NY Music Review By Brian Scott Lipton
Even before the first notes sounded of “Randy Newman’s Faust: The Concert,” which was presented as a one-night event on July 1 as part of New York City Center’s “Off Center” series, the audience (which included fellow singer-songwriter legends Judy Collins and Jimmy Webb) was prepared for a devilishly good time. Because there was Newman – Grammy, Oscar, and Emmy winner – behind the piano in a cape and horns, all set to play Lucifer himself in his offbeat reworking of Goethe’s famous tale about the battle between God and the Devil for a man’s soul.
It’s true that even after 20 years and numerous rewrites, the show’s libretto remains slight and rather goofy. One doesn’t really care much if Lucifer returns to Heaven or about what happens to obnoxious twenty something Henry Faust (perfectly portrayed her by the great rock singer/theater star Tony Vincent). But as the two-hour concert proved, the wealth of great music to be found here makes this score one you want to listen to again and again, especially as performed by the gifted artists that director Thomas Kail assembled for this special staging.
If this show ever does get a remounting (which one can hope for), it might be not worth selling your soul to get a ticket, but shelling out the big bucks should hardly be out of the question.
Photos: Joan Marcus