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'A Trip to Broadway' goes the Classic Choral route
Sunday afternoon at the United Church of Christ in Blooming Grove, the Orange County Classic Choral Society and Orchestra offered their large and delighted audience "A Trip to Broadway," with some 40 selections from six musicals. In a performance to be repeated Saturday in Monroe, the 68 singers and 10 musicians were directed by Janiece Kohler, who once again proved herself imaginative in her creation of a program and masterful in her direction. The arrangements were fluid, transitions rapid and flawless, and the execution varied and tuneful. What a wonderful treasure of songs Broadway has presented to America in the last 50 years.
"Guys and Dolls" by Frank Loesser led off the program with its evocation of old 42nd Street in "Fugue for Tinhorns" and gamblers' "Luck be a Lady Tonight." The peppy "A Bushel and a Peck" and romantic "I've Never Been in Love Before" evoke the period, and "Adelaide's Lament," sung with exact diction by the female chorus, still provokes laughter. "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat" is a rollicking tune with comical lyrics.
"My Fair Lady" by Lerner and Loewe remains a classic with its songs that fashion whole scenes, from "Get Me to the Church on Time" to "The Rain in Spain." The female voices again made each word and letter count in "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" with "lots of chocolate for me to eat" sounding positively delicious. The full chorus swelled to "I Could Have Danced All Night" and the men confessed "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face." The "loverly" lyric in "On the Street Where You Live" led to a spirited reprise of dramatically dancing songs.
The salute to "Fiddler on the Roof," featuring Jerry Bock's score and Sheldon Harnick's lyrics, opened with the powerful "Tradition" and the soulful "Sabbath Prayer." The catchy "Matchmaker" number contrasts with the hauntingly nostalgic "Sunrise, Sunset." Then, the celebratory hymn "To Life" brought the first half of the program to a rousing close.
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" offered the rock 'n' roll beat of "Jacob and His Sons" and the Elvis Presley parody "Son of the King." Also evoked were country-western sounds in "One More Angel in Heaven" and Latin rhythms in "Benjamin Calypso."
Schoenberg and Kretzmer's "Les Miserables" introduced a declamatory-lyrical style with its despairing "At the End of the Day" and disenchanted "I Dreamed a Dream," beautifully rendered by the sopranos and altos. The anthem "Do You Hear the People Sing" was followed by the plaintive cry "On My Own," while the concluding "Bring Him Home" began as a hymn and ended as a marching song.
To bring things up to date, the afternoon ended with selections from Mel Brooks' "The Producers." Its "Opening Night" spoofed previous overtures, "We Can Do It" upbeat tunes, and "That Face" and " 'Til Him" romantic ballads. A Latin number and a burlesque "Goodbye" presented a defiant send-off. "The Rhythm of Life" from "Sweet Charity" concluded the program as a well-rehearsed and appropriate encore.
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