quasar's Full Review: My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs
I really enjoyed My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies so I was really looking forward to watching the second volume, My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs. Unfortunately, the second edition isn't nearly as good as the original concert.
Filmed live at Carnegie Hall on October 16, 2000, My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs features some of the biggest names of the Broadway stage, past and present. Among the participants are Nathan Lane, Adam Pascal, Marin Mazzie, Rebecca Luker, Michael Crawford, Robert Goulet, Linda Eder, Bebe Neuwirth, and Chita Rivera, each singing one or more of their favorite Broadway love songs. Like the original, this concert is hosted by Julie Andrews. She does a good job here, probably better than in the original. That's just about the only thing that is better.
Don't get me wrong. My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs has some superb moments. Chita Rivera's still got it; despite being 67 years old at the time of this performance, she blows everyone else off the stage. Her first appearance is in a duet with Brent Spiner (yes, that Brent Spiner) performing "An English Teacher's Wife" and "Rosie" from Bye Bye, Birdie. She originated the role of Rosie 40 years earlier and, judging by this performance, she could slip right back into the show today without any problems whatsoever. Brent Spiner's no Dick Van Dyke, unfortunately, but very few people are.
Her second number, "How Lucky Can You Get?" from Funny Girl, is an absolutely perfect fit for her voice. Slightly jazzy, slightly funny but with an underlying pathos, the song is fantastic and she nails it. I hope some of the other performers were watching because they could have used a good lesson in how to grab an audience and keep them riveted.
Bebe Neuwirth also gives a reasonably good performance of "I'm a Brass Band" from Sweet Charity, but she doesn't quite seem to be at her best here. Her voice is just a little bit stiff and, while her dancing is fine, the choreography seems a lot more simplistic than the Fosse (or Fosse inspired) moves typically seen.
Numbers that are just a bit off seems to be a recurring theme in this show. Michael Crawford sings "Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera, practically a trademark song for him, and seems to phone it in a bit. Robert Goulet sings "If Ever I Would Leave You" to Julie Andrews and it feel very forced. Adam Pascal does a great job with "Seasons of Love" from his first show Rent but the accompanying chorus doesn't complement his voice and vocal patterns that well.
The show features a lot of medleys, some by a single artist and some by a group of artists. Rebecca Luker doesn't sing any full solo numbers here, but joins Marin Mazzie and Peter Gallagher for two different medleys (Brent Spiner and Adam Pascal also join them on the first one). These medleys seem sort of random without a lot of connections. Mazzie has a solo number in addition to these medleys and, while she's perfectly competent in all of these songs, she doesn't have the passion of her fantastic "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" from the first show (in fairness, that was one of the best stage performances I've ever seen from anyone).
The final song is a medley from My Fair Lady. Michael Crawford plays Higgins and starts things off with a segment from "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face". Julie Andrews replies from off stage, then joins Crawford onstage and the two transition to "The Rain in Spain". Andrews actually sang a few words in what I believe was her first public singing since her well publicized throat problems. The audience practically erupted. It was a powerful moment, but more because of what it symbolized than because it was truly entertaining or good. The segment ends with an instrumental version of "I Could Have Danced All Night" and some basic waltzing from Crawford and Andrews leading into the final bows. I kept feeling like I should enjoy this more than I did. I've watched several times now and my opinion really hasn't improved.
Before you get the idea that I hated My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs, let me assure you I didn't. I was just disappointed given how much I really enjoyed its predecessor. Most of the concert was perfectly adequate, it just didn't move beyond that very often unless Chita Rivera was on the stage. I do recommend watching this concert at least once, especially if you can catch it on television or at your local library, but I wouldn't kill yourself trying to locate a copy. It's not worth it.
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