Review: DAVID BURNHAM MOSTLY BROADWAY at CVRep

For the final Summer Cabaret series show at Coachella Valley Repertory, no finer showman could have been picked for their closure than the extraordinary David Burnham in his MOSTLY BROADWAY traditional cabaret show.  The moment he steps onto the stage to sing the 1930 gospel-inspired tune “Get Happy” by Harold Arlen you can’t help but notice how much he looks like Donny Osmond.

Burnham told his audience that the very first audition he went out for was a new musical called Ragtime, he sang, “Any Dream”, but they stopped him mid-way through because they felt Burnham wasn’t right for that particular show. However, they felt he was perfect to replace – Ah-ha! -- Donny Osmond as Joseph in the national tour of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Dramalogue Award).  A truly wonderful show-biz story. He mentioned that Donny Osmond surprised him on opening night by sitting front row in support of his new career departure.

Burnham is an original Broadway cast member of the musical The Light In The Piazza, for which he sang the gorgeous “Love To Me”.  He also played the voice of the King in the animated feature The King And I and sang “I Have A Dream”. Topping off this ballad section with the classic Anthony Newley/Leslie Bricusse “What Kind Of Fool Am I? “ from the musical The Roar Of The Grease Paint, The Smell Of The Crowd.

Burnham has incredible musicality and a top range that is enviable. He shows off his high notes with just about every song. His next endeavor is a tribute to Tom Jones – unfortunately, he doesn’t have the rich deep notes that Jones naturally embodies -- which he proved when he sang the emotional 1963 Tom Jones Gold Record hit “I, Who Have Nothing” by making it a hip-swiveling comedy number using a married couple in the audience as his acting partners. Burnham has that sought-after and glorious stratosphere tenor range which is better suited for a tribute to Neil Sedaka, or Gene Pitney, or the Australian 1980s group Air Supply.

The 3 medleys: Showstoppers with music from the musicals Cabaret, Guys & Dolls, Chicago, and Stop The World I Want To Get Off – the next seamless medley was of Wicked/Oz – and lastly the 60’s Pop- medley -- were outstanding.  Burnham is a top-notch showman which was evident by the near-standing-ovation responses he received each time from his audience.

The loving memoriam to his mother with the David Phelps song “Fly Again” was a moment that tugged at the heartstrings. Truly a passionate moment of love and connection to loss and a beautiful life celebration -- A stand-alone moment showing a depth and dramatic ability that swept an entire theatre away. Bravo!

One hilarious story from his days in Las Vegas was when he starred in the original cast of "Showstoppers" at the Wynn Resort. One costume he had to wear was a very expensive coat that was covered in real crystal had its own handlers. His comic physicality when telling the story was priceless. His meeting Steve Wynn the owner of the Wynn Resorts is another entertaining story that only he can tell... Whenever you see that David Burnham is performing his solo show near you, make it your business to see this exceptional showman/entertainer. He holds his audience in the palm of his hand and they leave thoroughly satisfied.

Showtime is at 7PM. Tickets are $50 and on sale now. They may be ordered online at www.cvrep.org, by calling (760) 296-2966, ext. 201, or at the CVRep box office located at 68510 East Palm Canyon Dr., Cathedral City. Special custom ticket packages are available. The box office is open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and one hour prior to performances. To better serve audiences, patrons requesting accessibility assistance are encouraged to contact the box office at least 24 hours prior to their ticketed performance. Artists, show titles and dates are subject to change.

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