NY Pops – Something Wonderful- Theater Scene New York Broadway Review

Photo by Richard Termine

By Stewart Schulman

“Can You Feel The Love Tonight” would have been an apt titling for the NY Pops 34^th anniversary Gala at Carnegie Hall on May 1^st—an event honoring the long-time working relationship between two titans of the Broadway theater, actress Kelli O’hara and director Bartlett Sher. It was an evening celebrating creative collaboration—with a whole lot of heart.

Mr. Sher and Ms. O’Hara have worked together on four Broadway musicals and to date each of these individuals has garnered six Tony nominations and one Tony win. So honoring them—artists who have given us such magnificent productions as: The Light in the Piazza, the 2008 revival of South Pacific, The Bridges of Madison County, and the most recent revival of The King and I—was a no-brainer. But the greatest highlight of this particular evening—and there were many—was the love that filled every corner of the legendary concert hall.

Whether that love poured forth from the glorious NY Pops orchestra (with the “Kids On Stage” student guest musicians), or from masterful conductor Steven Reineke, or the cavalcade of star-studded performers singing their hearts out on the glorious Ronald O. Perelman Stage—including the spirited and sizeable Camp Broadway Kids Ensemble, or even from honoree Kelly O’Hara herself, The Isaac Stern Auditorium was filled with a deep love for art and a respect for the immense collaborative work that goes into making it.

The concert was a cornucopia of great musical compositions all lovingly rendered in celebration of the Pops 34^th birthday. It opened with a newly composed “Suite” from The Bridges of Madison County, with composer Jason Robert Brown at the piano, and closed with a full-cast encore of “Nice Work If You Can Get It” from the musical of the same name. And in-between a variety of musical compositions were performed representing a lifetime of work in the theater (so far) for each of the musical honorees. There was also a corporate honoree, Karen van Bergen, CEO of Omnicom PR Group, who got the pleasure of having the entire crowd sing her “Happy Birthday” to a newly orchestrated version of that song by The Pops.

Some of the evening’s highlights included: “It All Fades Away,” from The Bridges of Madison County, passionately sung by Steven Pasquale; “Hello Young Lovers,” and “Something Wonderful,” from The King and I, sung respectively and quite magnificently by Marin Mazzie and Ruthie Ann Miles; Paulo Szot’s mesmerizing “Some Enchanted Evening,” from South Pacific; and a trio of Judy Kuhn, Rebecca Luker and Marin Mazzie harmonizing deliciously on “Make Someone Happy.”

There were a few unexpected treats: Metropolitan Opera star Isabel Leonard singing “Una voce poco fa,” from Il barbiere di Siviglia; Matthew Broderick and Chris Sullivan offering up a playfully comedic turn with “Blah, Blah, Blah,” from Nice Work If You Can Get It; Adam Kantor’s “Miracle of Miracles,” from Fiddler on the Roof; and ever brilliant Brian D’arcy James singing “At the Fountain,” from Sweet Smell of Success.

“Patterns with Direction,” a world premiere orchestral composition by Nico Muhly, was apparently created to honor Mr. Sher. As Masetro Reineke introduced it he added: “I like to think of this piece as the working of Bart’s mind.” An apt description, as the modern symphonic piece felt very much like a thought process, the rumbling of ideas—dissonant sounds creating a dynamic conversation.

And of course nothing is as heart-warming as The Camp Broadway Kids Ensemble sharing their exuberant gifts at Carnegie Hall. The NY Pops works diligently to encourage and inspire the musical tastes and talents of future generations. Their “Kids in the Balcony” program introduces the American musical canon to thousands of young New York City students annually, by providing free seats to Pops concerts. And when those Camp Broadway Kids fill the house as performers, backing up singers like Ashley Park on “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair” or Danny Burstein on “There Is Nothing Like a Dame”—both from South Pacific—it inspires confidence that the outreach the Pops does is truly working.

The evening’s finale “Fable,” was composed by Adam Guettel, stunningly sung by Ms. O’Hara, from the Bartlett Sher directed The Light in the Piazza—the very piece which began the collaboration between these two powerhouse honorees. And as one sat in that great hall on 57^th Street enjoying the performance and pondering the future of the arts, it became oh so clear to this reviewer, that by consistently combining heart with all sorts of creative collaboration, The New York Pops is cementing our musical future. Keep up the great work, Pops! At least for another 34 fabulous years!

The New York Pops 2017-2018 Season features:

Thursday, June 8, 2017 at 7:30pm

Forest Hills Stadium

The New York Pops Plays the Music of John Williams

Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor

Friday, October 27, 2017 at 8:00pm