By Ron Fassler . . .
Matt Doyle made his Broadway debut at age twenty-one as a replacement in the original company of Spring Awakening. That was fourteen years ago, and in that time, he has established himself as an in-demand actor with Broadway credits that boast a trio of additional Tony Award winning plays and musicals, the most recent a revival of Company, which took home five Tonys this past June, including Best Revival and one for Doyle as Featured Actor in a Musical. For anyone who saw his breathless, hypertense and delirious turn as a gender-switched Jamie (formerly Amy in prior Company productions) will never forget him. It was one of those performances where during the applause for “Getting Married Today,” made obvious to one and all it would result in a Tony (he also won Outer Critics and Drama Desk Awards as well).
Now after more than three years with that musical (amidst Covid complications that could drive a person crazy), Company closed last week. Rather than relax and start collecting unemployment, Doyle has opened an act at Chelsea Table + Stage this week, the charming venue a stone’s throw from Penn Station, originally for a two-night stand, but due to overwhelming demand, wound up as a three-show sell-out. For close to ninety minutes, Doyle presented a baker’s dozen of Broadway, rock, pop, and even something self-composed, making the case for a cabaret career equal to his stellar success in the theatre. With a boyish, self-deprecating and authentically modest mien, Doyle generates good will and an abundance of talent. Backed by a superb four-piece band, led by his longtime friend, co-writer and musical director Will Van Dyke, his set was tight with numerous highlights from Alec Berlin (guitar), Carl Carter (bass) and Caroline Moore (drums).
Stephen Sondheim’s “Being Alive” was his opener, a song he did not get to sing in Company, which is that musical’s closer. It set the tone for Doyle’s gratefulness, a component that sometimes escapes even the best artists. Mindful of his own struggles with mental health, which he is not shy about discussing, a common theme of compassion ran through every song. His scripted patter felt organic and true and never stooped to the kind of confessional that can often fall into the category of TMI. His boyish manner belies a mature adult (or at least someone keeping his eye on that goal) and a man with a great deal of love in his heart. Never cloying, the appetite for a performer as genuine as Doyle is totally fulfilled.
His song choices are personal, with shout outs to early inspirations like Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley’s “Pure Imagination” from the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and “Who Can I Turn To?” from the pair’s 1965 Broadway musical The Roar of the Greasepaint—The Smell of the Crowd. The story of how the Beatles’ Let it Be became a touchstone and was beautiful, as was the rendition. He let loose his glorious tenor on Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s Streets of Dublin, a song from their exquisite A Man of No Importance (soon to receive an Off-Broadway revival this fall). The role of Robbie in that musical is a role he was born to play, but not as yet, though he did come oh-so-close once upon a time, only to lose it to a former boyfriend, a story he clearly enjoys telling.
Claiming “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” as his favorite Andrew Lloyd Webber tune, it may be a while before he’s cast as Mary Magdalene in the way he went from Amy to Jamie. But for the moment, he made it his own. And what a delight to have a surprise drop-in from Bonnie Milligan, soon to be seen in the Broadway transfer of Kimberly Akimbo this fall (and for which she is destined to be Tony-nominated). She joined Doyle in a duet of “Endless Love,” every bit as well sung and engaging as Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross, though perhaps a bit more comic (intentionally, of course).
Sara Barielles’s “St. Honesty” was a big winner as was his encore, which got a roar from the audience the moment the vamp began (it was that sort of crowd). His “Getting Married Today,” this time with no assist from his former castmates, ended the night on a note of triumph.
Audiences who came to see Matt Doyle in this three-night stand took home with them something special and rare: the combination of an incredible talent matched with an innate graciousness. What a gift!
Matt Doyle was at Chelsea Table + Stage, 152 W 26th Street, NYC 10011. For more information on its schedule go to https://www.chelseatableandstage.com.
Photos: Ron Fassler
