‘Broadway Concert’ is a lesson in love
by Juanita Westaby
This
weekend, only, there’s a less fattening, hypoallergenic alternative to
bringing your sweetheart chocolates and roses.
The Grand Rapids Symphony Pops Series, “The Broadway Concert,” featuring soprano Luann Aronson and tenor Hugh Panaro, is just the right thing to get anyone feeling romantic.
Yes, they do a nod to classic Broadway shows such as the overtures to “Gypsy” and “Funny Girl,” but mainly this show is about Valentine’s Day being moved to November.
From the opening numbers, Lerner & Lowe’s “Tonight” and “I Could Have Danced All Night,” to near the end when Aronson and Panaro sing Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “People Will Say We’re In Love” … well, we’re in love.
For a concert strung together from 40-some Broadway tunes, and composers ranging from Cole Porter to Andrew Lloyd Webber, the show holds together because of great rhythm and pacing.
Aronson and Panaro, experienced Broadway performers who were in “Phantom of the Opera” together six years ago, sing the story of a couple falling in love. There’s the playful banter between the pair in “Anything You Can Do,” Aronson’s ability to express yearning and romance in songs like Webbers’ “Unexpected Song,” and Panaro’s masterful interpretation of “Maria,” from “West Side Story,” a song that usually invites parody, not cheers as it did Friday night.
The concert, put together by producer Matthew Inge, isn’t all heart palpitations – or at least for romantic reasons.
There’s the jivin’ ode to java and it’s place in our fast-paced world (“The trouble with the world today, it’s plain to see, is everything is hurried up”) in “Coffee in a Cardboard Cup.” “Sara Lee,” is just that – a ditty about the entire wonderful product line, with Panaro doing some sexy strutting while singing the glories of coffee cake.
To truly make this adventure seem like the romantic, funny, relaxing oasis that it is, a concert-goer needs some down time. That’s when the Grand Rapids Symphony is magnificently understated.
The symphony plays the overtures with opening night thrill. To calm the audience back down after the frenetic food songs, the symphony performs Stephen Sondheim’s “Night Music Waltz” as gently and smoothly as a lullaby.
Panaro’s artful version of “Love Changes Everything,” begins with a delicate swirl of melody on piano and builds to kettle drums. To come back to earth, the symphony comes in with its version of “Crapshooter’s Ballet” from “Guys and Dolls,” a funny and energetic piece complete with the sound of rolling dice rapidly tapped on a wood block.
I personally cringed when I saw “The Impossible Dream” in the program, a song that can be sometimes dramatically overwrought, but I stopped cringing when I heard the strings provide the heartbeat of the song.
It was obvious from Aronson’s beautiful house-rattling soprano, Panaro’s sincere interpretations, conductor John Varineau’s ability to be serious and playful at turns, and the symphony’s good-natured sing-alongs in spots, that all the performers loved what they were doing.
We loved them right back.