Contents: Nineteen Broadway standards and oddities performed in concert
without any electronic amplification at New York’s Town Hall in a
celebration of the un-augmented human voice.
The performances are a great deal of fun. With
performers such as Michael Cerveris, Chuck Cooper, Cady Huffman, Norm Lewis
and Barbara Walsh, that should come as no surprise. Each is capable of
getting an audience excited, and judging from the audience reactions
captured on this disc, they exercise those powers on the night of September
27, 2004. With her last blast on Sondheim’s "There Won’t Be Trumpets," Ann
Harada proves that she wouldn’t need a microphone even if the hall was ten
times bigger than New York’s Town Hall 1,500 seat auditorium. Mark Kudisch
reveals just how funny a sold-to-the-rafters number can be without a mike.
(If you thought he was hysterical amplified in Thoroughly Modern Millie’s
operetta send up with "Ah, Sweet Mysteries of Life/I'm Falling in Love with
Someone," you’ll love his equally over the top "My Fortune Is My Face.")
Alice Ripley soars on "Serenity."
Siegel provides interesting introductions to
each of the songs with just a tidbit of information about the song and the
performer. Those who want to click through to a specific song will
appreciate the fact that the introductory commentary comes at the end of
each preceding track so the song itself begins at the beginning of its
track.
If there is one disappointment with this disc,
and there is, it is the microphone. While those in the hall were able to
hear each of the performances without any electronic middleman, the
recording had to be, ugh, recorded. This recording does capture the vocal
performances, the small group accompaniment and the audience enthusiasm, but
it does so with a hollow echo. There must have been a battle over where to
put microphones so they wouldn't be visible to the audience, all of whom
purchased tickets specifically because they wanted an un-miked experience.
Still, a closer, more immediate audio ambiance would have been preferable
for this permanent record of what must have been a memorable night.
|
