Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/3/2012 (3722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
THE Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra took a bite out of the Big Apple Friday night as it offered Broadway Rocks as its penultimate pops show of the season.
The show is one of several touring productions offered by the New York City-based company Bravo Broadway. The audience-friendly programs feature Broadway stars performing show tunes with symphony orchestras. BB last came to town in November 2008, when audiences were treated to Legendary Broadway Musicals.
There were only three lead singers but it might as easily have been an entire cast. After the opening Broadway Rocks Overture led by WSO resident conductor Richard Lee -- a strange compilation of rock snippets including Hey Jude and Pinball Wizard -- guest performers Christiane Noll, LaKisha Jones and Doug LaBrecque hit the stage to deliver two sets of mostly contemporary Broadway hits. The high-octane performers were backed by Winnipeg's own Rainbow Harmony Project choir (Vic Hooper, director), who sang their hearts out.
The Flint, Michigan-born Jones probably never imagined her life would turn out like this. After placing as a top four finalist in hit reality series American Idol in 2007, the 32-year old former bank teller quickly established herself as a rising star, electrifying audiences with her Dreamgirls showstopper And I Am Tellin' You as well as appearing in Oprah Winfrey's Tony Award-winning musical, The Color Purple.
Often compared to another blockbuster diva, Jennifer Hudson, Jones shimmied and shook her way through Proud Mary while appearing to channel the Queen of Soul, Tina Turner herself. Her powerhouse vocals soared through the lively number backed by LaBrecque and Noll, who barely kept up with the dynamo.
Another showstopper proved to be Noll's Defying Gravity from the Tony-award winning Wicked that also played here last fall. Many singers -- yes, even in these types of shows -- often stand in one place to deliver their songs. Not so for this firecracker. Noll moves onstage as well as she sings, belting out wicked witch Elphaba's inspirational song like there was no tomorrow.
LaBrecque's velvety vocals surely made some in the mixed-generation crowd swoon. The American lyric baritone immediately established his gracious presence early with This is the Moment from the relatively obscure Jekyll and Hyde. His easy phrasing matched by focused intensity made this an early highlight.
The slickly produced show would have benefited from more introductions and contextualizing of songs. Everyone may know Phantom of the Opera inside out, but not, perhaps, Chess. If Broadway is about stories, then let's hear more about which character is singing and why. Setting up numbers in this way would have added greatly to the enjoyment of this otherwise dynamic show.
The program also included Jones' rafter-shaking gospel tune And I Am Tellin' You as well as Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera title track and now classic Music of the Night. The second half also featured Anthem from Chess as well as the overture from Lloyd Webber's ageless Jesus Christ Superstar.
The concert repeats Saturday night at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Centennial Concert Hall.
ConcertReview
WSO Pops Broadway Rocks
-- Friday, March 16
-- Centennial Concert Hall
-- Attendance: 1,617
'Ö'Ö'Ö'Ö out of five
