News

SINGERS, DANCERS DAZZLE WITH ‘BROADWAY’

By Marty Sewald/SPECIAL TO THE COMMERCIAL
Monday, February 9, 2009 10:28 AM CST

The Pine Bluff Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Charles Jones Evans in his 16th season, presented a concert of Broadway music Sunday afternoon to the delight of all in attendance. The orchestra exhibited (what we have come to expect) clean melodic lines and brilliant clarity in the parts with a rich sonorous harmonic texture throughout the ensemble.

Taylor Stanford (from left), Maleek Ware and Katy Vanlandingham perform during “Anything Goes” as part of the Pine Bluff Symphony Orchestra’s “Give My Regards to Broadway.” Special to The Commercial/Mike Adam

Featuring The Arts and Science Center Vocal Ensemble, under the direction of Faron Wilson, members of the ensemble included Christian Feazell, Duane Jackson, Susan Jones, James Mincy, Beth Ross, Matt Soto, Tiffany Wilson Watson, and Charlotte Wilson.

The program, “Give My Regards to Broadway: An Afternoon with Cole Porter and Irving Berlin,” included many well-known show tunes and some not so well-known. The orchestra set the tone with a Cole Porter medley that started and ended with the familiar “Another Openin’, Another Show” and included “It’s DeLovely,” “I Love You” and “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To.”

The first half of the program included songs from the shows “Kiss Me Kate,” “Gay Divorcee” and “Anything Goes” as well as from the movies, “Rosalie,” “High Society,” “The Pirate” and “Born To Dance.” Notable was the duet “Too Darn Hot” by Christian Feazell and Matt Soto and Charlotte Wilson’s rendition of “So In Love.”

Ms. Wilson’s lovely voice floated on the transparent lines of the beautiful orchestral accompaniment. Duane Jackson commanded everyone’s attention with his powerful, yet almost velvet tone quality singing “In the Still of the Night.” Unfortunately, there were some “sound reinforcement” issues, which frequently produced distortion in the forte sections of the piece. There was also a “bothersome buzz” coming from the system throughout the entire concert. “Be a Clown,” from “The Pirate,” featured a small ensemble of young dancers. The familiar “Friendship,” from “Anything Goes,” was well done by the trio of Ms. Wilson, Mr. Feazell and James Mincy with a delightful orchestral accompaniment. Tiffany Watson and the ensemble added the title song, “Anything Goes,” with an appearance of dancers, Katy Vanlandingham, Maleek Ware, and Taylor Stanford.

After intermission the Symphony opened with “An Irving Berlin Patriotic Overture,” which included “This Is the Army,” “Give Me Your Tired Your Poor,” and “Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning.” It was a special treat to hear these seldom-heard and almost-forgotten patriotic songs. Strands of reveille, played on the piccolo, could be heard in the opening of “This Is the Army” while the horn and brass sections intoned the beautiful lines of “Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor.”

Other show tunes in this half of the concert were from “Annie Get Your Gun” and “Call Me Madam,” and from the films “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “Follow the Fleet” and “Easter Parade.” “They Say It’s Wonderful” was beautifully sung by Beth Ross and Andrew Mincy, whose pure, lyrical voices were perfectly blended for this familiar love song. “Something to Dance About” featured Matt Soto and the ensemble, joined by the dance ensemble and a cameo appearance of Dorothy Soto, Matt’s mother. The concert concluded with a stirring rendition of “God Bless America,” intoned by the rich baritone voice of Duane Jackson and the vocal ensemble, bringing the audience to its feet.

Once again, while the attention was mostly focused on the singers and dancers, the Pine Bluff Symphony provided a solid, yet well-balanced and unobtrusive accompaniment. The styles ranged from Dixieland to Big Band and were all handled with ease and excellence by this professional ensemble. Bravo to all and thank you for a wonderful evening of entertainment. The final concert of this season, “Made in America: Masterpieces by American Composers,” will be presented at 7 p.m., March 30.

Print this story   |   Email this story