WASHINGTON, D.C. – If Broadway is the apex, then the Kennedy Center is its vital launching pad.
The storied Washington arts venue in the midst of celebrating its 50th anniversary is renowned for its symphony concerts and specialty events, with its signature Kennedy Center Honors and Mark Twain Prize topping the roll call.
But it's also long been a bastion for theater – both emergent and familiar –and that grand reminiscence was celebrated with much eyebrow-raising belting and variety on Friday, the first of the two-night "50 Years of Broadway at the Kennedy Center" event.
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Between the top-flight cast of theater royalty, including Tony winners Stephanie J. Block ("The Cher Show," "Falsettos"); Gavin Creel ("Hello, Dolly!" "Hair"); Beth Leavel ("The Prom," "The Drowsy Chaperone"); Frances Ruffelle ("Les Miserables," "The Wild Party"); LaChanze ("The Color Purple," "Summer: The Donna Summer Musical"); and host James Monroe Iglehart ("Aladdin," "Hamilton") and the striking five-song tribute to the late Stephen Sondheim, the evening would have flourished.
Add in the ovation-worthy talents of of Norm Lewis ("Chicken and Biscuits," "The Phantom of the Opera"); Vanessa Williams ("Into the Woods," "Kiss of the Spider Woman"); Andrew Rannells ("The Book of Mormon," "Hamilton"); Andrea McArdle ("Starlight Express," "Beauty and the Beast"); Sierra Boggess ("The Phantom of the Opera," "The Little Mermaid"); Tony Yazbeck ("On the Town," "Finding Neverland") and Betsy Wolfe ("Waitress," "The Last Five Years") and the show’s 27 performances thoroughly awed.
(Scheduled performers Christopher Jackson and Alfie Boe were late scratches from the program.)
One of the most unique aspects of the show was the reminder that three musicals that ascended to the pinnacle of Broadway – "Annie," "Pippin'" and "Les Miserables" – debuted at the Kennedy Center. McArdle, the original Annie, and Ruffelle, the first to play Eponine in "Les Miserables," each tackled songs from those embryonic roles with the wisdom that comes with age.
In more than two hours of music with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra adroitly zigzagging through songs from "Wicked" to "Cabaret" to "Sunday in the Park with George," the majesty of live theater captivated with this all-star cast.
Though there was nary a quibble with any of the performances, here are some highlights.
– Williams, an ageless 58, shimmied, spun and bared her athletic legs in a fringed black dress during "Hit Me with a Hot Note" ("Sophisticated Ladies"). But it was her stunning duet with Boggess during the Sondheim tribute – "Losing My Mind/Not a Day Goes By" from "Follies" and "Merrily We Roll Along" – that spotlighted the craftiness of the late wordsmith and Williams' own natural gifts. Her huskier voice intertwined perfectly with Boggess, a soprano with stratospheric range.
– When Wolfe simply stood behind the mic stand and delivered words forever linked to Liza Minnelli – "Maybe this time, I'll be lucky/maybe this time, he'll stay" – she immediately enthralled. But to hear her draw the hope and desperation out of "Maybe This Time" from "Cabaret," a slow escalation until its climax, was to watch a master class in technique.
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– It took until the second act for the first ovation of the show, a deserved showering of appreciation for Lewis, whose "Music of the Night" shuddered with sensuality (no stranger to Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lewis portrayed the first Black Phantom in 2014's "Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway opposite Boggess). He also closed the first act with the brawny "Stars" from "Les Miserables" and paired with the delightful LaChanze on "Wheels of a Dream" from "Ragtime." presented a multifaceted number of performances rivaled only by Creel's chameleonic turns on "Corner of the Sky" from "Pippin'" and "Luck Be a Lady" from "Guys and Dolls" among his smooth appearances.
– Recently seen inhabiting the role of Cher – no easy task – in "The Cher Show," Block served an outstanding rendition of "Don't Rain on My Parade," making the "Funny Girl" blockbuster eternally affiliated with Barbra Streisand her own with tweaked phrasing and a superbly held final note. She also revisited her role of Elphaba – which she originated at the Kennedy Center production – by tackling the most vocally grueling song from "Wicked." With no billowing costume, Block used her arms for emphasis as she dug into the soaring "Defying Gravity" on a stage bathed in green.
– What a delight to watch Rannells, his forelock still bouncing and his smile infectious, tackle "I Believe" from his signature role as Elder Price in "The Book of Mormon." The humor still gently stings and Rannells attacked the lyrics ("I believe - that God has a plan for all of us/I believe - that plan involves me getting my own planet") with fist-clenching passion. He also stayed busy throughout the show, turning up with Wolfe for a sweet "Suddenly, Seymour" from "Little Shop of Horrors" and with Block on an affecting "Move On" from "Sunday in the Park with George."
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