DIVA TALK: Divas Sing Bernstein; Eder at Radio City Music Hall Plus News of Rivera and Mason
By Andrew Gans
28 Nov 2003
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Linda Eder
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Hello, diva lovers! Hope you're all having a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Just a few items this week . . . enjoy!
BRAVO BERNSTEIN: A BROADWAY TRIBUTE!
It seemed extremely apropos that Musical Theatre Works should celebrate the music of Leonard Bernstein with Bravo Bernstein! the same day the revival of Wonderful Town — starring two-time Tony Award winner Donna Murphy — opened to rave reviews at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.
Wonderful Town, of course, boasts a score with music by Bernstein and lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden. The Nov. 24 benefit concert at the Hudson Theatre featured three songs from Town: one that was cut from the original production — the bittersweet "The Story of My Life" (sung by Judy Blazer) — as well as two of the show's classics, "One Hundred Easy Ways" (delivered by Mary Testa) and "A Little Bit in Love" (performed by Audra McDonald). When one watches McDonald perform, it's clear why she has won three Tony Awards: not only is her vocal range impressively rangy and colorful, but her work is filled with a wealth of emotion and honesty. McDonald later returned for the second half of the concert to offer another of the evening's highlights: In fact, even with a flubbed lyric, her duet with Sara Ramirez on West Side Story's "A Boy Like That"/"I Have a Love" was thrilling.
David Hyde Pierce — of "Frasier" fame — hosted the benefit and provided much laughter as he made his case throughout the evening for why he should portray Bernardo in the upcoming revival of West Side Story. He also scored one of the evening's biggest laughs when he announced at the beginning of the second act, "In your program you'll see that Emily Skinner is scheduled to sing. Well, that's the only place you're going to see her sing tonight." Skinner was unable to perform "I Can Cook, Too" as originally announced; in her place, Rozz Morehead stepped in at the last minute, and with lyrics in hand, the singer triumphed with a brassy rendition of the On the Town song.
Other noteworthy performances: David Miller, of
La Boheme fame, lent his glorious tenor to
West Side Story's "Maria"; a beautiful rendition of "Tonight," delivered by Broadway couple Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley; a belty medley of "Take Care of This House" and
Peter Pan's "My House," sung powerfully by Tony Award winner Betty Buckley; and the evening's finale,
Candide's "Make Our Garden Grow," featuring Danieley, Harolyn Blackwell and most of the company.
Musical Theatre Works, which celebrated its 20th anniversary at the concert, is New York's only non-profit theatre dedicated to the development and production of new musicals. For more information about the organization, visit www.mtwnyc.org.
LINDA EDER
It's a busy time for Broadway belter Linda Eder, who most recently starred in the Goodspeed debut of husband Frank Wildhorn's Camille Claudel.
On Dec. 6 Eder will bring her evening of holiday classics, contemporary standards and musical theatre tunes to the Ford Center for the Performing Arts' Oriental Theatre in Chicago, IL. Eder will be backed by her band for "The Holiday Concert"; show time is 8 PM, and tickets are available by calling the theatre's box office at (312) 977-1700. Those unable to make it to Chicago, can catch Eder in action Dec. 21 on Bravo. The arts and entertainment network will rebroadcast Eder's "Christmas Concert" at 2 PM ET; check local listings.
And, on Feb. 7, 2004, the former star of Jekyll & Hyde will make her Radio City Music Hall debut as a special guest of The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. The evening, under the direction of conductor Keith Lockhart, will begin at 8 PM. Tickets, priced $40-$85, are available by logging on to www.radiocity.com. Continued...
