The New York Post
September 29, 1998
LADIES' NIGHT AT CARNEGIE HALL
By CLIVE BARNES
BROADWAY babies and Broadway divas, with unbelievable tact and delicacy, jostled one another for attention at Carnegie Hall last night, all under the watchful and matriarchal eye of Julie Andrews, matchless in her classiest act of part Hollywood superstar and part English governess.
The occasion was a concert extravaganza, taped for future presentation on Public Television's Great Performances, called My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies, an evening of Broadway's Guys and Dolls without the Guys, an example of Women Behaving Beautifully.
There was so much modesty and good nature displayed that it made the lovefest between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa seem almost churlish in comparison. These ladies were just determined to be sweetness itself.
Smoothly staged by Scott Ellis, the show ran pretty much the gamut of Broadway's current leading ladies, from the up-and-coming to the there-and-staying.
Curiously enough, the three divas first announced in the preliminary press release - Betty Buckley, Chita Rivera and Anne Reinking - all turned out to be, for one good reason or another, no-shows. But what was present proved a gently impressive array of talent, sparkling rather than explosive, which is much the way of the current Broadway musical.
There was some talk of divas past, such as Ethel Merman and Mary Martin, but apart from the non-singing Andrews, the one indubitable Broadway legend on hand was Liza Minnelli, not perhaps in best voice, nor possibly at her most fighting weight, but there all the same, game, gallant and charming.Specially introduced by Rosie O'Donnell, Minnelli, after reminding us of her first Broadway hit by giving us Sing Happy from Flora, the Red Menace, actually evoked the great Merman with Some People from Gypsy, reminding us that she still has to appear - one day - in that very musical.
The show went off like televised clockwork, helped along by music director Paul Gemigani.
By and large, honors were pretty evenly split - certainly Jennifer Holliday brought down the house with her passionate And I'm Telling You, from Dreamgirls, and other dazzlingly indelible memories were once more realized by the indomitable Elaine Stritch, toasting Sondheim's Ladies Who Lunch, and the equally indomitable Dorothy Louden, extolling the fragile joys of a mistress rather than a wife in Fifty Percent, from that underestimated musical Ballroom.
Then we had Nell Carter, helped out by Luther Henderson on the piano, reminding us of the joys of Ain't Misbehavin' and Priscilla Lopez, beautifully retelling the time she felt Nothing in A Chorus Line.
But mostly - partly through those three prominent no-shows - the evening belonged to Broadway's newer and younger stars. It started with Karen Ziemba and Bebe Neuwirth glossily Fosse-ing away in a duet from Chicago, and then we had the charming Rebecca Luker, Falling in Love with Love.
There was also a splendid trio of Audra McDonald (who was terrific throughout the evening), Marin Mazzie and Judy Kuhn singing a Love Trio from Andrew Lloyd Webber from three different musicals with three different songs, all of which sounded awesomely alike and blended beautifully. Perhaps someone was trying to tell someone something.
Linda Eder, looking smashing, sang songs by Frank Wildhorn and Mitch Leigh.
The always wondrous Faith Prince did wonders with both Adelaide's Lament, from Guys and Dolls, and the less well-known I'm Going Back, from The Bells Are Ringing. And we had a grown-up - and a very nicely grown up - Andrea McArdle still longing for Tomorrow from Annie.
And talking of children, that brilliant little Miss Moppet from the recent High Society, Anna Kendrick, gave a terrifyingly deadpan and viciously naughty (where were our new guardians of public morality?) rendering of Life Upon the Wicked Stage, from Showboat, disconcertingly backed by those rancid damsels from Cabaret, the Kit Kat Girls.It was a great night for singing and a great night for the ladies - without a gent in sight.
Copyright 1998 N.Y.P. Holdings, Inc.