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The 1959
Broadway Songbook
Lyrics & Lyricists at the 92nd Street Y
May 3 – 5
"The 1959 Broadway Songbook" opened
with Jeff Harnar singing the now-immortal lyric "Tonight, tonight, won't
be just any night." You can say that again, for this was an extraordinary
evening in every way.
The brainchild of Harnar, who was the evening's
artistic director, this revue gave us songs from shows that appeared on Broadway in 1959. On the boards that year were some of the greatest shows in
Broadway history, shows whose very names evoke the glory of the Broadway
musical—among them, West Side Story,
Gypsy, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, The Music Man, Bells Are Ringing, Fiorello!
- written by such giants as Leonard Bernstein, Rodgers & Hammerstein,
Lerner & Loewe, Jule Styne, Comden & Green, Stephen Sondheim, Harnick
& Bock, Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg, Johnny Mercer, Dorothy Fields. Both
lists go on and on. It has often been said, “they don't write 'em like that
anymore.” If you doubted that perspective, this evening provided eloquent
evidence of its correctness. (Actually, it would be more accurate to say they
don't produce 'em like that anymore;
as evidence I submit the paucity - numeric and artistic - of the last ten
Broadway seasons.)
The singing honors were shared by Harnar, Sarah
Uriarte Berry,
David Burnham and Sally Mayes, all
turning in splendid performances. Seldom has
"I Could Have Danced All Night" (Berry) or "When Did I Fall in
Love?" (Burnham) been so gloriously sung, Mayes' terrific rendition of
"Some People" was full of drive and guts, and Harnar handled Flanders
& Swann's delightfully witty "Madeira, M'Dear" with great aplomb.
This list, too, goes on and on. In addition, Harnar hosted the proceedings with
considerable charm and with a most attractive appreciation for this body of
work, the people who created it, and the artists who first breathed life into
it. As a bonus, in a guest spot, the wonderful Donna McKechnie did two numbers
from Redhead.
Whether the material was presented in groups of
individual songs or combined in medleys, the programming was masterful. Alex
Rybeck's arrangements were models of intelligence and sensitivity. All too
often, medleys are treated merely as exercises in interweaving, but in Rybeck's
hands, each song was given its own character and its due; what interweaving
there was served to illuminate or punctuate. Admirable accompaniment was
supplied by musical director Paul Greenwood (piano), Jered Egan (bass), and Dan
Gross (drums). John Kelly provided handsome lighting.
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