The Utah Symphony brought New York a little bit closer this weekend with special guests Bravo Broadway. Featuring Broadway stars Jan Horvath, Doug LaBrecque, and Mark McVey, the symphony, under the baton of Randall Craig Fleischer, brought some of the favorite hits from musicals spanning the century.
Generally, the performance was good — what you might expect of theater professionals. They were animated, polished and had good voices. Doug LaBrecque, in particular, had a beautiful vocal tone and wide range of vocal color and expression. Mark McVey's voice was also beautiful to listen to with its full body and large sound. Horvath seemed to sound stronger on some songs than others — for example, the encore, "Age of Aquarius," sounded beautifully suited to her vocal character, but some of the other pieces — particularly the ones early on in the program — didn't show off her strengths quite as much.
While the performance was up to par by professional standards, it also didn't exceed expectations, and so was, well, what you might expect of theater professionals. The programming stayed pretty much with the standard fare, including songs such as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," "I Got Rhythm," "On the Street Where You Live," and, of course, the mandatory selections from "Phantom of the Opera" and "Les Miserables." They did throw in a medley, however, from "Little Shop of Horrors," which was a welcome variance off the beaten path.
The last four numbers featured the performers in roles they had sung on Broadway (or in other venues). Suddenly the program went from revue to snippets of showstoppers as each individual shone in the familiar, internalized "roles that made them famous." The acting and expression went quite a few levels deeper as each one recalled various characters through song.
Generally, the orchestra sounded quite good as they backed up and sometimes "rocked out" with the singers. There were a few spots where the orchestra drowned out the singers (such as during "Greased Lightning" and "Little Shop of Horrors"), or didn't quite align with them, but it sounded more like a rehearsal issue than anything else.