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8pm was the downbeat time in NoHo on the night of May 15th
at the historic and majestic El Portal Theater (www.elportaltheater.com) with the latest and greatest show performed by The West Coast Singers (Chorus of the Lesbian and Gay Community of Los Angeles) as they presented “Can’t Stop The Beat! A Musical Journey From Haydn To Hairspray”. This was also the first concert to be led and conducted by Karlan Judd, the new Artistic Director of the West Coast Singers (WCS).
If you don’t already know, the West Coast Singers is a Los Angeles-based, world-class choral group that is comprised of over 50 members.
They are known for their incredible versatility, professionalism and creative showmanship.
The show began with the reading of Langston Hughes’
I Dream A World, and then the curtain went up, and the full chorus (accompanied only by the piano) sang the poem to music by Andre’ J. Thomas.
This is a marvelous, swirling piece with rich dynamics and wide emotion. (Sets and Lighting Designer, Glenn Geller, set this beautifully against a cool blue background with white silhouette trees.)
Fenno Heath’s beautiful arrangement of the traditional spiritual,
I Feel Like A Motherless Child, graced the program next and was led by soloist Judith A. Martin.
She had an amazing voice and was backed by the entire chorus, piano and bass. Patti Breitag, the former Artistic Director of the WCS was on piano and Justin Andres was on bass.
Patti is one of the finest accompanying pianists you will ever hear and she and Justin blended nicely on this piece.
This was a very emotional piece that brought the audience up, from the lone soloist, to the ensemble blasting with full throttle and then all the way down to the dying final ending.
Nice.
Next was the Moses Hogan arrangement of the traditional spiritual
Elijah Rock.
This was one of the highlights of the evening.
This is an acapella piece with very complex counter rhythms and phrases sung by the different sections of the choir.
The West Coast Singers were crisp and tight from beginning to end.
Karlan Judd, the new Artistic Director, is also a very gifted composer.
The next selection of the evening was Judd’s own “One Hundred Places.”
It is based on a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay.
For this, the Classix, an ensemble comprised of 18 members of the WCS, came to the rim of the stage and were joined by accompanying violinist, Nicole Garcia and pianist Patti Breitag.
This piece was tense, strong and very moving.
Except for Nicole Garcia and Patti Brietag, everyone left the stage for the next selection. This would be Ziegeunerweisen by Pablo Sarasate.
This is a fabulous showpiece for the violin.
Nicole Garcia amazed the audience with the fierce bowing and left handed pizzicato accents that were played with raw enthusiasm.
She was beautifully donned in a maroon gown and her long black hair swung and jumped as she took command of the stage.
(The piano accompaniment provided by Brietag for this piece was no piece of cake, either.)
This was a showstopper.
Fleetwood Mac’s
Songbird
was sung next.
This was a real treat.
Marlene Head sang the solo and although she had a sound that was definitely reminiscent of the original singer and composer of the piece (Christine McVie) she definitely maintained her own style and presence. She was well backed by Brietag on piano and Andres on bass (of course) and Brian Boyce on drums.
(Notice the gradual introduction of the members of the band throughout the program thus far:
piano, then piano and bass, then piano and violin and for this piece, piano, bass and drums.
Nice.)
The Clothes of Heaven, by Z. Randall Stroope (text by William Butler Yeats) was next, and this required the use of the full chorus, piano and bass.
This is a very touching and grand piece with varying textures in the melody against the lyrics.
The last song of the first portion of the program was
Mama, I’m A Big Girl Now, from “Hairspray” (Music by Marc Shaiman, Lyrics by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman, Arrangement by Roger Emerson and additional vocal arrangement by Karlan Judd).
It was full chorus and full band all the way!
If you remember this movie then you would have especially enjoyed the way that this was performed. (If you haven’t seen the movie then go rent it tonight!
John Waters rules!)
After a brief intermission the program resumed with
I Am What I Am
(from the musical La Cage aux Folles; Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman with additional vocal arrangement by Steven Applegate) with Bob Gray as soloist.
A very competent soloist.
The curtain came up with the church choir robed chorus facing the back of the stage, as if finishing a Sunday service.
As they moved to the front of the stage and resumed their places, several of the members of the group took off their robes to reveal costume dress that stated what appeared to be their own “I Am What I Am” statement.
It was great!
Let’s see, two members were in leather pants and straps across their chest, one was a drag Marilyn Monroe, there was a businesswoman, a cowgirl, a chick with boots, a guy with pinstripes and a derby and a pretty woman in an African robe. (They had it pretty well covered.)
Classix returned to the stage for
Til The Stars Fall From the Sky
(by Sally K. Albrecht, arranged by Jay Althouse) and this was a soft and dreamy song accompanied by the lone piano.
Neighbor’s Chorus, from the comic opera
La Jolie Parfumeuse, was next, by Jacques Offenbach (English text by Peter John Stephens). This was also accompanied by piano only.
Lots of fun, this reminded the listeners of Gilbert and Sullivan.
Very fast and very difficult to keep tight.
Bravo to Karlan Judd!
Next was the
Gloryland Medly
(arranged by Ted Cornell) that was packed with familiar spirituals, including, “Do Lord, Oh Do Lord, Oh Do Remember Me”. This was a blast that included the full chorus and full band.
Members of the choir even came right out into the audience a-clappin’ and a-singin! (A true home theater experience for the audience members in the first several rows.) Amen, brothers and sisters.
Kyrie, from Johan Michael Haydn’s Missa Tempore Quadragesimae, waltzed the audience next, with full textured harmonies.
It was full chorus and piano all the way.
My Peace I Give To You, by Karlan Judd, was next and it was a beautiful song.
Very beautiful, indeed, with soaring melody and message in the text.
Karlan Judd is a brilliant composer.
You Can’t Stop the Beat (also from the musical Hairspray; Music by Marc Shaiman, Lyrics by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman and Arrangement by Ed Lojeski), which is the piece from which the program took its title.
Very fun.
The full band and full chorus blasted all the way.
Finally, members of the chorus came back out into the audience to sing a very moving piece from “Ragtime”.
This was anthemesque and accompanied by violin (Nicole Garcia came back out for this one) and the full band.
The audience was brought to their feet.
The West Coast Singers are a world-class institution, and the transition from former conductor/director Patty Brietag to the hands of Karlan Judd appears to have been artistically seamless.
Everything about them is professional, rings of perfection and is of the caliber and standard of a chorus that one rarely has the opportunity to see in an entire lifetime.
This was a truly memorable experience.
From the blocking, to the singing, to the selection of the material, to the order of the songs, these great artists, under the hand of Karlan Judd, make something of which America should be very proud.
For more information about The West Coast Singers, long onto
www.westcoastsingers.org.
Copyright 2004 Scott Detweiler.
All Rights Reserved.
Scott Detweiler is an accomplished musician in his own rite and has just released his fifth CD.
For more details, log on to
www.detweilermusic.com, or write to scott@detweilermusic.com.
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