The Sublime Diva

Audra McDonald is simply sublime. Her voice thrills the heart and sends chills up the spine. I bought my ticket for this concert last summer in a subscription package - I chose the package specifically for this concert. Noah bought his ticket much later and coincidentally sat on the very same row as me. The house was full and extremely enthusiastic. I especially enjoyed this concert because it was like the best of Broadway - of course, my favorite wasn't Broadway at all - "The Glamourous Life" which Sondheim wrote for the movie version of "A Little Night Music". Audra was born to sing Lerner & Loewe and Rodgers & Hammerstien - but oh, she shines when she's Sondheimish. We went to the stagedoor after with other eager fans (even Lois Kirschenbaum was there - well, of course, she was there). We saw Donna Murphy come out and I told her "Donna, please come back to Broadway!" and she laughed and said "Oh that's so sweet of you." We also saw those artistic geniuses Lonny Price, John Butterell and Bruce Coughlin (we expected to see Michael John LaChiusa but apparently he's out of town) and of course Ted Sperling, who conducted and accompanied. Audra finally came out about an hour later. She was so sweet and generous as she took pictures with everybody and signed playbills. She is a beautiful person.









The songlist:
JERRY BOCK / SHELDON HARNICK “Gorgeous” from The Apple Tree (1966) (orch. Eddie Sauter)
RICHARD RODGERS / OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II “It Might as Well Be Spring” from the film State Fair (1945) (orch. Bruce Pomahac)
BURTON LANE / ALAN JAY LERNER “Hurry! It’s Lovely Up Here” from On a Clear DayYou Can See Forever (1965) (orch. Robert Russell Bennett)
HAROLD ARLEN / E. Y. “YIP” HARBURG “Napoleon” from Jamaica (1957) (orch. Don Sebesky)
KURT WEILL / IRA GERSHWIN “My Ship” from Lady in the Dark (1941) STEPHEN SONDHEIM “The Glamorous Life” from the film A Little Night Music (1977) (orch. Jonathan Tunick)
JERRY HERMAN “Ribbons Down My Back” from Hello, Dolly! (1964) (orch. Philip J. Lang)
FRANK LOESSER “Can’t Stop Talking” from the film Let’s Dance (1950) (orch. Don Sebesky)
JERRY BOCK / SHELDON HARNICK “Will He Like Me” from She Loves Me (1963) (orch. Don Walker)
STEPHEN SONDHEIM “There Won’t Be Trumpets” from Anyone Can Whistle (1964) (orch. Don Walker)
HAROLD ARLEN / E. Y. “YIP” HARBURG “Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe” from the film Cabin in the Sky (1943) (orch. Ron Goldstein)
RICKY IAN GORDON / LANGSTON HUGHES & RICKY IAN GORDON “Just an Ordinary Guy” (2001) (orch. Bruce Coughlin)
MICHAEL JOHN LaCHIUSA “When Lola Sings” (2006) (orch. Bruce Coughlin)ADAM GUETTEL “Dividing Day” from The Light in the Piazza (2005) (arr. Fred Hersch)
HARVEY SCHMIDT / TOM JONES “Old Maid” from 110 in the Shade (1963) (orch. Hershy Kay)
FREDERICK LOEWE / ALAN JAY LERNER “I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady (1956) (orch. Robert Russell Bennett)
JULE STYNE / BOB MERRILL “The Music That Makes Me Dance” from Funny Girl (1964) (orch. Ralph Burns)
STEPHEN SONDHEIM “What Can You Lose” from the film Dick Tracy (1990) (arr. David Loud)
STEPHEN SONDHEIM “Not a Day Goes By” from Merrily We Roll Along (1981) (orch. Michael Starobin)
JERRY BOCK / SHELDON HARNICK “When Did I Fall in Love?” from Fiorello! (1959) (arr. Eric Stern, orch. Larry Hochman)

Encores:
JULE STYNE / SAMMY CAHN “10432 Sheep” from the movie West Point Story (orch. Bruce Coughlin)
RICHARD RODGERS / OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II “Edelweiss” from The Sound of Music(1959) (arr. Kevin Kuhn & Antoine Silverman) - NO MICRPHONE and she accompanied only by accoustic guitar and violin.
JASON ROBERT BROWN “Stars and the Moon”