By Melissa Griegel . . .
Sony Hall (235 W. 46th Street) was the place to be on Sunday, February 26th 2023 for fans of Adele and fans of Broadway. Corey Mach (Merrily We Roll Along) is the director and producer of the popular series Broadway Sings. They started 12 years ago with their first Adele show. “We have now done Adele four times,” he said. “We keep adding more songs because she keeps being brilliant.” Other stars that have gotten the Broadway Sings treatment include Sara Bareilles, Beyoncé, The Beatles, Rihanna, and Mariah Carey.
Corey Mach thanked the packed audience for coming out and supporting live music and announced their upcoming shows. Tickets will go on sale March 9th for Broadway Sings Queen on May 3rd and 4th at The Cutting Room. As an official June Pride event, they will be doing Lady Gaga’s latest album Chromatica in its entirety on June 25th, and in the fall they will sing Celine Dion. More information can be found on https://www.broadwaysingsconcert.com/
The show’s 14-piece orchestra was conducted by recent Obie Award winner Ben Moss and accompanied by three backup singers. Corey Mach and Joshua Stephen Kartes met with each singer in the weeks prior to the show to hear what song they wanted to sing and how they wanted to sing it. Kartes then wrote all of the orchestrations for each song.
Kyle Freeman (A Strange Loop) opened the show with a powerful rendition of “Hello”. Clad in a red pant suit, he belted out the lyrics with emotion and had the crowd cheering for him during the song. He then brought it down with a quiet wave and a “hello, it’s me.” Kristolyn Lloyd (1776) followed with Adele’s “He Won’t Go.” Danielle Wade (Mean Girls) gave us a quiet “Don’t You Remember”, raising her voice up with a crescendo as she delved deeper into the piece. For “Water Under the Bridge”, Kayla Davion (Tina) pulled up a chair and sat down for half of the song, putting all of her energy into the vocalizations, until she rose from her chair and threw her whole body and soul into the ending. It was a pleasure to behold. She was accompanied by the backup singers and was rewarded with a rousing round of applause.
Stephanie Torns (Waitress) chose “Take it All” for her tribute to the legendary singer. Recently seen on KPOP on Broadway, the fresh-faced and stylish Zachary Noah Piser took to the stage with “I Found a Boy”. His clear, deep voice was perfect for the song. Tony Award winner Lena Hall (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) was up next with “When We Were Young”. In a red dress and thigh-high black leather boots, Lena did justice to the song. The only duet of the evening followed with Corey Mach and Kyle Taylor Parker (Pretty Woman) taking on one of Adele’s most famous songs—“Rolling in the Deep”. They had the band, back-up singers, and audience joyously clapping along with them. Michael Wordly (Kinky Boots) finished off the first act with “One and Only”, getting down on his knees and talking directly to the Sony Hall patrons.
After a brief intermission, Jelani Remy (Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations) brought us into the second half with the most unique interpretation of an Adele song. In his talented hands, “A Million Years Ago” had a Calypso feel and he engaged the audience by getting them to repeat after him and sing along. It was a great start to a second act filled with more amazing performers. Eleri Wood (Only Gold) followed with “Easy on Me”. Kyle Taylor Parker took to the stage a second time, this time for a solo of “Crazy for You”. American Idol finalist Alyssa Wray reminded us why she made it so far on the popular show; she has killer vocals and can pull-off the powerhouse song “I Will be Waiting” with true star quality.
Corey Mach had his turn as a soloist with the popular “Turning Tables.” Wicked’s Brittney Johnson followed with a beautiful rendition of “All I Ask”. The most memorable song of the evening came last as Tamika Lawrence (Caroline, or Change) brought the house down with her unique rendition of “Someone Like You”. The audience went wild as she came out clad in black leather and did a version that was at times devilish, creepy, funny, and strong. Tamika added a little heavy metal to it, swinging her hair like a metal hair band. She had the perfect timing, raising and lowering the volume and speed of the song and making the audience laugh at times with her facial expressions. No one has ever done an Adele song quite the way Tamika interpreted the song. I am looking forward to seeing how the next batch of Broadway stars will sing Queen. Get your tickets now; it is sure to sell out.
Photos by Melissa Griegel
