Review: AUDRA MCDONALD Gives a Perfect Concert with the NSO at the Kennedy Center

With so many things to worry about or be sad about in 2018, there is no shortage of people searching for solace wherever they can find it. Thankfully, six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald provided that and more during her one-night-only concert with the National Symphony Orchestra last Tuesday. Ms. McDonald, whose limitless abilities have made her the most awarded Broadway performer, gives all she has to those in attendance. The final result is the closest thing to a religious experience one may have in a theater or concert hall.

There are many performers who could be swallowed by the immensity of the NSO or the Kennedy Center's cavernous Concert Hall. Ms. McDonald, conversely, commands the space from the moment she steps on stage. Without so much as an introductory remark, she launches into a masterful rendition of "I Am What I Am" from La Cage Aux Folles. From her mouth this beautiful (yet somewhat overdone) power ballad sounds like the first song you've ever heard.

Each number over the 2-hour concert feels like it has never been sung before-or at least not sung the way its composers had intended. She makes the numbers in her repertoire her own. Even when filling the nearly 2,500 seat Concert Hall with the Gershwin classic "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess (which Ms. McDonald performed without a microphone), it feels like she is singing directly to you. Whether it be her biggest numbers or her smallest asides, she never comes off as anything but unique. There might as well be a new adjective to describe her actions because she is just so Audra.

And she's funny. Singing is easy during a concert, but taking audience members on a journey is more difficult to accomplish when you are armed solely with a microphone and a band. Even without Broadway set pieces, costumes or supporting cast mates, the night feels full of show-stopping highlights. When introducing the evening, Audra reveals her setlist will contain selections from the great American musical songbook. Upon receiving a round of applause for this choice, Ms. McDonald confusedly retorts "what did you think I was going to be singing?" The reaction is uproarious. The audience is putty in her hand the remainder of the evening.

Too many highlights exist across Ms. McDonald's performance to possibly discuss them all. Audra digs deep into the American songbook at times (she sings a song from the stage version-not the movie-of Funny Girl for crying out loud) but punctuates each tune with commentary and historical information. It's more than likely audience members leave the hall with a new favorite number and an increased knowledge/appreciation of the American musical as an art form. Ms. McDonald is concerned with so much more than demonstrating her stellar abilities. She is determined to educate people about the artists who have made her celebrated career possible.

"Stars and the Moon" from Jason Robert Brown's Songs for a New World has never sounded better than it did on Tuesday evening. It is one of Audra McDonald's most often-performed songs and she internalizes every word so deeply that the audience is taken on an entire emotional journey in just a few short minutes. She reinvents and honors Stephen Sondheim's "Children Will Listen" from Into the Woods by mashing it up with Rodgers and Hammerstein's iconic "You've Got to be Carefully Taught" from South Pacific. Ms. McDonald avoids getting excessively political during her set (only making one or two pointed remarks to the current administration) but lets her music forward her messages. Children will listen to how you teach them to be scared of others unlike them. It's a powerful and necessary message in 2018.

Even when plundering the depths of the human psyche, Ms. McDonald never loses sight of hope. Her evening concludes with back-to-back inspirational numbers: "Climb Every Mountain" from Sound of Music followed by an encore performance of The Wizard of Oz's "Over the Rainbow." Now more than ever it is important to look for the moments of hope and happiness. Those can easily be found wherever Audra McDonald is singing.

Audra McDonald's concert with the National Symphony Orchestra was a one-night-only event part of the NSO Pops Concert Series. For information on Audra McDonald's upcoming performances, click here. For tickets and information for future NSO Pops Concerts, click here.

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Sam Abney is a Washington, D.C. based arts professional. A native of Arizona, he has happily made D.C. his new home. Sam is a graduate from George Mason University with a degree in Communication and currently works for Arena Stage as a member of their Development team. He is a life-long lover of theater and is excited about sharing his passion with as many people as possible.

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