A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING


Musical Theatre West is back, and gloriously so, with A Grand Night For Singing, a grand showcase for the songs of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and the five triple-threats who light up the MTW stage.

A 1994 Best Musical Tony nominee, A Grand Night For Singing treats audiences to over three-dozen Rodgers & Hammerstein gems strung together by Walter Bobbie’s Tony-nominated “book,” whose genius is not in concocting a storyline jukebox musical style (indeed there is none) but in finding clever ways to link song to song, turning what might otherwise be nothing more than a two-hour concert into a musical revue that will have you hearing R&H as you never have before.

Jacob Haren and Natalie Wachen’s “The Surrey With The Fringe On Top” inspires Joan Almdeilla and Kelley Dorney to harmonize “Stepsisters’ Lament” after Jacob picks Natalie and not them for a romantic surrey ride.

“Many A New Day” segues into “Wash That Man” as Natalie, Joan, and Kelly declare themselves over and done with love, at least for now, and Natalie’s “The Gentleman Is A Dope” proves the perfect intro for Richard Bermudez and Jacob showing just what dopes gentlemen can be in “Don’t Marry Me.”

Equally inspired in the gender-flipping that turns The Sound of Music’s “Maria” into a young man’s musings on how to deal with a problematic girlfriend or spouse, or takes Flower Drum Song’s “Love Look Away” and turns it into the story of a man whose unrequited love has driven him to despair.

Some songs stand out because they’re being sung in a way we’ve never heard them before. “Kansas City” gets the joint a jumpin’ Big Band Era-style as a four-part-harmony treat performed by Joan, Kelley, Natalie, and Jacob. And hearing “Something Wonderful” and “This Nearly Was Mine” sung pop style (by Joan and Richard respectively) proves revelatory.

Last but not least, though the vast majority of A Grand Night For Singing’s 40+ songs will be instantly recognizable to anyone who’s seen Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, and The King And I umpteen times, or State Fair, Flower Drum Song, and Cinderella on the big or small screen, I’ll wager that most audience members have rarely if ever heard the eight or nine songs culled from R&H’s fabled flops Allegro, Me And Juliet, and Pipe Dream, which means more than a few surprises in store.

If Musical Theatre West lucked out in entrusting A Grand Night For Singing to five of the most gifted song-and-dance stars in town, audiences can thank their lucky stars that original Broadway cast member (and SoCal treasure) Jason Graae was available to direct this 2021 revival, and with DJ Gray finding ways to integrate choreography and movement (tap, soft-shoe, jitterbug, and more) into just about every number, A Grand Night For Singing delivers all the entertainment value of the big-cast book musicals that are MTW’s stock-in-trade.

(Having Jacob perform “Shall We Dance?” opposite a mop is the very definition of inspired, and so is the surprise twist that explains why Richard and Jacob are telling Joan and Kelley what bad husbands they’d make the two women in “Don’t Marry Me.”)

Almedilla, the most magnificent Lady Thiang I’ve ever seen, gets to show of some of the richest pipes in town in such classics as “It Might As Well Be Spring” and the aforementioned “Something Wonderful.”

MTW favorite Dorney, perky perfection as always, sings a simply gorgeous “If I Loved You,” and just wait till you hear her reinvent “I Cain’t Say No” simply by being unable to do just that.

Wachen completes the female trio quite splendidly indeed with a zesty “A Wonderful Guy,” a bang-up “The Gentleman Is A Dope,” and a particularly charming “A Hundred Million Miracles.”

Bermudez (not looking a day older than he did when he played Lun Tha in MTW’s The King And I in 2005) reprises “We Kiss In A Shadow” with pipes as gorgeous as his looks, and proves a dream Curly/Billy in “Oh, What A Beautiful Morning” and “My Little Girl.”

And Haren, who’s gone from UC Irvine up-and-comer to starring in MTW’s Catch Me If You Can (with Broadway in between), gives Gene Kelly a run for his money in “Shall We Dance,” not to mention letting us hear “Love Look Away” from a whole new point of view.

Musical director Dennis Castellano and his onstage orchestra provide pitch-perfect accompaniment throughout, with added snaps to Julie Ferrin’s crystal-clear sound design.

A Grand Night For Singing looks simply divine thanks to Kevin Clowe’s elegant, star-lit set, Jojo Siu’s costumes (in particular the ladies’ three gowns each), and Paul Black’s magical lighting design.

Phil Gold is production stage manager and Avery James Evans is assistant stage manager. Matt Terzigni is production manager, Kevin Clowes is technical director, and Bren Thor is company manager.

It’s been nearly two years since Musical Theatre West’s Holiday Inn closed out 2019 with the promise of one show after another coming up in 2020 till a certain pandemic got in the way.

A Grand Night For Singing proves the grandest of occasions to welcome back audiences starved for live musical theater. I guarantee you’ll be heading back home with a smile on your face and more than a few songs in your heart.

Musical Theatre West, Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach.
www.musical.org

–Steven Stanley
October 16, 2021
Photos: Caught In The Moment Photography

 

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