Ragtime At Lincoln Center

I have attended close to one hundred Broadway shows and concerts and I have never actually seen an audience leap to its feet at the end of a show until last night's Manhattan Concert Production's performance of Ragtime at Lincoln Center.

It was a glorious show, with each role cast to perfection. Some of the highlights included the incomparable Norm Lewis (Porgy & Bess) as Coalhouse Walker Jr., who transforms from a soulful musician desperately in love with the beautiful Sarah to a vengeful man seeking justice after a racial incident spirals into tragedy. His deep, rich voice is best expressed on Make Them Hear You and his beautiful duet with Patina Miller (Sister Act), Wheels of a Dream.

Miller had the audience in the palm of her hand as she sang Your Daddy's Son, and she somehow made the audience believe that the binder she held in her arms was her son.

Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon) was a clear audience favorite in the role of Mother, and the audience roared their approval after she sang Back to Before.  The humorous performance of What a Game had a joyful energy as the ensemble guys praised the great American past time of baseball.

The group numbers, Ragtime, which opens the show with a bang, Til We Reach That Day (which closes Act I) and the reprise of Ragtime/Wheels of a Dream that closes the show filled the auditorium with such a joyful noise, it gave me chills.

Other standout performers were Michael Arden as Younger Brother, Manoel Felciano as Tateh, Howard McGillin (the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera) as Father, Kerry Butler as a bubbly Evelyn Nesbit and an incredible young Lewis Grosso as The Little Boy. Remember that name, you will hear from him for a long time to come. It was also great to see the amazing Tyne Daly as Emma Goldman; I just wish she had a larger role.

A chorus filled with high school, college and community choirs from around the country added their voices to the ensemble, along with over a dozen ensemble performers I recognized from Broadway shows.

This was one of the top five shows I have seen since I've been in NYC; it will be difficult to top this experience and I think many of the hundreds of people at Lincoln Center last night agree with me.

Here are some backstage photos from last night's show via Broadway.com

A Bookish Broadway Evening

Last night was the inaugural fundraising gala for ArchCare at the beautiful Gotham Hall near Macy's in NYC. My husband is the President and CEO of ArchCare, which is the long term healthcare arm of the Archdiocese of New York.

The venue was gorgeous, inside of an old bank building. It's similar to Cipriani's on 42nd St. It was rescheduled from October 30th due to Hurricane Sandy, and just about everyone who was originally scheduled to attend were able to join us, over 500 people.

Gotham Hall

The event was a huge success, raising over one million dollars to support the programs of ArchCare, who provide care for the frail and elderly of the diocese in nursing homes, hospitals, daycare centers and in-home.

This is a book and Broadway blog, so you may wonder how this ties in here. First, I was seated next to one of the most successful authors of all-time, Mary Higgins Clark and her wonderful husband John Conheeney.

Ms. Clark is a lively dinner companion. We chatted about the book she is just finishing up, featuring a Vietnam vet who returns home, can't adjust to life back home and leaves his wife and two young daughters, ending up living on the streets for twenty years. His daughters grow up and get involved in a mystery. It sounds very intriguing, I know I'll be looking for it next year.

She was very animated talking about her book, and she told me that she writes every day, seven days a week, because she does not write fast and she writes at least one book a year. Her formula must work, because every single one of her 42(!) suspense novels has made the best seller list.

The one thing she loves more than writing is her family. She spoke so lovingly about her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews; her face lit up as she told me about them and their plans for Thanksgiving.

She is a very lovely woman, dressed elegantly, a perfect lady. Her jewelry was classic and complemented her so well. I so enjoyed our conversation, and she is a big supporter of ArchCare and the Catholic Church.

Mary Higgins Clark

The only time we stopped talking was to enjoy a performance by Broadway star Norm Lewis. Lewis, who was nominated for a Tony this year for his astonishing performance as Porgy in Porgy and Bess wowed the crowd with his rendition of God Bless America. His powerful and smooth voice gave me goosebumps. (TV viewers may recognize him as Olivia Pope's ex-boyfriend in Scandal)

He returned to  stage to sing three songs. He began with the classic, You Can't Take That Away From Me, one of my favorites. His next song was a tribute to one of his favorite crooners, Andy Williams, as he sang Moon River so beautifully. His last song was a Sondheim classic that perfectly fit the theme of the evening, You Are Not Alone, from Into the Woods. I think I like his version as much as Bernadette Peters, and that is saying something.

I got to meet Mr. Lewis, and he was so gracious. I told him that I'm looking forward to seeing him perform the Coalhouse Walker Jr. role in the concert version of Ragtime at Lincoln Center next February. He even invited me backstage! You know I'm taking him up on that.

Norm Lewis signing at the ArchCare gala

It was a lovely, successful evening and we are very grateful for the support of all involved.

The Gershwin's Porgy & Bess

I was on my way to see Justin Kirk, whom I have deemed 'the nicest guy in show business' in Other Desert Cities on Broadway, when I stopped by the TKTS booth because there was no line at 11am on Wednesday. Gotta love January.  They had Porgy and Bess at 40% off, and since I really wanted to see Audra McDonald on Broadway,  a change of plans was in order.

I have never seen Porgy & Bess; not on stage, not the movie version. I kinda knew the basic story, and that there has been some controversy over this incarnation of the show, and that probably added to the 'must-see' factor for me.

The story takes place on Catfish Row in Charleston, North Carolina in the 1930s. Catfish Row is a community of African-Americans, fishermen and cotton pickers. The opening song, "Summertime", sung by Nikki Renee Daniels and Joshua Henry, is iconic, and they set the tone for this wonderful show.

The ensemble break out into song and dance, "A Woman Is a Sometime Thing", "Crap Game" and "Gone, Gone, Gone", their voices filling the theater, communicating to the audience their sense of community.

What struck me was the similarity between Porgy & Bess and the last show director  Diane Paulus brought to Broadway- the revival of Hair! In both shows, the ensemble plays a key role. Community is important; the band of hippies in Hair! and the residents of Catfish Row in Porgy & Bess are both a large family for people on the outskirts of the mainstream society.

The casting is perfect. Audra McDonald gives such a raw, stunning performance as Bess, and her voice is awe-inspiring. Bess is a character who has such a dramatic arc- from drug-addicted tramp to loving companion and friend to traumatized victim and beyond- and you see all of these embodied in McDonald's face and body and voice. It is a performance for the ages.

Norm Lewis, who has one of the finest voices around, plays Porgy as a man transformed and tormented by love. Porgy also has a long, tortured journey, and Lewis amazes the audience with his interpretation.

I knew that David Alan Grier could act (I last saw him in the Broadway play Race), but I did not know that he had such a powerful singing voice. His "It Ain't Necessarily So" and "There's a Boat That's Leaving Soon" brought down the house. He played the character of Sporting Life like a well-dressed snake in the Garden of Eden, tempting Bess as if she was Eve. He earned his standing ovation at the end of the show.

There are other wonderful performances- Philip Boykin, who played the brutal Crown was so evil, he actually got booed at curtain call. The actors who played the white policemen who harass the residents and beat Porgy also got booed. I have never seen an audience so into a serious show as this one that they booed the bad guys. Mariah, the matriarch of Catfish Row, was played powerfully by the amazing NaTasha Yvette Williams.

The dancing was fabulous too; I overheard someone say it reminded them of Alvin Ailey, and I second that description. I especially enjoyed the opening number of Act Two. It was so joyous!

The classic music, by George and Ira Gershwin, is performed by a joyous, pitch-perfect cast. When McDonald and Lewis sing "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" and "I Loves You, Porgy", I teared up (and I wasn't the only one.) I knew I was witnessing something special, something I would never forget.

Whatever the controversy, I was moved by the story, the music, and the luminous performances, and to my mind, that is what great theater is all about. Go see it for yourself.