie) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and the 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Less by Andrew Sean Greer. 

From his new musical LESS—which is about a "b-list" gay novelist on the verge of turning 50 years old who then embarks on a trip around the world to avoid accepting a wedding invitation from an ex-boyfriend—Brown offered a sneak peak of "Boat," an anxious but jaunty jazz tune that fits snuggly amongst his repertoire. He followed it up with "The Voice of My Generation," a song from his new musical THE CONNECTOR which is about two ambitious 90s-era journalists. The song amazed the audience with Brown’s frenetic, rapid-fire attack on the piano keys.

"I've been on edge about [playing] this song [for this audience] because of just how complicated it is—but we did rehearse it once this afternoon," he sarcastically confessed at his concert's opening night performance with a notable sigh of relief… a humble brag if I ever heard one.

Brown then introduced his featured guest for the evening, Noni Rose, radiant and beaming. As expected, she provided divalicious vocals with her every appearance—ranging from emotionally heart wrenching to sweet and bubbly. According to Brown, he considers Noni Rose one of the best vocalists he's ever worked with, and that their show here at Segerstrom marked almost ten years since they last appeared on stage together.

So glad we were here to witness this melodic reunion! 

Seeing Noni Rose on stage here reminded me that the last time I saw her up close on a stage (not counting her many appearances at D23 Expos over the years) was close to 20 years ago when she appeared in her Tony Award-winning role in CAROLINE, OR CHANGE when it made its L.A. stop at the Ahmanson Theatre (alongside Tony winner Tonya Pinkins and a very, very young Ben Platt).

Up first, Noni Rose sang a groovy "I Can Do Better Than That" from THE LAST FIVE YEARS (this audience's first taste of Noni Rose's big belt live and in-person), followed by "Stars and the Moon" from SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD that caught her by surprise, in that she got unexpectedly emotional and teary-eyed as she was about to finish the song. 

How else does one follow a surprise moment of vulnerability but with a fun, silly song called "Fuck Love and Get Fat," a new song Brown wrote for his new musical LESS. The song was so new that Noni Rose hilariously messed up the lyrics and begged to start over from the beginning, reminding us about the happy accidents that happen in live theater. She, naturally, aced the song during her do-over.

"Nothing makes me more happy than to hear a Disney Princess sing those lyrics," Brown joked right after the curse-filled song.

Noni Rose then stepped away for a few more songs that featured only Brown on vocals which included "Everybody Knows," a love song he had hoped would be "a hit with the kids [seven years ago]" because it happened to name-drop teen star Selena Gomez in the lyrics (for this show, he also urged a half-hearted sing-along), followed by the heartbreaking "It All Fades Away" from THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY that had Brown singing a haunting a cappella intro at the top of the song. 

He then turned the Samueli into a virtual Savannah, Georgia jook joint with a revisit to "The Shed Shack," a funky-blues party jam from his upcoming musical adaptation of MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL that he first debuted here in April 2023 (Gosh, I really, really want to see this musical now).

For some unexplained reason, Noni Rose's return to the stage was unexpectedly delayed, forcing Brown to improv a bit, and so he opened up the floor to audience questions to fill the time. 

One of the patrons asked about what audiences might expect with the upcoming Broadway revival in the works of THE LAST FIVE YEARS starring Adrienne Warren and Nick Jonas. Brown said he was most excited about the brand new expanded orchestrations he created specifically for this new revival.

Brown soon wrapped up his spontaneous Q&A as Noni Rose finally made her way back to the stage to sing a few more songs.

"I wish someone would've gotten me, I thought I had more time," she quipped with a shy grin, trying to explain her delay.

Luckily she was worth the (slight) wait with her set of songs that included her deeply gorgeous take on "Still Hurting," the opening ballad from THE LAST FIVE YEARS followed by a powerful rendition of "You Don't Know This Man," from PARADE (which is about to go on tour again) and "I'd Give It All For You," from SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD that featured a lovely, heartfelt duet between Brown and Noni Rose. 

Next, Noni Rose ended her set with the beautiful "All Things In Time," that had Brown singing Noni Rose's praises again. According to Brown, Noni Rose's singular interpretation of this song has become his personal favorite and, admittedly, cannot imagine anyone else doing it any better.

"No one else has sung it quite the way she has," Brown raved, which she certainly confirmed after her performance of it.

Despite everyone clearly enjoying the show, Brown felt the need to apologize for a longer-than-expected show, prompting him to ask his band to skip one of the planned songs in the set list, opting instead to speak longer about a specific story that involved him and one of his idols and theatrical peers, the late, great Stephen Sondheim.

"As a person who works in this community, yes, we do experience a lot of ‘cool' things. But one ‘cool thing' that happened in my life involved the one and only Stephen Sondheim," he rhapsodized.

This began a lengthy tale of the time Brown was a young, up-and-coming 23-year-old composer who had the opportunity to attend an opening night of Sondheim's "revue." Rather than feign praise for what was essentially a show he didn't particularly think was good, Brown proceeded to regale Sondheim—to his face—with his unvarnished opinion of the show, realizing later that he had possibly made the biggest mistake of his early career. 

"Imagine telling one of your heroes that his show wasn't very good!" he recalled.

Sondheim being who he was, years later confirmed it was a bad move on Brown's part. Hoping to make amends, Brown accepted a request to bestow an award to Sondheim at a gala event that would end up becoming a joint Brown and Sondheim concert. Sondheim was grateful and was touched by it all—and, of course, reminded Brown to never give your friends negative reviews to their face. Haha!

"Lie if you have to!" Brown cheekily pleaded.

This recollection led to his final number of the evening: the aptly titled "Wait 'Til You See What's Next," a playfully aspirational, uptempo song that called for us to keep striving to work hard to achieve our dreams. And as the title suggested, I can't wait to see what Brown does next both on Broadway and here in the OC.

***

Kerry Butler: Breaking Broadway
January 23-25, 2025

Due to a scheduling conflict, I was only able to catch Butler's Friday evening show—her second of three that weekend—which meant I missed her opening night special guest, her co-star from the original Broadway casts of XANADU and ROCK OF AGES, James Carpinello. Fret not, for the Friday evening show brought a bit of heart to the stage in the form of a bunch of young, precocious kids from the Palisades Youth Theater who, as one might have guessed, lost their performance space recently due to the L.A. wildfires. Hoping to help in some way to the local relief efforts, Butler and the Center had them bussed to the OC to join Butler on stage for a couple of numbers.

Part thorough memoir, part stand-up comedy routine, Butler's fun, kooky cabaret show—a hybrid of bawdy humor and wholesome whimsy—gave her mixed-demographic audience a quick rundown of not only Butler's biggest roles on Broadway, but also the ones she didn't quite get. And from the snippets we heard throughout the evening, she certainly had some really close calls on some of the biggest roles on Broadway. In between, she sprinkled in a few hilarious personal stories highlighted by some songs from her past that also shaped the kind of musical theater performer she eventually became.

But to say Butler doesn't have an impressive-enough résumé is a fallacy, considering her Broadway credits include originating roles in the first productions of HAIRSPRAY, XANADU, ROCK OF AGES, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, MEAN GIRLS, and BEETLEJUICE. Even earlier roles included Belle in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Éponine in LES MISÉRABLES, and Audrey in the 2003 Broadway revival of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS suggests she's a sought-after presence. Her Broadway debut, though, was as an ensemble member of the 1993 production of BLOOD BROTHERS. 

Following a fairly linear timeline, Butler's humorously self-effacing show tracked her journey from her early childhood days acting in commercials to her now off-stage role as a mom and wife.

She kicked off her show entering from the back of the cabaret space, surprising everyone who kept their eyes forward to the stage as her accompanist Michael Orland played the title song from XANADU, the quirky stage musical adaptation of the 80's Olivia Newton-John roller-disco camp classic.

"Um… I’m back here you guys," she sheepishly announced as she winded her way through the maze of candlelit tables of the packed room. When she finally reached center stage, the petite-sized Butler, looking sparkly, began showcasing her big power pipes for all.

She might have slightly underestimated the collective pop culture knowledge of her audience, however, when she urged some audience participation singing during XANADU that only a few us old-timers knew by heart. Alas, it was a still a fun way to open the show, which also had Butler recalling the time Newton-John herself came to see Butler's take on the lead role of Kara, the very same role Newton-John played in the film. Understandably nervous, Butler was later relieved when Newton-John greeted her backstage and congratulated her on getting the "awkward dancing" totally right!

Despite a very fruitful career with lots of significant credits, Butler joked that it was highly likely that many in the audience wouldn't even know who the heck she is. But with the help of visual aids occasionally projected on a screen above her—that included vintage photos and videos of her backstage at her shows—Butler was able to share some evidence of her work, adding an extra layer of adorable authenticity to the show.

"I'm very big in the gay community," she proudly boasted which was met with a few screams of approval.

Though Butler spent lots of time highlighting some of her big gets on Broadway, she also spent time spotlighting roles she didn’t get. One particular early loss that stung was getting erroneously cast (then let go) from the big-screen version of ANNIE.

Alas, the show must go on, as articulated in her next song, the hyperactive "One Monkey" that urged her to not let those pesky obstacles hinder progress.                                                                She apparently followed her own advice because what followed was a steady stream of hit roles that kept Butler singing and dancing on stage. 

This led to an endearing "Somewhere That's Green," the song she sang as Audrey in the 2003 Broadway revival of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, then a rather lovely and sincere rendition of "On My Own" from LES MISÉRABLES (the song her character Éponine sings), followed by a medley of the hits "Mama I'm A Big Girl Now," "Without Love," and "You Can't Stop The Beat" from HAIRSPRAY, the show in which she originated the role of Tracy Turnblad's best friend Penny Pingleton. She tried to lead another sing-along during this medley, too—with the help of some adorably enthusiastic students from the Palisades Youth Theater—but the musical theater dork in me just wanted to sing all the background vocals haha.

But of course, the life of an actor means audition after audition and, yes, rejection after rejection. Butler then goes into what she called "The Rejection Medley," which took bits from shows she did readings and workshops for over the years following HAIRSPRAY but didn't end up getting when the show went on to be produced on stage. She also made it into a guessing game for some selected audience members, but the drunk ladies she picked out from the crowd had no clue what any of the shows were, funny enough (for the record, the five shows she sang from were LEGALLY BLONDE, THE WEDDING SINGER, SHREK, THE LITTLE MERMAID, and SMASH—wow what a lineup of missed opportunities!)

She then admitted that her most favorite role to date was being a mom to a couple of young daughters she and her puppeteer husband Joey adopted. This segued into a "Mom medley" that included a touching version of "Baby Mine" (from Disney's Dumbo), followed by a pair of songs she said were her daughters' favorites: her eldest daughter's go-to choice for a bedtime lullaby, Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" followed by her youngest daughter's choice, Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman." Sounds like they're getting a solid musical education!

The tail end of her set had her revisiting the stage adaptations of some famous films she originated for Broadway: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, via a spectacularly-performed, gospel-tinged "Fly Fly Away" that had the whole room cheering; "Charactry," a parody of the song "Sexy" from MEAN GIRLS, and "Barbara 2.0" from her most recent show BEETLEJUICE.

In another moment of propping up young local talent, Butler then "asked" the audience if anyone had ever done the musical LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS before and if that person knows Seymour's part in the duet "Suddenly, Seymour." Lo and behold, there just so happened to be a willing volunteer in the audience: local college student Nathan Bravo. The pair did a really nice job—so well, in fact, that it was almost as if this "spontaneous" bit of impromptu singing wasn't pre-planned at all haha (full disclosure: I did speak with the young man studying musical theater after the show and he did admit that he and Butler had rehearsed it once earlier that afternoon after he attended her master class earlier that week).

Throughout the evening, Butler's youthful zeal is palpable in every number and orated story, which is, perhaps, why she clearly has a knack for connecting with young, aspiring musical theater performers of the next generation.

"I've played a teen for 30 years," she cracked, a possible reason why her characters have been so seemingly ageless.

To close out her show, she once again called up the young folks from the Palisades Youth Theater to join her in a bit of karaoke party-styled "Don't Stop Believin'," Journey's timeless ear worm that was also the finalé to the jukebox musical she starred in, ROCK OF AGES.

Overall, Butler's show was such a fun evening, filled with lots of laughs and some awesome diva high notes from one of Broadway's most gainfully-employed performers. With a decades-spanning career marked by an uncanny ability to play comedic, endearing, and empowered female leads, Butler continues to be a beloved performer in the Broadway community, juggling parenthood and voice coaching tomorrow's talents in her packed schedule. What a workhorse!

Oh, and as a bonus—I also got to hear her do an impromptu Celine Dion cover the night before when she was "pulled from the audience" of the David Foster / Katherine McPhee show at the Concert Hall next door! Damn, this girl gots some pipes! I can't wait to hear what role she does next!

Photos courtesy of Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

* Follow this reviewer on Bluesky / X / Instagram / Threads: @cre8iveMLQ *

-----

Tickets to upcoming performances of Segerstrom Center for the Arts' 2024-2025 Cabaret Series can be purchased online at www.SCFTA.org, by phone at 714-556-2787 or in person at the SCFTA box office (open daily at 10 am). Segerstrom Center for the Arts is located at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa.

***

To post a comment, you must register and login.