quasar's Full Review: My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies
Recorded live at Carnegie Hall on September 28, 1998, My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies is a gala concert featuring many women who've starred on Broadway in the past 30 years. There's a nice mix of current stars and stars from bygone years and a good mix of song styles. As a concert rather than a show, most of the songs are presented simply with little movement or theatrics, but there are a few dance numbers and one or two songs that add a bit of extra flair beyond the standard "stand up at the mike and sing" mode that's more usual. To be honest, the simple presentation works very well here when it's employed; it showcases the power of the songs and focuses you on what's important - the singing. While not perfect and there are moments I wish weren't included, most of the numbers presented in this concert are fantastic and truly represent the best Broadway has to offer.
My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies starts with a song from Sugar featuring Tony Roberts and Robert Morse as men pretending to be women, a gag that seems like a cheap attempt to get a few men on the program. It's one of the weaker moments of the show and not worthy of the normally excellent Morse. Julie Andrews hosts the concert and emerges in her Victor/Victoria suit after this number, leading to some truly cringe-worthy dialogue that attempts to crack several gender bending jokes but fails.
Things improve quickly from there with a series of fabulous numbers starting with Karen Ziemba and Bebe Neuwirth doing "Nowadays" and "Hot Honey Rag" from Chicago. They both starred in the show on Broadway (at different times) and it's a fabulous dance number considering that they probably only had a few practice sessions before the performance. This is followed by Marin Mazzie singing "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" from Pal Joey. I saw Mazzie in Man of LaMancha and, while she had a good voice, she didn't seem suited for the role of Aldonza/Dulcinea. This song could have been written for her. It is by far the best rendition of the song I've ever heard. Other standouts in this sequence include Andrea McArdle singing the Jerome Kern song "Look for the Silver Lining" followed by "Tomorrow" from Annie, Priscilla Lopez performing "Nothing" from A Chorus Line, and Debra Monk belting her way through a number written specifically for her from the show Steel Pier, "Everybody's Girl". McArdle has an absolutely beautiful crystal clear soprano and Lopez brings passion and humor and pathos to a song that isn't normally among my favorites. Monk is raunchy and funny in a song that evokes Mae West.
The show has another minor little bump in the middle with a sequence of songs that are good but not quite up to the standards of most of the rest of the concert. Beginning with Nell Carter singing a few lines of "Ain't Misbehaving" before "Mean to Me" (both from Ain't Misbehaving) followed by Dorothy Louden singing "Fifty Cents" from Ballroom and Liza Minelli singing "Some People" from Gypsy these songs are either just a little bit overdone or a little bit too passionless for my taste.
The concert recovers with a bang with a trio of songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber sung separately initially then intertwined together for an interesting twist. Audra McDonald sings "Love Changes Everything" from Aspects of Love, Marin Mazzie returns with "Unexpected Song" from Song & Dance, and Judy Kuhn shines with "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar. I'm not a big Webber fan, but these songs are magnificent here, especially when intertwined at the end of the sequence.
The excellence continues with a variety of songs evoking a variety of emotions. Anna Kendricks adds a great deal of extra humor to "Life Upon the Wicked Stage" from Show Boat just by virtue of being a child. Audra McDonald returns with a powerful rendition of the title song from Down with Love. Perhaps the best number in a night filled with stars and spectacular songs is Karen Ziemba's breathless, hopeful, and dreamy "I Want to Be a Rockette" from the unfinished Jerome Kern show Kicks. Ziemba is a fabulous dancer and a good singer and she's joined by the real Rockettes here in a very well choreographed number.
Unfortunately, that number is followed by my least favorite of the entire show and the only performance I actively disliked: "I Can Cook Too" from On the Town as sung by Lea DeLaria. She practically screams her way through a number that pins all of its home on energy rather than talent. I always skip it.
Faith Prince follows with a good rendition of "Adelaide's Lament" from Guys and Dolls and Elaine Stritch performs her signature "The Ladies Who Lunch" from Company which isn't a personal favorite but is precisely what you'd expect if you're familiar with Stritch or the song. The grand finale - "One" from A Chorus Line - is performed by women actively in shows at the time of the performance later joined by all of the performers from this show. It's a good end to a good concert.
Despite the fact that there are a few less than satisfying numbers in My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies, I find myself leaning toward a five star rating. The majority of the numbers are absolutely fantastic and performed with flair and passion. There are songs here you won't find elsewhere and the choreography of both the dance numbers and those songs with some real movement is top notch. I'd recommend the DVD solely for "I Want to Be a Rockette" and "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" even if everything else was awful. It's not. If you enjoy showtunes or just want to see a concert featuring some of the best female performers in the country, definitely watch My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies.
Recommended:
Yes
Viewing Format: DVD Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12
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