I saw Marin in a very good revival of Kiss Me Kate in 1999. I had seen the original in 1950 with Alfred Drake and Patricia Morrison. I have a soft spot in my heart for Marin since she is a 'gal' from Kalamazoo, which makes her almost a native of Battle Creek, my home town.
Jason Danieley played the role of Tom in a reading for producers of Nancy Ford's wonderful musical Blue Roses, which is based on Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie. I saw this performance in New York City a few years ago. He was great.
So is the show! I wish I could convince Julie Boyd to present it at Barrington Stage. It would be perfect for Stage 2!
Tonight's concert was a compilation of songs from shows each of them has done, singly or together. They were accompanied by Joseph Thalken, pianist, Pete Donovan, bassist, and Rich Rosenzweig, drummer. Songs like 'A Cockeyed Optimist', Hello Young Lovers', and 'So in Love' are favorites of theirs and of mine. They did a lot of songs by Kander and Ebb who have never been my favorite song writers. But since each has appeared in shows by these song writers, it is obvious why they chose this repertoire.
Marin has a really great 'Broadway' voice, capable of soaring the heights or being down to earth. Her recent illness and chemo-therapy are not evident in her energy level or the way she sings.
Jason has a good natural voice but tends to put a 'Broadway' edge on it, especially on high notes.
This is my definition of a singer holding a note, especially a high note, without allowing the natural vibrato to be a part of the sound. It puts a sharp edge on the sound which can become unpleasant when used to excess. Judy Garland did this sort of thing as she aged and would hold a note with a very straight sound until the end when she would allow what I have termed in one of my books on singing, a 'Terminal Vibrato' to occur. As deadly as that sounds, allowing the voice to relax into a vibrato at the end of the straight note makes it somehow acceptable. Her daughter Liza used the same device with less success.
Marin is able to use the 'Broadway' sound when she wants to without the unpleasantness that occurs in Jason's voice. Otherwise he can sing very well when he wants to.
We have one more evening of theatre to go! Capital Steps on Wednesday night!
