Soprano Provides High Points In ‘Hollywood’

“Bravo Hollywood!” Spokane Symphony SuperPops, Saturday, March 15, Spokane Opera House

I will confess, I had my binoculars glued on Jodi Benson most of the evening.

This soprano, who was the voice of Ariel in “The Little Mermaid,” is an absolute knockout both vocally and visually.

The other two members of this “Bravo Hollywood!” trio, tenor Doug LaBrecque and baritone Richard Muenz, weren’t half-bad either. All three delivered a pleasant, if somewhat unpolished, evening of classic American song.

But it was Benson who stole most of the show, looking statuesque and princesslike in two floor-length gowns (one for each half of the show). She was responsible for several of the musical high points, including a sultry and torchy version of “Blues in the Night,” (“Wait until I tell my husband I vamped with the maestro!” she said).

She showed off her stage aplomb - she’s a Tony nominee - with her delightful duet of Lerner and Loewe’s pensive “I Remember It Well,” a tune that sounded infinitely better here than when done by Terry Bradshaw and Dick Butkus in a TV ad.

Benson also shone in a medley of the Jerome Kern numbers “I Won’t Dance” and “A Fine Romance.”

All three singers joined for two of the other big numbers, the infectious Gershwin standard “I Got Rhythm” to close the first half, and the big Irving Berlin good-time hit, “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” to close the show.

This “Bravo Hollywood!” show was similar to the trio’s similar “Bravo Broadway!” show, which played the SuperPops twice before. My only quibble is that some of these songs were only marginally connected with the movies (“Strangers in the Night,” for one). They made numerous deviations from the printed program.

Also, the trio didn’t seem quite as rehearsed as I remember it from “Bravo Broadway!” They need to work on their between-song banter, and they need to work on smoother segues between songs.

A touch of awkwardness was evident throughout the show, which leads me to believe that they haven’t performed “Bravo Hollywood!” often enough to polish it.

However, the Spokane Symphony, under the direction of Fabio Mechetti, was in fine form. The orchestra played several pieces on its own, including the orchestral theme from “Jurassic Park” (at least, I think that’s what it was, this being another deviation from the printed program).

The orchestral highlight was the theme from “Big Country” by Moross, which you may not recognize by name but is one of the most stirring and recognizable movie themes this side of “The Magnificent Seven.”

The orchestra performed it magnificently.

, DataTimes