This week’s installment of the free lunchtime series Broadway in Bryant Park, which plays for two more Thursdays in July on the outdoor stage between the Fountain Terrace and the great lawn, featured a sizzling selection of numbers by the talented casts from six of Broadway’s long-running hits (Wicked; Chicago; and The Book of Mormon) and new musicals (Death Becomes Her; Just in Time; and the revival of Gypsy). Hosted by 106.7 LITE FM’s Helen Little, co-hosted by Natalie Charlé Ellis (now appearing in Death Becomes Her), and sponsored by AMDA College of the Performing Arts – with current students and recent graduates Abigail Adu, Maya Bregman, Adianna Cruz, Ana Daniela Perez Davis, Katelee Guzzi, and Yaneilee Velez joining AMDA alum Andres Quintero (who made his Broadway debut in Moulin Rouge! The Musical) for a pre-show set (including a beautiful solo dance to “If You Go Away” and Quintero’s passionate lead vocal on “One Song Glory” from RENT) – the concert offered the audience an entertaining way to spend a hot summer day revisiting favorite shows or being introduced to which ones they should see next!
The main show opened with two ‘popular’ songs from Wicked (which had its Broadway premiere in 2003, and has now been playing for more than 20 years): Allie Trimm as the perky Glinda performing “Popular” and Lencia Kebede as Elphaba singing the hopeful “The Wizard and I” – both bringing apropos emotion to their upbeat vocals. Next up was the cast of Chicago (currently the longest running show on Broadway at nearly 30 years) singing and moving to the iconic “All that Jazz” and Rema Webb delivering the sassy “When You’re Good to Mama” with pizzazz. Dee Roscioli, Ellis, and Bud Weber from Death Becomes Her then took to the stage, capturing the essence of their characters with the narcissistic Madeline’s suggestively funny inquiry about cosmetic surgery, “Tell Me, Ernest,” followed by Ximone Rose’s Viola issuing the fateful warning, “Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You.”
Before and after the performances from the first three shows were segments of audience participation related to the co-sponsors Ricola, with a vocal warm-up as practiced by the stars and the omnipresent use of the company’s throat balm lozenges (free samples of which were distributed on the Fountain Terrace), and MJHS Health System (which offered complimentary fans to the audience to relieve the mid-day heat and humidity) encouraging everyone to engage in movement therapy to the beat of a recording of “Uptown Funk.”
The Broadway casts returned with two amusing songs from the musical-comedy The Book of Mormon – “You and Me (But Mostly Me)” and “Baptize Me” – now in its fourteenth year since its debut in 2011. Gracie Lawrence, appearing in the role of Connie Francis in Just in Time, then paid tribute to the mid-century singer, who passed away the night before the concert at the age of 87, with a powerhouse rendition of her 1958 hit “Who’s Sorry Now?,” and Matt Magnusson, a standby for Jonathan Groff in the starring role of Bobby Darin, provided a crowd-favorite highlight of the show, performing a high-energy song-and-dance to the blockbuster “Splish Splash” of the same year, along with his three back-up singers the Sirens, all humorously holding and squeezing their little rubber duckies.
Three numbers – “Some People,” “If Mama Was Married,” and “All I Need Is the Girl” – by members of the cast of the current revival of Gypsy, led here by standby Tryphena Wade as Rose, closed the second week of the 25th anniversary season of Broadway in Bryant Park with a bang, and despite the oppressive heat and humidity, left the enthusiastic audience cheering and clapping.
The series returns next week (July 24) with its third installment, featuring performances of songs from Hadestown, Hamilton, Mamma Mia!, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, SIX, and The Outsiders, so be sure to mark your calendar for this exciting lunchtime event!
Running Time: Approximately one hour, without intermission.
Broadway in Bryant Park plays on Thursdays, through July 31, 2025, 12:30-1:30 pm (the lawn opens at 11 am), on the stage at Bryant Park, 41st Street and Sixth Avenue, NYC. Admission is free and no tickets are required.
