Kurt Peterson & Victoria Mallory
When Everything Was Possible – A Concert (with comments)
(Ghostlight Records)
July 8, 2016
Reviewed by David Hurst for Cabaret Scenes
Musical theater lovers lucky enough to live in New York City not only have the good fortune to see everything that opens on and off-Broadway each season, they also have access to that most coveted of all theatrical events —the “one night only” concert. For decades now, the most memorable of those “one night only” concerts have celebrated the work of musical theater’s reigning genius, Stephen Sondheim. And we have Kurt Peterson, a talented performer turned savvy producer, to thank for them all. (See the addendum at the end of this review.)
For you see it was Peterson who, back in 1973, spearheaded the brilliant idea to produce a gala evening of Sondheim’s work as a benefit for his alma mater, the American Music and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) and the National Hemophilia Foundation. Along with his associate producers Craig Zadan and Neil Appelbaum, they created a three-hour production of staggering achievement. On March 11, 1973, Sondheim: A Musical Tribute materialized on the stage of the Shubert Theatre (on Boris Aronson’s sumptuous country-garden set of A Little Night Music) establishing the blueprint and—thanks to its unprecedented live Warner Bros. cast recording—setting the standard for all “one night only” evenings for the rest of time.
Like a lot of wide-eyed, eager, young kids following their dreams in the mid-1960s, Peterson made his way to New York City and met a young girl named Victoria Mallory at AMDA where they forged a lifelong friendship. Both of them were impossibly beautiful and both of them were indisputably talented. It was kismet they would work together and, indeed, Peterson and Mallory were soon cast by Leonard Bernstein and Richard Rodgers to play Tony and Maria in the 1968 revival of West Side Story at Lincoln Center.
And their careers were off and running. Peterson would costar with Angela Lansbury in Dear World while Mallory played Lili in a Carnival revival at City Center. They would work together again next in Sondheim’s ravishing 1971 production of Follies, in which Peterson played Young Ben and Mallory played Young Heidi. Quickly thereafter director Hal Prince chose Mallory to play Anne Egerman in Sondheim’s glorious 1973 A Little Night Music. It was in that show she met her future husband, Mark Lambert, who played Henrik Egerman. In a case of life imitating art, as they did every night in the show they ran off together and got married, and—36 years later—their daughter Ramona would play Anne in the 2009 revival of A Little Night Music.
But back to those “one night only” concerts—flash forward to 2012.
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Having reconnected after decades of being out of touch, Peterson and Mallory joined forces for a reunion concert at New York City Center with a 13-piece orchestra directed by Michael Rafter, produced by Peterson and Stephenie Skyllas. It was to be called When Everything Was Possible – A Concert (with comments). In short, the theatrical community was beside itself with delight and anticipation. It would be 46 years after they first met at AMDA. What would they look like? What would they sound like? What would they sing? The spectacular results were beyond anyone’s wildest expectation.
On Sunday night, April 29, 2012, Ted Chapin, who had been a “gofer” assistant on the original production of Follies and had penned the riveting, backstage history of the show, Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies (2005) (and who happens to now be the President of the Rodgers & Hammerstein organization), stepped on-stage to do the introductions. The lights dimmed. Peterson and Mallory appeared and were met with the kind of rapturous pandemonium usually reserved for rock stars and sports teams.
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Filled with a Who’s Who of Broadway stars—then and now—the wildly appreciative audience cheered each selection and hung on the duo’s every word. For fans that came of age in the 1960s and ’70s, it was a religious pilgrimage at long last fulfilled. Tony and Maria had returned—still impossibly beautiful and still indisputably talented.
Naturally, Peterson and Mallory had intended to go into the recording studio to preserve the material, and there were plans for more concerts and a tour. Unfortunately, tragedy intervened and Mallory was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She would die just weeks before her 66th birthday on August 30, 2014, leaving her family, friends and fans in shock. When Everything Was Possible would be Mallory’s last New York stage appearance. But, miraculously, an archival recording of the concert was made and Peterson, Skyllas and Ghostlight Records, with the blessing of Mallory’s husband and daughter, have released this CD for everyone to enjoy.
So, how is the recording? In a word—fantastic! Containing songs from shows Peterson and Mallory appeared in either separately or together between 1966 and 1974, When Everything Was Possible is a time capsule of the second “golden age” of Broadway, and serves as a valentine to the late Mallory’s luminous talent. (Not surprisingly, proceeds from album sales will benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.) Vocally, both Peterson and Mallory sound wonderful. Peterson’s lyric baritone still gleams as evidenced by his heartfelt selections from Dear World, On the Town and Company. But Mallory’s voice is still extraordinary. Always possessed of a rock-solid technique, time stands still when her bright, gleaming soprano soars into the heavens. From “Tonight” to “One More Kiss” to “Soon,” Mallory’s gorgeous voice dazzles; one can only imagine how much nerve it takes to get on a New York stage after 40 years and perform signature songs from landmark musicals. Bookending the concert are two original songs, “There” and “There Was Once a Time,” co-written by Peterson and composer Jesse Wiener, that are expert examples of specialty material deftly suited for the occasion. That the disc also contains much of the concert’s patter, jokes and commentary is the icing on the cake.
To be sure, there are slight musical baubles here and there on the recording, and the occasional vocal slide only confirms both these superb performers are human. But those are minor quibbles when the concert as a whole is heard in its entirety.
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Lastly, the disc is beautifully packaged, designed by Frank Dain, and contains a jaw-dropping booklet filled with sensational pictures and commentary. Long revered in their community, When Everything Was Possible is a document that ultimately secures Peterson and Mallory’s place in musical theater history. It is essential for any serious musical theater collector and will give hope to any young performer dreaming of a career in front of the footlights.
To orer the CD: visit http://www.wheneverythingwaspossible.com/
Addendum: below is a very short list of New York City “one night only” Sondheim-inspired concerts influenced by Kurt Peterson’s Sondheim: A Musical Tribute (March 11, 1973) at the Shubert Theatre:
- A Stephen Sondheim Evening (March 3, 1983) at Sotheby Parke Bernet sponsored by the Whitney Museum’s Composers’ Showcase Series
- Follies in Concert with The New York Philharmonic (September 6-7, 1985) at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center
- Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall (June 10, 1992)
- Company in Concert (April 11-12, 1993) at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center
- Sweeney Todd in Concert with The New York Philharmonic (May 4-6, 2000) at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center
- Wall to Wall Stephen Sondheim (March 19, 2005) at Symphony Space
- Sondheim!: The Birthday Concert with The New York Philharmonic (March 15-16, 2010) at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center
- Sondheim 80 (March 22, 2010) at Roundabout’s Studio 54
- A Gala Celebration Honoring Stephen Sondheim (April 26, 2010) at New York City Center
