Trivia: what is the only Broadway musical that Kenny Ortega, director/choreographer of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL and NEWSIES, is associated with? In an ABC News behind the scenes featurette on HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2, they introduced him at "Broadway veteran Kenny Ortega," which made me almost instantly log onto IBDB to check it out. Turns out, he directed and choreographed the 1980s musical bomb MARILYN. That's all that came up.
Anyhow, tonight I checked out Nancy Anderson's show "Ten Cents a Dance" at Birdland, which she has already performed there on a number of occasions and I believe she has already recorded. I saw her last night in the York reading of ALBERT AND I, as well as numerous Broadway by the Year concerts, the PBS recording of KISS ME KATE in the West End, and her featured comedy role in the Broadway revival of WONDERFUL TOWN. Anderson, as many can attest, is a very meticulous, supremely undervalued performer who could be great I imagine in anything from an operetta like THE SONG OF THE VAGABOND to a rock opera like TOMMY. As the ATC crowd has pointed out, she would have made a great Nellie in the Lincoln Center revival of SOUTH PACIFIC, but word on the street is that Kelli O'Hara has indeed grabbed the role. O'Hara of course will be fantastic, but Anderson should definitely do it regionally sometime.
In "Ten Cents a Dance," she performed a number of hit and rare songs from the 1930s, accompanied by an 8 person band led by Broadway by the Year's Ross Patterson on piano. Anderson actually gave an anecdote that accurately describes her extremely unique voice: it's Snow White from the 1930s Disney film. The show will assumedly be performed again at Birdland, and I recommend it to fans of either Ms. Anderson or of 1930s jazz, big band or Broadway scores.
