Side by Side...by Stephen Sondheim (S.T.A.G.E.)
March 10th, 2007
Wilshire Theatre, Beverly Hills
Musical Charity Benefit for a.i.d.s.
Southland Theatre Artists Goodwill Event (S.T.A.G.E.)
Cast: Len Cariou, Randy Graff, Nancy Dussault, Shaun Cassidy, Patrick Cassidy, Alice Ripley, Valerie Pettiford, Ann Hampton Callaway, Betty Garrett, KT Sullivan, Rip Taylor, Carole Cook, Sally Ann Howes, Lisa Vroman, Kevin Earley, Charlotte Rae, Michele Nicastro, Marc Cherry & Felicity Huffman. Gerald Sternbach, Conductor
Honorable funny mention: Bruce Vilanch helping out with the Live Auction.
As always, a wonderful group gathering together to help fight a.i.d.s. by donating their vocal chords.
Highlights for us personally:
Alice Ripley:
singing "Me and My Town" from Anyone Can Whistle.
A flawless performance of the song with a gaggle of handsome backup singers and dancers. Her voice was strong and lovely as usual, but in this song, she was able to show off a sultry, playful side and a bit of dancing. This woman not only knows how to sing, but how to take stage and work the song. We love Alice.
Randy Graff:
singing "Losing My Mind" from Follies.
I love this woman's voice, and its effortless power and texture. Smooth and steady and unwavering, like electrical current. You get the impression she's always spot-on and has never hit a sharp or flat in her life. Not only is her voice powerful, but she knows how to use it (and the microphone), and she did this tortured torch song justice.
Shaun & Patrick Cassidy:
singing "Agony" (& its reprise) from Into the Woods.
Having seen Patrick Cassidy on stage, we knew he'd be solid. The real surprise (to us) is how mature and full a baritone Shaun Cassidy has! They were decked out in full Prince tights and demonstrative codpieces. They were laugh-out-loud entertaining.
Ann Hampton-Callaway:
singing "No One is Alone" from Into the Woods.
I've never heard this song sung better. The moment she took stage and sang her first phrase, she owned the evening. So well-matched were singer and song, that I don't think anyone could match the hauntingly beautiful rendition of this song. We both just looked at each other and shook our heads in awe and appreciation.
A wonderful night and a wonderful cause.
posted by Shephard at 6:05 PM
![[title of show]](http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b285/ShephardSummers/FAV--TitleOfShow-blog.jpg)
5Comments:
Any Photos of the Cassidy Bros?
Once again we were at the same event, except we went to the Sunday matinee. Agree with your assessments, especially the surprise of Shaun Cassidy's excellent baritone (he's looking and sounding more like his dad every day). Overall I enjoyed the show less than in past years. Betty Garrett is always great, of course, and I love Carole Cook, who is a family friend, but I missed her schtick with the sign language interpreter.
A good review here, Shepherd. I enjoyed reading it.
Thanks for the visit. That sounds like a great show!
I am super jealous. Len Cariou and Betty Garrett on the same stage? Thankfully I've gotten to see them both live, but WOW. Betty Garrett's gotta be. . . well. . . it's good that you saw her when you did.
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