THE HANGOVER REPORT – HARRY CONNICK, JR.: A CELEBRATION OF COLE PORTER is an awkward tribute, but the music-making is sensational

Harry Connick Jr. in "Harry Connick, Jr.: A Celebration of Cole Porter" at the Nederlander Theatre. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

Harry Connick Jr. in “Harry Connick, Jr.: A Celebration of Cole Porter” at the Nederlander Theatre. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

This week at the Nederlander Theatre, Harry Connick, Jr.: A Celebration of Cole Porter opened on Broadway for a limited holiday season run. To say that the show is merely a concert would be mischaracterizing the evening. Indeed, the production endeavors to pay tribute to both to Mr. Porter’s songbook, as well as the man behind the music in an ambitious staging that registers as a hybrid between a jazz concert, a Broadway musical, and a documentary.

Even if Mr. Connick’s attempt – a lot of it via projected video interludes – at exposing us to Porter comes off as a bit awkward and bizarrely uninspired, the music-making is as sensational as you’d expect from the much-loved jazz (and Broadway) star. Highlights include Mr. Connick’s smooth yet rousing renditions of “True Love”, “Begin the Beguine”, “Love for Sale”, and “Anything Goes”. But for me, the highlight of the evening is his performance of “Night and Day”, during which he dissects the components of the track’s instrumental and vocal arrangements and orchestrations. If uncovering Porter the man has proven to be a challenge, uncovering his songs is an unqualified success

Mr. Connick is accompanied by a smashing 24-member band, which is exuberantly led by bandleader Andrew Fisher. Their big-band sound travels thrillingly within the intimate confines of the Nederlander, a cozy mid-sized Broadway theatre. The 90-minute production has been smoothly directed by Mr. Connick himself (who also wrote the show’s “book”), and he cleanly handles the show’s transitions from New York, to Indiana, to Louisiana, and back again.

RECOMMENDED

 

HARRY CONNICK, JR.: A CELEBRATION OF COLE PORTER
Broadway, Concert
Nederlander Theatre
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through December 29

 

Categories: Broadway, Music, Other Music, Theater

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