Broadway, movie fare delivered with style
Hamlisch praises Toledo Orchestra
By SALLY VALLONGO
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Marvin Hamlisch was lavish in his praise of the Toledo Symphony, which he led in a nearly sold-out concert last night in the Stranahan Theater.
He was forthcoming with introductory comments and anecdotes about the music — his and others — he performed and conducted.
And he was generous in his support of tenor Mark J. McVey, who came to town with Hamlisch and delivered several major Broadway numbers to standing ovations.
But if there’s one word that will help him recall this visit to Toledo, it’s Fricker’s.
“I just love to say that word,” he said, repeating it, mantra-like, after an opening medley of piano and orchestra music that touched on three famous films: Casablanca, Psycho, and Gone With the Wind.
The visiting star didn’t say whether he had ordered off the menu at any of the area’s franchise restaurants. But the program he introduced from the stage sampled musical fare from stage and screen with distinctive flair.
Of the medley from Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady Hamlisch said, “It’s simply one of the best-written shows I’ve heard in my whole life.”
At the keyboard, Hamlisch’s idiosyncratic approach compressed runs and melodies into tight little bundles and stretched tempos. Still, the orchestra was ready and, despite the guest’s rather staid conducting style, played confidently, cleanly, and with real élan.
McVey, whose tenor voice is broad yet supple, warm and deliciously rough, showed his performer’s chops, over and over, first with the Soliloquy from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, then with “Bring Him Home,” Jean Valjean’s heartbreaking plea from Les Miserables. McVey has performed the role around this country and abroad and yet infused sincerity into the haunting song.
Returning in the second half, McVey sang “Music of the Night” from Phantom. Here he demonstrated a range reaching from rumbling low notes to silken head tones, traversing the octaves smoothly and convincingly.
Hamlisch interspersed orchestral pieces with forays at the piano, sometimes moving from the podium to the piano to add a new voice. Music from Ice Castles and The Way We Were, plus a lively dose of ragtime from his score for The Sting were his nods to his own accomplishments, as was a piano solo from his first film score, The Swimmer.
In a gimmicky number Hamlisch “created” a song from an audience member’s suggestion. Later, he displayed his great stylistic range with a funny riff on “Happy Birthday” through the ages.
A salute to the armed forces remembered this holiday weekend and prompted the guest to call for an end to war in the Middle East sooner, not later. Finally, as an encore came perhaps the most sublime piece, a melting version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
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Contact Sally Vallongo at: svallongo@theblade.com.
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