Linda Eder with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

It was back in March, 1996, that I first became acquainted with the voice of Linda Eder at Baltimore's Mechanic Theater. She was playing Lucy in the national tour (pre-Broadway) of Jekyll & Hyde with Robert Cuccioli and Christiane Noll. She had a voice that would give you goose bumps. Eder went on to play Lucy for 900 performances on Broadway, winning a Drama Desk Award.

Baltimore audiences were thrilled to see her perform with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra last night before a packed house.

Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly started the evening with four wonderful Broadway musical overtures. There were two written by Cy Coleman, Sweet Charity and Little Me, Frank Loesser's How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Adler and Ross' Damn Yankees. I do wish the BSO would play selections from more contemporary Broadway musicals.

Then came a tribute to the MGM musicals. Then there was intermission after only thirty minutes. The audience seemed stunned that intermission came so early.

This was followed by a 25 minute intermission. Patrons were starting to grumble.

But, all was forgiven once Linda Eder took the stage in a gorgeous black dress. For you strictly Eder fans, you don't have to show up at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall until fifty minutes after the starting time.

But don't miss this opportunity to see one of our great entertainers. She started the evening with "Almost Like Being in Love".

Eder credits Judy Garland with the reason she sings. She recalled watching Garland in the "Wizard of Oz" on television at the age of 8 and saying to herself, "That's what I want to do." And she has!!

She then inquired how many in the audience had seen her perform before. There was a great deal of applause.

"How I Know the Boy Next Door" was beautifully done. Eder then asked how many in the audience got stuck in the Obama traffic (the President was in town to speak to Republicans).

Eder talked about a song not recorded by Garland, but written later in her life only performed on a television special. It was the beautiful ballad "It's All for You" with a lovely tenor saxophone solo.

Then, there were two songs with just the brass section of the BSO "Strings of My Heart" and "The Trolley Song" from "Meet Me in St. Louis."

Her Judy Garland CD includes a song especially written for her by Jack Murphy and her former husband Frank Wildhorn. The lyrics are about Garland's music. It was a beautiful number, "The Rainbow's End".

"Go To My Head" had a great samba beat and featured a great brass solo.

Eder told the story of a lovely song sung by Garland at her "Live from Carnagie Hall" album when Garland actually forgot the lyrics.

You could hear a pin drop when she began "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" which was followed by a wild ovation. She mentioned it was Garland who gave her the passion for singing.

I was hoping for something from Jekyll & Hyde and I was not dissapointed. Eder spoke about her role as the "happy hooker with a heart of gold". She seemed to regret this has been the only show she has done on Broadway. She then belted out "Someone Like You" which brought the house down.  This was followed by "By Myself".

The obligatory encore was a beautiful song "Vienna" also written by Wildhorn. The BSO's concertmaster Jonathan Carney had a lovely solo.

Accompanying Eder were David Finck on bass, David Ratajczak on drums and the amazing John Oddo on piano. Eder mentioned Oddo worked with Rosemary Clooney for over 20 years. You can see him at the Carlyle in New York in three weeks with Christine Ebersole.

Soon Eder will be off for Prague to perform, then it's in Easton, PA March 19. You can catch her in NYC at Feinstein's from April 6-17.

I am writing this review listening to one of my favorite CD's, "Linda Eder's Broadway My Way" which includes her incredible rendition of "I Don Quixote" from Man of La Mancha.

It's not often you get an opportunity to see such a talented performer in person. The two remaining shows are Saturday night at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. For tickets, call 410-783-8000 or visit www.bsomusic.org.

Eder's web site is www.lindaeder.com.

For comments, write to cgshubow@broadwayworld.com.

 

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