Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, together and apart, have been part of my musical DNA as long as I can remember.
The classic cast recordings, the films and TV specials, the revivals – I’ve seen and heard as many as I can. I know, revere, value and treasure each and every song.
So, when invited to review this very special concert at its matinee performance, I knew I was set for some top-notch vocals and fabulous lush orchestrations from the 40-piece audience.
The cast was appropriately starry, with Patrick Wilson, Aaron Tveit, Julian Ovenden, Michael Ball and Daniel Dae Kim sharing the stage with Audra McDonald, Maria Friedman, Joanna Ampill, Marisha Wallace and Lucy St Louis.
All of the shows composed by the duo were represented – the big five (Oklahoma, Carousel, The King and I, South Pacific, The Sound of Music), the little four (Allegro, Me & Juliet, Flower Drum Song, Pipe Dream) and the two created for the screen (State Fair, Cinderella).
We all have our favourite songs from this great catalogue. In the absence of “Soliloquy”, of which we just got a snippet, highlights for me were Kim and Friedman’s King and Anna, McDonald’s beautiful “Climb Every Mountain” and anything Wallace tackled, from Ado Annie to Nellie Forbush.
I have to shout out the praises for Patrick Wilson’s vocals, too, especially fine in “If I Loved You,” which made my eyes prickle and throat tickle. A beautiful number from Carousel.
Featured ensemble members Anna-Jane Casey, Lily Kerhoas, and Jordan Shaw brought pep and heart to their numbers, with the sense that all the singers were having a great time.
I would have loved to see the ensemble chorus on stage more during numbers, but appreciate the constraints of the stage, especially with a series of steps housing the musicians.
We were promised a special guest, and although I was thinking perhaps Julie Andrews, it turned out to be the wonderful Rita Moreno, with her anecdotes from making the film of The King and I. She is musical royalty and looking great in her nineties. A joy to be in the same room.
Christopher Gattelli’s direction and choreography kept things moving well, while Simon Lee’s orchestrations were just the ticket after recent slimmed down scores of Carousel and Oklahoma.
I also enjoyed the inclusion of both Rodgers and Hammerstein themselves through brief audio recordings. I’ll remember the simplicity of lyrics that stay in your heart and melodies people pass down through generations.
Not forgotten, either, was the duo’s commitment to tackling difficult topics (“You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught”, almost excised from South Pacific), or championing diversity in the Asian cast of Flower Drum Song.
But it is the music that we came for, and Ovenden’s “This Nearly Was Mine” and Ampil’s “Something Wonderful” were particularly glorious. And Tveit and Ball displayed the vocal heft you’d expect.
St Louis’s “It Might Has Well Be Spring” was a delight, and the company singing “Edelweiss” was sweet with The Sound of Music film’s upcoming re-release.
Here’s just a snatch of the orchestra’s final hurrah – the beautiful “Waltz” from Carousel.
The show ran live for two performances at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 12 Dec but was filmed for cinema release in Spring 2024 – for more details follow the show website.
Do not miss!
*****
Thanks Louise; I was at the evening show. It was a fantastic evening, with wonderful performances all round – exactly as you say. Am also recommending people to see it in cinemas…..
Saw something very similar in 2014- except it was called “Some Enchanted Evening”