Jose was in town this weekend for the Todd Ellison-Classic Broadway Concert, held in the Center for the Arts at George Mason University on Sunday. Jose has appeared with Todd in other Classic Broadway Concerts (San Francisco and New York) and they have known each other for years.
Todd Ellison is a celebrated Broadway music director (Tony Award-winning Spamalot, La Cage aux Folles and 42nd Street) and currently the musical supervisor for An American In Paris which opened on Broadway last night--to great acclaim from the New York Times and Washington Post.
Todd had asked Broadway friends like Jose (King and I, Flower Drum Song, Here Lies Love), Erin Mackey (Wicked), Klea Backhurst (Everything the Traffic Will Allow) and Gavin Lodge (Annie) to join him in a delightful afternoon of songs, anecdotes, memories (and even a tap dance!) from classic Broadway shows.
Todd is indeed “a virtuoso pianist and consummate entertainer”. Charming and whimsical by turns, he introduced each of his friends and then chatted and reminisced with them as they sang a wide range of their favorite Broadway songs. He accompanied them so beautifully on piano--in a way that gave every song an added depth and meaning. Many of the songs were his own arrangements.
Todd told us that he had met Jose in his early days in New York and had followed his career from The King and I onwards. They worked together on several shows, including On the Town and Myths and Hymns. When he told the audience that Jose was from the Fairfax area there was a great round of applause; and there was even more applause when Jose mentioned his old Springfield schools and, of course, the fabled TJHSST.
Jose riffed on his “failure" to go into the science and technology world after TJHSST; but he did mention that his sister made up for that "by going to MIT and becoming a great engineer”. He also told the audience that his Mom was “right there” and pointed to Regee sitting in the second row. More applause. Todd was beaming and said it must be wonderful to come home and to perform in front of all your family and friends. Yet more applause. These Broadway people know how to play a crowd!
As you would expect, Jose totally wowed the audience. He started with two songs from On the Town (“Lucky to be Me” and "Lonely Town”) which I had not heard since he sang them at the Delacorte--with, unbeknownst to us in those days, Todd as the Associate Conductor. Later, these were followed by two delightful songs from Flower Drum Song ("You Are Beautiful" and “Like a God”); and he brought down the house with “We Kiss in a Shadow” from The King and I. Hard to believe that he was only nineteen when he first sang that song and that his name is now way up there with Lou Diamond Philips and Donna Murphy when critics write about that show.
The whole afternoon was magical. A beautiful blend of piano (Todd); ravishing songs (Jose and Erin); a hilarious revue piece sung/spoken by Klea on her trials as an understudy; songs and a wild tap dance from Annie by Gavin; and a stunning arrangement by Todd for all four singers, in perfect harmony, that took your breath away. But I have to say, without any bias whatsoever, that it was our local-boy-made-good, Jose, who stole the show.
At the end, you felt that you had been sitting in a Broadway theater for two enchanted hours, and were a little surprised to come out and find yourself in sunny Virginia rather than New York!
And we went back there again last night after the show with Sarah, Matthew, Rebecca and Wahab. Guess what? We had exactly the same dishes all over again--you just can’t go wrong at Present. And to cap off a wonderful day, Jose returned from his dinner in town to spend the night at our house. So, we had another chance to discuss the theater world and its mysteries into the wee hours of the morning. Let’s hope that Todd and all his friends come back to DC very soon.
Todd & Friends (Courtesy riverdalepress.com)
Todd Ellison is a celebrated Broadway music director (Tony Award-winning Spamalot, La Cage aux Folles and 42nd Street) and currently the musical supervisor for An American In Paris which opened on Broadway last night--to great acclaim from the New York Times and Washington Post.
Todd had asked Broadway friends like Jose (King and I, Flower Drum Song, Here Lies Love), Erin Mackey (Wicked), Klea Backhurst (Everything the Traffic Will Allow) and Gavin Lodge (Annie) to join him in a delightful afternoon of songs, anecdotes, memories (and even a tap dance!) from classic Broadway shows.
Covert photo by proud Mom! Todd, Erin, Gavin, Klea and Jose
Todd is indeed “a virtuoso pianist and consummate entertainer”. Charming and whimsical by turns, he introduced each of his friends and then chatted and reminisced with them as they sang a wide range of their favorite Broadway songs. He accompanied them so beautifully on piano--in a way that gave every song an added depth and meaning. Many of the songs were his own arrangements.
Todd told us that he had met Jose in his early days in New York and had followed his career from The King and I onwards. They worked together on several shows, including On the Town and Myths and Hymns. When he told the audience that Jose was from the Fairfax area there was a great round of applause; and there was even more applause when Jose mentioned his old Springfield schools and, of course, the fabled TJHSST.
Jose riffed on his “failure" to go into the science and technology world after TJHSST; but he did mention that his sister made up for that "by going to MIT and becoming a great engineer”. He also told the audience that his Mom was “right there” and pointed to Regee sitting in the second row. More applause. Todd was beaming and said it must be wonderful to come home and to perform in front of all your family and friends. Yet more applause. These Broadway people know how to play a crowd!
As you would expect, Jose totally wowed the audience. He started with two songs from On the Town (“Lucky to be Me” and "Lonely Town”) which I had not heard since he sang them at the Delacorte--with, unbeknownst to us in those days, Todd as the Associate Conductor. Later, these were followed by two delightful songs from Flower Drum Song ("You Are Beautiful" and “Like a God”); and he brought down the house with “We Kiss in a Shadow” from The King and I. Hard to believe that he was only nineteen when he first sang that song and that his name is now way up there with Lou Diamond Philips and Donna Murphy when critics write about that show.
Joohee Choi and Jose in The King and I. Photo Joan Marcus
The whole afternoon was magical. A beautiful blend of piano (Todd); ravishing songs (Jose and Erin); a hilarious revue piece sung/spoken by Klea on her trials as an understudy; songs and a wild tap dance from Annie by Gavin; and a stunning arrangement by Todd for all four singers, in perfect harmony, that took your breath away. But I have to say, without any bias whatsoever, that it was our local-boy-made-good, Jose, who stole the show.
At the end, you felt that you had been sitting in a Broadway theater for two enchanted hours, and were a little surprised to come out and find yourself in sunny Virginia rather than New York!
Lawn in front of the Center for the Arts at GMU
Unfortunately, Paul had to work on Sunday. However, on Saturday night, he and his friend, Ben, joined Jose, Regee and me for dinner at Present, our favorite Vietnamese restaurant, just down the road from us. We totally forgot to take any photos--maybe just as well because it was quite a riotous dinner. Paul, Ben and Jose were in great form, telling story after story accompanied by raucous laughter, while all of us were guzzling plates of Cow on the Open Field, Shrimp in the Fresh Ocean, Duck in Tamarind Basket and other oddly-named dishes. A great night.
We were thrilled that Sarah and Matthew, Rebecca and Wahab, Nick and Des, Judy Francia, her sister and hubby Wally were able to join us for the concert.
Jose’s local Fan Club
And we went back there again last night after the show with Sarah, Matthew, Rebecca and Wahab. Guess what? We had exactly the same dishes all over again--you just can’t go wrong at Present. And to cap off a wonderful day, Jose returned from his dinner in town to spend the night at our house. So, we had another chance to discuss the theater world and its mysteries into the wee hours of the morning. Let’s hope that Todd and all his friends come back to DC very soon.
Wonderful reportage, as always! It's great to have this to go back to years from now -- happy memories.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to have missed the concert. Hey, while Jose was playing the lead on stage, I was "playing" SHIFT lead at the animal hospital! (i'm crying right now). A wonderful recap, Dad. I feel like I was kind of there. Seriously. You paint so well with your words...
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