Featuring a modern, multi-media presentation of some of Porter's most beloved songs in an unprecedented and unique way, Connick will delight audiences with his signature style that has been called by The New York Times "blatantly seductive", while celebrating the life's work of a legend's significant contribution to the Great American Songbook.
Now, don't expect the affable Connick to just plop down at the piano and sing. He certainly plays-at a grand piano and, at one point, on a variety of uprights. But at this point in his career, Connick is as much a performer as he is a musician-albeit one who did all the arrangements and orchestrations for every song in this show, thank you very much. And this certainly isn't his first Broadway rodeo. (Counting his two previous concert stints, in 1990 and 2010, it's his fifth; I'm not including 2001's Thou Shalt Not, for which he wrote the music and lyrics but in which he didn't star.) The man who headlined The Pajama Game and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever is going to bring a little personality to the proceedings-particularly if he's crooning moody numbers such as 'Love for Sale,' where he's accompanied beautifully by bassist Neal Caine, and 'Mind If I Make Love to You?' Connick calls the latter-originated by Frank Sinatra in the 1956 film of High Society-his favorite Porter song.
At my performance on Tuesday night, Connick (wearing a tux and clutching a wireless microphone) at first looked stiff and dazed and sounded wobbly. His remarks to the audience about Porter were effusive but rudimentary. Attempts to turn some songs into dramatic scenes (set in such locales as an underground New Orleans bar or a lonely hotel room) were corny and dull. But as the concert progressed, Connick became more at ease and segued into his persona as a smooth, Sinatra-style crooner. He was most in his element while playing at the piano alongside the band, instead of trying to be a showman. Connick also seemed to enjoy leading a behind-the-scenes tutorial about how he arranged and orchestrated Porter's 'Night and Day.'
2019 | Broadway |
2019 Broadway Premiere Broadway |
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