Goodspeed, TheaterWorks produce streaming concert ‘Coming Alive Again’
As Broadway theaters struggle to reopen, Goodspeed Musicals and TheaterWorks Hartford have joined together to produce “Coming Alive Again,” a timely, lively and lovely streaming concert starring Broadway star and Tony-nominee Christiane Noll.
“Coming Alive Again” is a variation on a concert act Noll has been performing for the last few years, previously titled “Am I Losing My Mind?,” a reference to a song from Stephen Sondheim’s “Follies.”
This rendition was filmed at TheaterWorks’ Pearl Street space as well as at the Goodspeed Opera House. It’s directed by Rob Ruggiero, TheaterWorks’ producing artistic director and a regular director at the Goodspeed.
The tunes come from shows as diverse as “Wicked,” “The Bridges
of Madison County,” “Company” and “Fun Home.” The most-utilized songwriter is Stephen Sondheim; besides “Losing My Mind” from “Follies” there’s “Not Getting
Married” from “Company” plus numbers from
“Anyone Can Whistle and “Sunday in the Park with George.”
Noll sings “The Revolutionary Costume for Today”
from the musical “Grey Gardens,” one of many songs in the show in which the themes of empowerment and survival take curious turns. She plays each character fully formed, as if she was performing the whole musicals they exist in. She shifts expressions, attitudes and even voices.
Noll mentions throughout the show that we’ve all been emotionally challenged by COVID. She takes an upbeat view of madness, showing a wild spirit to be a survival technique. She sees the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel as a cause for delirious glee. Noll is not afraid to get goofy. She can be elegant, but she can also be distressed and downtrodden, depending on the needs of the song. Still, she and Ruggiero have fine tuned the show to keep it charming and steer it away from becoming dour or depressing.
A local all-star ensemble brings its own charm to the show. The band is led by pianist/conductor William Waldrop and featuring cellist Celeste Cumming, guitarist Billy Bivona (who also wields a French Horn) and nationally known Hartford-born jazz drummer
Jonathan Barber.
Noll is a welcoming, ingratiating presence, and commands attention on the small screen as easily as she does on a big stage. “Coming Alive Again” works as a show you can watch closely, paying attention to all the fine character details. It also works as an endearing album of quirky showtunes, lovingly sung. After I watched it once, I kept repeating the stream while doing chores, until I’d heard it half a dozen times. It never stopped coming alive.
”Christiane Noll: Coming Alive Again,” directed by Rob Ruggiero, streams through May 30. Tickets are $25, with proceeds shared between Goodspeed Musicals and TheaterWorks Hartford. Information at goodspeed.org or twhartford.org.