Review: Christine Mild Proves a Dynamo in Concert

Last seen in 2017 when she wowed audiences in ALWAYS, PATSY CLINE, and then again for a single knockout number in the MSMT Gala 60th Anniversary Concert in 2018, Christine Mild returned to the Pickard stage this week for three solo concerts in which she unleashed the power and splendor of her voice and the sheer dazzling dynamism of her stage presence. In a generous, two-hour evening, entitled CHRISTINE & PATSY TOGETHER AGAIN in honor of its core sets, Christine Mild, sang the music of Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Whitney Houston, Linda Ronstadt, and Patti LaBelle, paying tribute to these iconic legends at the same time she puts her own highly original stamp on each song.

The concert, programmed for variety and emotional appeal, offers an evening that grabs hold of the listener through its aural majesty and heartfelt sentiment. The program is skillfully arranged to tap into a wide array of styles and subject matter. Music Director Ben McNaboe, playing piano and conducting with confidence, leads the sparkling instrumental ensemble comprised of Chris Siebold (guitar), who provided several memorable solo moments, Mike French (guitar 2), Heather Kahill (fiddle), Mark Fredericks (drums) and Asher Barreras (bass).

As a vocalist, Christine Mild is a force of nature. Trained classically and in musical theatre, Mild possesses a stylistic and vocal range that is extraordinary. She sings everything from classical to pop to country, and gospel - all drawn from the same inner wellsprings of intensity and conviction and delivered with soaring abandon. When Mild lets loose the floodgates of her sound, the audience is swept along with the tide of her storytelling and passion. Not only does she possess sheer vocal power, but her instrument is also capable of subtlety, vulnerability, and nuance. Her timbre is, by turns, dark, rich, throbbing with an exciting vibrato and then clean, clear, gleaming as it climbs the reaches of a song. She is also a storyteller, drawing every ounce of meaning from the lyrics. Then there are the flashes of vocal uniqueness - the indescribable hint of a cry in the voice, the fleeting glottal catch of emotion, the tremulous yodel that stirs the heart. These are tricks Mild has learned from Patsy Cline, perhaps, but they are skills she has made inimitably her own.

Every song is a gem, but personal favorites include aching renditions of "I Fall To Pieces" and " You Belong To Me," a powerful "Your Cheatin' Heart" and haunting interpretations of "Strange" and "Crazy"- all Patsy Cline songs. Mild also does the Dolly Parton song "9 to 5" proud with her emotional intensity and evokes true wellsprings of emotion in "Shower the People." A special highlight is her own composition, "Love Me Better" from her album LOVE IS EVERYTHING. The concert ends with a bring-down-the-house rendition of "Bill Bailey" and much deserved standing ovations.

As with all the recent concert stagings, MSMT has used the Pickard stage to visual effect. The creative and technical team have created a set consisting of the suggestion of rustic picket fences, bathed in expressive lighting and wrapped in well-balanced sound design. Mild's stunning costumes add another note of glamor to the evening suggesting the aura of a true diva.

In many ways, CHRISTINE & PATSY TOGETHER AGAIN is the perfect vehicle to close MSMT's Pickard portion of its unique 2021 season. The program itself is entertaining, energizing, uplifting, and heartwarming. The star is luminous in every sense of the word, and her connection to the audience and to this theatre company is palpable. When Christine Mild steps onto the Pickard stage there is a stir in the house; when she begins to sing, there is a thrill followed by a deep sense of connection. What MSMT has been serving up this summer - in addition to world class professional musical theatre - is love - that magical bond between stage and audience, that heady, irresistible, euphoric feeling that comes from the transformative power of a shared experience. No pandemic, no masks, no restrictions can erase what artists here (and on stages across the country) and those that love the arts have made a reality this summer.

Photograph courtesy MSMT

CHRISTINE & PATSY TOGETHER AGAIN runs from August 22-23, 2021 at the Pickard theater, 1 Bath Red., Brunswick, ME 207-725-879 www.msmt.org

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