As I fully expected, the Lyric Theatre Singers have another winner on their hands with their 25th anniversary show at Concordia’s state of
the art downtown DB Clarke Theatre (1455 de Maisonneuve). I was on hand for the opening show of Back to Broadway on June 11
and musical directors Bob Bachelor and Chris Barillaro, their 48 performers and
cast of many others knocked it out of the park. Three performances remain: June 12 (8 p.m.) and June 13 (2 p.m. and 8 p.m.).
This highly
entertaining Broadway revue features the 48 performers, backed by five
musicians, as they transport audiences Back
to Broadway via a varied list of musical theatre favourites. Highlights
from The Book of Mormon, Chicago,
Hairspray and The Producers are
featured, along with songs from Company,
Catch Me If You Can, Finian’s Rainbow, Beauty and the Beast and so much
more!
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| A scene from the show. |
The show
starts off with a bang as the entire company enters the stage dressed to the
hilt, the men in tuxedos and the ladies in pretty dresses, as they perform
Opening Night and The King of Broadway from The Producers, followed by It’s
De-Lovely from Cole Porter, My Romance from Richard Rogers and a bilingual
version of Singin’ In The Rain. Jonathan Eidelman and Daniel Wilkenfeld pair off nicely in their rendition of a scene from Stephen Sondheim’s Agony from Into the
Woods. In a scene from How to Succeed in
Business Without Really Trying, Charlotte Clement and Richard Kallos are nicely
complemented by the dynamic Sterling Tipton who tries to play matchmaker.
Tipton, a
resident of NDG, is originally from Indianapolis where she majored in
French studies at nearby Ball State University. She came to Montreal and
through Lyric met her
significant other Geordie while speaking both languages
without a trace of an accent in either. She performs several solos in this
year’s show, but her day job in post-production makes her invaluable as Lyric’s
webmaster. “I spent a semester in France
during my studies and came to find that Quebec was really the perfect blend of
what I loved about France and what I loved about Indiana - plus it's a lot
closer to home than living overseas!” Tipton noted. “I didn't want to lose my
linguistic skills, so it became obvious that this is where I belonged. I've
been here five years now and been with Lyric for four of those.”
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| Sterling Tipton. |
The company was just splendid in a series of
Gershwin numbers, with Farida El Kilany, Justin Muniz and Tarik Azgui standing out.
In Impossible/I Have Dreamed from A Good Night for Singing by Rodgers and
Hammerstein, Jennifer Bond, Eidelman, Laurie-Anne Jean Baptiste, Tipton and
Wilkenfeld knock it out of the park. Bond, by the way, is here via New York and
much to the dismay of Lyric officials only sticking around for a year because
of her husband’s employment. She is absolutely superb and watch for her in the
show’s encore.
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| Jennifer Bond lights up the stage. |
Bachelor and
Barillaro get into the act as well, performing Irving Berlin’s You’re Just In
Love from Call Me Madam. Cathy Burns,
who has been with both the Theatre and the Singers on and off for
decades as a performer and director, assists Bachelor with all the staging for
this show. The duet was her idea. “We needed something to serve as a filler
while the cast got changed for the next big number,” she told me. “Bob and
Chris are great together.”
That next
number was Hairspray – six complete songs in fact and performer Dan Derkson in
drag as the perfect Edna Turnblad. Not only were the costumes bang on, but so
was the singing and dancing from Welcome to the Sixties, Good Morning Baltimore
and It Takes Two to Mama I’m a Big Girl Now, I Know Where I’ve Been and You Can’t Stop the Beat. Hats off to Mary Sarli
for handling the choreography on this one.
The second
half starts off with a bilingual presentation of six songs from Beauty and the Beast,
with Charlotte Clement as a stunning Belle and Adam Gallay really impressive as
Gaston.
Eidelman
and Wilkenfeld returned, much to the delight of the audience, with a reprise of
Agony followed by another Rodgers and Hammerstein number called Many A New
Day/Wash That Man with Hélene Charbonneau, Takeyce Mais and Yamila Scarone Azzi
as leads. The Song of Purple Summer, All That Jazz, How Are Things in Glocca
Morra and Be My Friend lead us to one of the most popular parts of the evening –the
song Two By Two from Book of Mormon. They closed things out with Live in Living
Color from Catch Me If You Can and the finale – Being Alive from the 1970
musical Company by Stephen Sondheim.
The Lyric Theatre Singers and more than 85 alumni performers will unite on Saturday, October 17 at the Oscar Peterson Hall in NDG for a very special 50th anniversary concert.
Back to
Broadway’s design
team is made up of lighting designer Paul Ludwig Teichgraber, sound designer Rob Burgess and costume
coordinator Karen Pearce. “It’s
a delight and a privilege to work with these talented artists in a
state-of-the-art facility,” said producer Louise Dorais. “At the D.B. Clarke
Theatre, The Lyric Theatre Singers receive the technical support we need to
bring our creative team’s ambitious vision to life. It is very exciting to
combine the great performances by our cast and musicians with the enhanced
production values at Concordia. The result is 100 percent pure entertainment.”
Tickets are
$34 general admission; $30 for students and seniors and $17 for children 12 and
under. For more information go to www.lyrictheatrecomany.com, email lyrictheatreboxoffice@gmail.com or call 514-743-3382. Donations of
non-perishable goods will be gratefully accepted for the NDG Food Depot.
