Composer and conductor Marvin Hamlisch made his debut on Tuesday night with the New York Philharmonic with a variation of a concert series he has already popularized at the Kennedy Center and other music halls. Titled "Broadway's Greatest Showstoppers," he conducted an intermission-less program of about ten Broadway showtunes and/or orchestral interludes.
He began with a very amusing yet awkward opening. The front of the orchestra was revealed to actually be young students, all of whom tap-danced for nearly five straight minutes far downstage while the real orchestra played "No Business Like Show Business." It was a nice surprise. But quite frankly, the tap dancing was not too hot. And it was rather awkward to see them try to tap with so little room onstage. In fact, I was scared that one of them was going to fall off the stage.
The first song selection was also the weakest - longtime "Les Miz" actor Mark McVey performing "Bring Him Home." Divorced from the context of the show, the song lacks power and passion, turning instead into merely another slow, mellow ballad.
Next was Michael Bell doing "Old Man River." Again, outside of the context of "Show Boat," the number lacks intensity, but Bell's performance managed to draw us in for the first time that evening. This was followed by orchestral selections from "My Fair Lady," which was played quite nicely.
But the evening really began when Raul Esparza and Kristin Chenoweth arrived. Raul was pretty f-cking amazing with "Soliloquy" and "Being Alive," making the place go wild. Too bad he didn't perform "Oh What a Circus," which had apparently also been planned. Chenoweth, to no surprise, was also a comic gem with "Ice Cream" and "Glitter and Be Gay," in the later basically repeating her performance as Cunegonde from four years ago.
Hamlisch ended with his long-lost overture to "A Chorus Line." No encores. Overall, a pretty fun evening. Maybe this could be an annual thing?