By David Gordon, Managing Editor
Sherie Rene Scott’s one-woman show with other people, “Everyday Rapture,” has thankfully been preserved on disc (via the record label she owns with husband Kurt Deutsch) and released just in time for the show’s opening at the Roundabout’s American Airlines Theatre.
‘Rapture,’ which had a highly successful run Off-Broadway last year at Second Stage, was a very late entry into the Roundabout’s season (it was only announced April 1, after the cancellation of “Lips Together, Teeth Apart.”) It’s about Scott’s life, with some embellishments along the way, from her half-Mennonite Kansas-upbringing to her becoming a big Broadway ‘semi-star.’
Scott, backed by Lindsay Mendez and Betsy Wolfe, covers a wide variety of music (wonderfully orchestrated and arranged by Tom Kitt): jazz standards like “On the Atcheston, Topeka and the Santa Fe” to Motown hits like “Up the Ladder to the Roof,” with a sprinkling of Mr. Rogers thrown in. It’s a wonderful vocal showcase for the extremely talented Scott.
Unfortunately, the funniest part of the show is not included on the disc. It’s Scott’s foray into the world of YouTube, where she learns that there are boys who actively lip-sync “My Strongest Suit,” her big number from “Aida.” This song, presumably not on the album because of issues with rights, is delivered with relish on stage by the show-stealing Eamon Foley.
Angela Lansbury does steal the entire show in Trevor Nunn’s revival of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s “A Little Night Music,” a show that sounds even better on the double-disc release by Nonesuch Records and PS Classics. As the bitingly sarcastic Madame Armfeldt, Lansbury sings quite little, but makes an incredible impact.
Catherine Zeta-Jones growls her way through the role of Desiree, but it’s particularly charming, especially on the ode to showbusiness, “The Glamorous Life.” Supporting cast members Erin Davie and Aaron Lazar shine, as does Alexander Hanson as Desiree’s love-interest Fredrik. Ramona Mallory, Hunter Ryan Herdlika and Leigh Ann Larkin sound just as annoying as they are on stage. Jason Carr’s gorgeous orchestrations (beefed up slightly for the album) come off the best.
One of the best theatrical documentaries in recent memory has to be “Theater of War,” about the making of a 2006 production of Bertolt Brecht’s (and adapted by Tony Kushner) “Mother Courage and Her Children,” staring Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline, for the New York Shakespeare Festival in Central Park.
John Walter’s film combines the making of this free, yet always sold-out production with Brecht’s intentions and politics while he was writing the play. It is extremely fascinating to watch Streep develop her truly powerful performance, from first read to finished product. It will be released on DVD soon, but currently available to watch on www.alivemindmedia.com.