A Tribute to David Merrick

The concerts included in this weekend's "Broadway Cabaret Festival" include highlights from musicals produced by the notorious showman David Merrick (among them, "Hello, Dolly!," "42nd Street" and "Oliver!"), a solo performance by "Jekyll & Hyde" vocalist Linda Eder, and a new edition of "Broadway Originals," where original cast members perform their Broadway hits, featuring a tribute to "Falsettos."

Friday night’s concert turned out to provide plentiful entertainment, thanks to many solid vocalists performing songs from a number of very good musicals from the 1950s through 1980s. Dedicating the concert to the musicals produced by Merrick – rather than to a single composer, as in previous years – was a pretty nifty idea. In attendance was theater critic Howard Kissel, who wrote The Abominable Showman, a truly terrific biography about Merrick that I highly recommend checking out.

Emcee Scott Siegel reminded the audience of Merrick’s troublesome personality and his notorious flair for publicity, including his unforgettable “Subways are for Sleeping” stunt, where he found men with the same names as the major theater critics to see the show and rave about it. (The Roundabout Theatre Company might find it necessary to do the same in order to pump up its advertisements for its panned revival of “Bye Bye Birdie.”) And in an unexpected addition, Carleton Carpenter, who acted in David Merrick’s first Broadway play (Bright Boy) in 1944, made an appearance (though he nearly poked poor Stephen Bogardus in the eye while doing the choreography of the concert’s finale).

Lee Roy Reams, who played Billy Lawlor for the majority of the run of “42nd Street,” made a big entrance with his tux and characteristically high voice with “Lullaby of Broadway.” Stephen Bogardus followed with a convincing, vibrato-infused rendition of the title song from “Promises, Promises.” Robert Cuccioli, who has previously played the role of Paul in “Carnival,” gave a full-blooded, dramatically balanced, heartbreaking performance of “Her Face.”

Many of the solo performances were intermixed with appearances by a spirited dance ensemble, performing “Elegance” from “Hello, Dolly!,” “Clap Your Hands” from “Oh, Kay,” and “Tap Your Troubles Away” from “Mack and Mabel.”

Corbin Bleu, who played Zac Efron’s buddy Chad in the “High School Musical” films, was a rather unusual addition to the cast. In Act One, he sang “Who Can I Turn To?” from “The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd.” He was pretty believable in terms of acting, showing a face of fear while leaning on the piano, but his pop-infused voice did not do the song justice vocally. In Act Two, he joined “Broadway By the Year” favorite Kendrick Jones in a two-man dance rendition of “Penniless Bums” from “Sugar.” Jones also delivered a big dose of tap-happy magic with the title song from “42nd Street” in authentic 1930s style.

Stephanie J. Block, who was unfairly criticized by Charles Strouse in a feature article on the makings of the new revival of “Bye Bye Birdie” last weekend (she played Rosie in the preliminary workshop of the revival, but opted to do “9 to 5” instead), made a sparkling comedic duo with Jim Caruso in “You’re Getting to Be a Habit with Me” from “42nd Street.” She then returned with a very classy “As Long As He Needs Me” from “Oliver!”

Elizabeth Stanley, who played “April” in the John Doyle “Company” revival and then briefly played the female lead in “Cry-Baby,” made a strong case for her future as a leading lady in three smashing performances of varying material. Her “Is It Really Me” from “110 in the Shade” was deeply felt and beautiful. At the top of Act Two, she led “Clap Your Hands” as a red hot sexpot. She finished with “The People in My Life,” a torch song cut from “Sugar.”

Let’s finish by talking about Marc Kudisch, who did not disappoint with his big, brassy voiceover introducing Scott Siegel. He finished Act One with “Make Someone Happy” from “Do Re Mi.” He immediately blanked on the lyrics, started out, but also asked the audience to re-applaud for him on his re-entrance. He then seemed fine with the ballad, but it went wayward once he signaled for Scott Siegel to join him and sing along. Scott, flabbergasted, didn’t know what to do, understandably so. Much of the audience found the incident to be funny, but he turned the song into a joke. But he redeemed himself with two high-powered performances of Starbuck’s solos from “110 in the Shade,” including “The Rain Song” and “Melisande.”

The guy is ridiculously talented – but also unpredictable. And I got the feeling last night that he was releasing a lot of steam and was not totally invested in his performances. And it made me feel rather uncomfortable. (He can be the same way in real life, as evidenced by the time he randomly lashed out at me at a party many years ago.) In any case, I still credit him and his chest voice as being one of the major forces behind the success of “Broadway by the Year.” And I look forward to a Christmas show that he will apparently be doing with Jeffry Denman.