Scott Siegel seems to have an ever-flowing fount of creative ideas for his ongoing series of Broadway and cabaret productions at Town Hall.  His latest creation was Broadway’s Rising Stars, a concert of Broadway show tunes cast completely with recent graduates of professional performance schools.

The youngsters, almost all in their early twenties, were an ingratiating lot, ranging from promising to knockout.  They came from everywhere, from across the US and from overseas, like moths to a candle flame drawn to New York by its unsurpassed concentration of musical theater, professional training, and opportunities.  To a man, or woman, New York and musical theater was where they had to be, and for many of them, even those with regional theater roles notched onto their belts, the chance to sing for 1,500 people at Town Hall, solo, and show off their abilities, was a dream come true.

The audience was filled, understandably, with a large percentage of friends and family, so the thunderous applause that greeted each of the vocalists was no surprise.  What was a surprise was the fact that so many of the newbies and their performances really deserved it. 

The show opened with the entire cast singing and dancing a bang-up rendition of  “Applause,” with enough precision to earn the respect of any Rockettes in the audience.  Choreographer Vibecke Dahle and Co-Directors Scott Coulter and Emily Skinner treated their performers as pros, and they crafted a show to be proud of.

The selections were varied, mostly fairly light, such as Danielle Simone Roundtree’s cutely seductive “Squeeze Me,” Joshua Isaacs, Jon Fletcher and Ryan Scoble’s take on “Big Ass Rock” from The Full Monty, or a humorously nostalgic “I Wish I Could Go Back to College,” from Avenue Q and performed by Jennifer LaMonica, Greg Kenna and Seth Peterson.  And gamine Malia Tippets disseminated awesome energy with her declaration of “I’m All I’ve Got” from Bravo Giovanni. 

Other performers, however, took on heavier fare.  Karen Myatt succeeded with a dramatic rendition of “Surubaya Johnny,” and Joshua Isaacs’ presentation of “It’s Hard to Speak My Heart,” as a man falsely accused of rape and murder, was quietly intense.

It would be hard to argue with Siegel’s choice of any of the nineteen up-and-coming performers. There wasn’t a clunker in the lot.  Some of the most impassioned cheers went to three vocalists from overseas: Jon Fletcher, in from the U.K., with “The Streets of Dublin;” Korean Kyu-Jeong Han’s moving “What Is It About Her?” from Lippa’s The Wild Party; and Russian Elena Mindlina (pictured), who thrilled the audience with the Edith Piaf standard, “If You Love Me.”

If the young performers missed out on anything, it was that – unlike the theater, where they play to other characters on stage – here, they should have concentrated much more on communicating directly to the audience.  A few did, and did it well, but far more of their number were misled into emulating the error of many a seasoned Broadway musical star in a similar cabaret or concert setting.  They never made a connection to those in the room and, almost ignoring them, sang to the spotlight.  Now that it’s been pointed out, hopefully the next time around, they'll be more aware that singing to an audience is a two-way street.

If Siegel had a point to prove with his show, it was that the future of musical theater seems destined to be in good hands.  Don’t waste any time thinking about it.  Seeing the youthful group he assembled on stage that night, he was on solid ground.

Peter Leavy
Cabaret Scenes
July 21, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org