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Last Thursday night, the crowd at the Bear’s Den grew until the pub was jam-packed with students and community members excited to see the Songs For Change benefit cabaret. The evening kicked off with a tune familiar to everyone – a rendition of “Over The Rainbow” by Molly Webster. Next was Andrew Bodwell, singing “Corner of The Sky,” from the musical “Pippin.” Bodwell showed moments of James Taylor-esque vocal gold in his performance.
The crowd’s enthusiasm amplified with each song. The response to the songs started as moderate applause and quickly grew to an energized roar by the time Matthew Small performed “Blue Moon.”
The evening’s performers were Andrew Bodwell, Emily Cain, Rebecca Guildford, Molly Webster and Matthew Small, accompanied with exceptional piano playing from Dr. Laura Artesani.
“I decided to try a cabaret-style event for this show. Musical theatre songs fit naturally into this format,” said Matthew Small, the director of the event. “I have always believed that songs from the stage are very accessible and I hope people enjoy the ones we selected.” Small could not have been more dead-on with this comment.
The event’s title, Songs For Change, referred to the purpose behind the cabaret-style performance. All of the proceeds from Songs For Change will benefit Alternative Spring Break, a project that will bring positive change to different areas across the nation. According to the Black Bear Volunteers’ Web site, “Volunteers have built houses for low income families, worked with troubled and at-risk youth, served meals, helped organize NYC’s annual AIDS Walk, participated in an urban peace program and helped the elderly” in more than half a dozen states since 1998.
Throughout the evening, the singers continually brought the audience into the world of each musical, one short song at a time. Emily Cain’s passion, comic delivery, and overall believability in “Stars and Moon” was a great example of this. Instead of choosing songs from musicals and simply singing them, the performers took their characters and stories directly from the musicals and brought them into the Bear’s Den for each song.
“With input from the cast, I attempted to balance popular tunes with ones that may be new to audience members,” said Small of the evening’s selections. The program contained songs from both newer and lesser known musicals, peppered amongst classic staples such as “Memory,” from “Cats.”
The atmosphere in the Bear’s Den on Thursday was an easygoing air of enjoyment. Just ask any of the guys whose shoulders were lovingly stroked in Rebecca Guildford’s performance of “As Long As He Needs Me,” or any of Emily’s “volunteers” on “If I Were A Bell.” With or without the crowd’s interaction, the audience was smiling for the entire night and clearly enjoying themselves.
The fun atmosphere was accompanied by excellent musicianship. The performers were from various musical backgrounds, including members of Renaissance, The Maine Steiners and the University Singers. Dr. Artesani’s piano playing was also exceptional, solidifying each song and tying the tunes together with catchy background melodies. Duets “In His Eyes” by Cain and Guildford and “What You Own” by Bodwell and Small were full of amazing harmonies and great vocal interplay.
The performers had smiles on their faces for the entire evening, clearly enjoying themselves with these songs. At one point in the program, Matthew Small took a moment to address the audience and speak about the upcoming Alternative Spring Break experience. Small said that over 50 students from UMaine will go to New Orleans to help with the hurricane relief effort, New York city to volunteer in an AIDS clinic, and the Everglades. At the end of the night, Small thanked the audience for coming and announced that over $600 had been raised for the ASB cause.
According to the programs passed out at the door, the ensemble piece “I Wish I Could Go Back To College” was scheduled to be the last tune of the night. But as soon as the audience stood to applaud the final number of the evening, they quickly sat back down with broad smiles as Dr. Artesani played the familiar opening notes to “Seasons of Love” from “Rent.” This surprise encore was the perfect ending to an excellent night of music, fun and fundraising for a great cause.
Bangor Daily News