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Style is a fickle and friendly creature. And Saturday night, before a large crowd at the Maine Center for the Arts, style was showcased by both the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and three Broadway sensations. Their style, charisma and passion were enough to bring a little bit of New York to Maine.
While in neighboring Hauck Auditorium, the cast of Cabaret had already started their performance for a sold out crowd, Broadway Nights’ “The Heart of Broadway” began shortly after 8 p.m. and continued captivating until after 10 p.m.
Created by Craig Schulman, Broadway Nights is a chance for stars of Broadway to take the experience of a New York Broadway performance to people who may not be able to make it to the strip. Joined by soprano Anne Runolfsson and baritone Robert Westenberg and backed by the full orchestral sound of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra under direction of Christopher Zimmerman, Schulman’s ability to not only interweave the concepts of the musical numbers with a little bit of history and most of all a fabulous sound which filled the auditorium met with success.
Allowing the orchestra their props too, at the beginning of each of the two acts the orchestra led the program playing melodically and ardently. Their instrumental introductions to the music of Broadway helped to give balance to the vocal choices and showcased the part of musical theater that the singers rely on: the music.
And that was what the night was all about. The use of the theme of style fit the concept of Broadway magnificently. Without the styling of the composer, musical theater legends like Cole Porter, George Gershwin and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It would be hard up to create their masterpieces which have lived on for so long. Each musical number and Broadway sensation, as Schulman’s dialog points out, relies on the idea of style-whether it’s in the music itself or in the clever lyrics. Style is what pulls people back in show after show, what draws them in droves and especially puts memorable songs in the listeners mind leaving them humming.
Style is what also sets both orchestral and vocal parts apart in this show. Each performer is represented by Monica Robinson Ltd. and their association helped to bring a certain familiarity with them. It also helped that the trio had performed together in the 1990 National Tour of “Les Miserables,” each in one of the starring roles. It didn’t hurt that each had performed in one of the leading roles in “The Secret Garden,” but in different parts of the country.
So it isn’t a surprise that the familiarity with the texts and shows that many of Saturday’s songs came from helped to create a brilliant and soaring performance. And their onstage presence, flamboyance, friendliness and grace showed through, pulling a little bit of each character out of them
It is songs like “Bring in the Clowns” from “A Little Night Music,” performed by Runolfsson and with solo clarinet parts played by University of Maine associate professor of music Beth Wiemann, which show just why they are Broadway stars. Haunting and beautiful with a glorious soprano range ,Runolfsson pulls the audience into the character’s conflict and sorrow. Technically beautiful, this is probably one of Runolfsson’s best songs. With haunting clarinet solos, “Bring in the Clowns” is a masterpiece in its own right, but Wiemann’s solos made the song even more striking and heart-throbbing.
It isn’t surprising to hear Westenberg take over the stage and pull in the listeners with his tender and sensitive version of “Embraceable You” from “Girl Crazy.”
What is admirable and scene setting is their playful banter onstage in between songs. Mixing dialog written by Schulman with joking interaction, it is this stage presence which sets them aside during off singing times.
In a curious rendition of the Cats classic “Memory”, the song is sung by all three performers instead of the traditional female role. This juxtaposition of singing roles works as all three are able to reach similar ranges and provides a fuller feeling to the song. Runolfsson dominates as the matron Evita in the classic “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” and Schulman mysteriously turns the “Music of the Night” into some sort of song sung by an evil Phantom.
His Phantom was a little too grating and growling which didn’t seem to fit the character, but 2,000 performances of the song on the Broadway stage should allow him to turn the character a little evil. Fickle listeners may have rejected this Phantom, but couldn’t reject his command of the notes and stage while singing the tender and tantalizing song.
The final songs, from “The Secret Garden” and “Les Miserables” were fittingly the best of the whole performance. “Lily’s Eyes” sung in counterpoint by Westenberg and Schulman run through the auditorium with their power, the same power Runolfsson used in her performance of the awe inspiring “Hold On” leaving the audience holding on to hear what more she had to say.
“Bring Him Home” which again allowed Schulman to reprise his role as Jean Valjean, the criminal pursued relentlessly by Javert (who Westenberg played in the national tour of Les Miserables) is soulful, invocative and touching. But the ending, like all Broadway endings usually are, is large, powerful and creatively done. Taking the cast song of “One Day More”, the three performers took on several roles and performed a striking version leaving tingles to dominate.
While the night was to showcase the vocal power, the orchestra did a fantastic job with performing songs which normally aren’t played by a classical orchestra. While technically there were places where conductor and orchestra didn’t come together and overzealous brass members playing a little too loud at times and overpowering other instruments, their performance was provocative and pleasing.
