That one line summed up MCC’s Annual Miscast gala, held March 1 at the Hammerstein Ballroom. This year’s honoree was Julianna Margulies.
Miscast wasn’t so much about gender bending, per se—except in the case of a pair of twelve-year-olds (more on that later)—as it is was about giving some very talented people the chance to sing amazing songs they’d otherwise never get to sing beyond their own showers.
Mo Rocca (of Spelling Bee fame) hosted and acted as head auctioneer, with a little help from Margulies’ "The Good Wife" co-star Chris Noth, who upped the ante by telling the audience that he’d strip to his skivvies if a bid was raised. And just like that, the bid shot up an extra two grand, making Noth’s nether regions one of the most expensive things “on view” in New York.
But back to the performances, which varied from the comical (like Nicole Parker teaming up with her old Wicked co-star, Aaron Tveit, to sing his Next to Normal breakout song, “I’m Alive,” with Tveit taking on the role of Alice Ripley’s character, Diana) to heartwarming (Sutton Foster singing a mean “Maria” from West Side Story).
Other standouts included Il Divo’s David Miller doing an operatic version of “Memory” from Cats (while wearing a tail) and Marin Mazzie singing “Where is the Life that Late I Led,” a song she’s certainly familiar with, having heard it eight times a week from Brian Stokes Mitchell, when she co-starred with him in Kiss Me, Kate in 2000.
A standing ovation came after Kelsey Fowler and Alison Horowitz (two tweens currently on Broadway in Mary Poppins), sang “We Do Not Belong Together” from Sunday in the Park with George. One was George…with the beard...the other, a very pregnant Dot...with the belly. Kids, do not try that at home.
Two rather hushed moments included a moving song from the new musical Catch Me If You Can called “Fly, Fly Away” sung by the aforementioned Mr. Tveit, who originated the role in Seattle this past summer.
The second one came at the end of the evening from Raul Esparza, who, if you’ll remember, starred in the ill-fated Taboo back in 2003. After explaining to the audience what an “interesting” producer Rosie O'Donnell was (which got a few chuckles), he praised the production for having “one of the best scores ever written,” and closed the evening with a very beautiful “Talk Amongst Yourselves.”
[caption id="attachment_1773" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Honoree Julianna Margulies"]
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[caption id="attachment_1774" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Aaron Tveit"]
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[caption id="attachment_1775" align="alignleft" width="188" caption="Sutton Foster"]
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[caption id="attachment_1776" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Judith Light "]
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[caption id="attachment_1777" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Isaac Mizrahi"]
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