THEATRE

A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING

     There are certain songs that have become so deeply woven into the fabric of musical theatre history that audiences often feel they have known them their entire lives. Songs like “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” “If I Loved You,” and “Shall We Dance?” have endured for generations, surviving changing tastes, styles, and theatrical fashions. This spring, the Players' Guild of Hamilton celebrates that remarkable legacy with A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING, a revue devoted entirely to the music of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. 

     Unlike a traditional book musical, A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING does not tell a single linear story. Instead, conceived by Walter Bobbie in the early 1990s, the production gathers together songs from across the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalogue, allowing the music itself to become the dramatic focus. The revue draws material from beloved classics including CAROUSEL, OKLAHOMA!, SOUTH PACIFIC, THE KING AND I, CINDERELLA, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, FLOWER DRUM SONG, STATE FAIR, ALLEGRO, PIPE DREAM and ME AND JULIET.

     What makes the show particularly interesting is that these songs are not simply reproduced as museum pieces. Fred Wells’ musical arrangements were specifically designed to reimagine familiar material in fresh and often surprising ways. Songs traditionally performed as solos become duets or ensemble numbers, comic material is juxtaposed with deeply emotional ballads, and audiences are encouraged to hear these classics with new ears. The result is a production that honours the original material while also reminding audiences just how flexible and dramatically sophisticated these songs really are.

     The original production began life in 1993 at Rainbow & Stars, the cabaret venue atop Rockefeller Center in New York City. The intimate revue proved to be such a success that it quickly transferred to Broadway later that same year. Remarkably, the Broadway production received Tony Award nominations for both Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical, despite the fact that the revue contains no dialogue at all. The “book” nomination recognized the carefully constructed sequence of songs and emotional progression created by Walter Bobbie. To this day, it remains one of the most unusual nominations in Tony Award history.

     The importance of Rodgers and Hammerstein in the development of the modern American musical cannot really be overstated. Beginning with OKLAHOMA! in 1943, the pair helped transform musical theatre into a more integrated dramatic form, where songs emerged naturally from character and situation rather than functioning merely as decorative entertainment. Their shows combined romance, comedy, spectacle and emotional seriousness in ways that permanently reshaped Broadway. Even audiences unfamiliar with theatre history will likely recognize many of the songs featured in this revue simply because the music has become part of popular culture itself.

     For this Hamilton production, directors David Dayler and Randy Coutts lead an ensemble cast that includes Bethany Charters, Nicole Martin, Carolyn Campbell, Steven Andrews, and Doug Massey.

     Because the revue format places such emphasis on vocal storytelling, productions like this depend heavily upon performers who can move fluidly between comedy, romance, wistfulness and emotional sincerity. Rodgers and Hammerstein songs may sound effortless when heard casually, but they demand considerable technical skill and emotional intelligence from performers.

     The production also features choreography by Bethany Charters, with Nicole Martin serving as Dance Captain, helping to shape the physical language of the evening. Meanwhile, musical director Brenda Uchimaru leads a group of musicians including pianists Laura Pin, Michael Pin, and Oliver Peart, alongside percussionist Lynne Jamieson.   Given the centrality of the score, the musical performances themselves become the true heart of the evening.

     One of the pleasures of a revue like A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING is the way it allows audiences to encounter both famous standards and lesser-known material side by side. While many audience members will come anticipating favourites from OKLAHOMA! or SOUTH PACIFIC, the show also includes songs from more obscure Rodgers and Hammerstein works such as ALLEGRO, PIPE DREAM and ME AND JULIET. In doing so, the revue becomes not just a nostalgic celebration, but also a reminder of the sheer range of the duo’s creative output.

     More than thirty years after its Broadway debut, A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING continues to resonate because the material itself remains emotionally direct and musically memorable. Whether comic, romantic, playful, or bittersweet, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s songs still possess the ability to speak clearly across generations. For audiences at the Players’ Guild this spring, the production offers both a celebration of Broadway history and an opportunity to simply spend an evening immersed in some of the greatest music ever written for the stage.

- Brian Morton
www.theatre-erebus.ca