“Dear Friend, Dear Mr. Harnick,” begins the very pretty, very pregnant Kate Baldwin, pen in hand, paraphrasing her suggestion they share an evening onstage. “All you have to do is show up and wear a tie.” (the song Dear Friend from She Loves Me is musically implied beneath the patter.) Pairing the beguiling, multitalented talented Baldwin with her soaring soprano and the iconic, slightly gravel-voiced, supreme interpreter of his own work, Sheldon Harnick, is sheer theater magic. These are the evenings we journalists pray for and are sometimes privileged to share.
Baldwin and Harnick are loosely connected by the special place in their hearts reserved for Finian’s Rainbow (Yip Harburg/Burton Lane.) She lit up The St. James Theater as Sharon in the recent Broadway revival—a pivotal point in her career. He was inspired to go into the business after hearing the original show’s score. Both attended Northwestern University. They share a “love and respect for the music and lyrics of Sheldon Harnick” (as Baldwin noted with a grin). And are clearly bound by mutual admiration. She Loves Him is an evening of the writer’s work, both evergreen and rarely heard; a history, a tribute. Lest you think Baldwin does all the heavy lifting, let me assure you, the eighty-seven-year-old (that can’t be right?!) Harnick holds his own as a tuneful and charming performer.
He Loves Me blankets every corner of the packed room with Baldwin’s strong, satin voice. It’s simply joyful. The show’s original Amalia, the inestimable Barbara Cook is present at Feinstein’s. (Baldwin has also played the role in her favorite Harnick musical). I don’t think the still performing Cook would take it amiss if I allude to the passing of a torch. Hers are big shoes to fill. “What self-respecting soprano doesn’t looove going for the money note at the end of the song, Ice Cream?” says Baldwin smiling broadly. Wait. There are “ice-cream notes” to come. High, pure, and sure, they send chills down one’s spine.
If you’ve never heard or don’t recall, When Did I Fall in Love (with Jerry Bock, from the Pulitzer Prize winning, Fiorello) I suggest you YouTube the song and download it for your loved one. The lilting melody and poignant, universally comprehensible lyric are superbly served by Baldwin. This is an actress, not just a singer with an expertly polished and calibrated voice. When asked whether he’s had mentors, Harnick cites his wife, Margie, as being the best. He understands love songs. (Alto flute is a wonderful heart-string-tugging textural addition.)
The Boston Beguine and The Ballad of the Shape of Things, two early compositions by Harnick alone, were devised for his great friend at university, Charlotte Rae. The first was ultimately performed by Alice Ghostly, the second by Rae. These offbeat numbers require the kind of straight-faced farcical delivery with which one easily credits the comediennes. Both are effectively sung with raised-eyebrow-innocence by Baldwin, who manages without the helpful rubber face of predecessors. Further confirming this area of her abilities, a rendition of Gorgeous (Bock/Harnick from The Apple Tree) milks her pregnancy with the aplomb and humor of a young Streisand singing Your Loves Makes Me Beautiful, in which Fanny Brice appears to be pregnant at her on stage wedding (from Funny Girl—Styne/Merrill.)
Offering a recollection of her own first theatrical experience, Baldwin describes initial thoughts as a swing (alternate) in The Full Monty (David Yazbeck) as “oooooo it’s so bright up here; ooooo it’s so loud; ooooo was that my cue?!” She’s adorable.
A medley of songs from Fiddler on the Roof (with Jerry Bock) is followed by Sheldon Harnick’s appearance to lengthy applause. This audience knows it’s seeing musical theater royalty. “There are a lot of similarities between Irish and Jewish people,” Baldwin suggests, “Brendan Behan said, others have a nationality. The Irish and the Jewish have a psychosis.” The two artists sing a duet of To Life! Baldwin is affectionately complimented on her Yiddish pronunciation of L’Chiam.
When he and his partner were casting Fiddler, Harnick and Bock went to the Lower East Side to hear a group who played and sang in the style of Hasidic Chant. Inspired, the composer wrote all night, enthusiastically insisting Harnick meet him in their studio the next morning. If I Were a Rich Man had musically and rhythmically captured what was essential about the chanting. The issue was how to translate its spirit into words. Harnick resolved he’d have to be lead by sound, not meaning or spelling. He wrote: If I were a rich man/Ya ha deedle deedle/bubba bubba deedle deedle dum/All day long I’d biddy biddy bum/If I were a wealthy man. Hear it?
The lyricist’s solo of the song rivals anything presented by dozens and dozens of Tevyes. It may not be as “big” as Broadway, but pristine, plaintive meaning and artful phrasing are front and center. Harnick’s chicks and turkeys and geese and ducks who cheep, swaqwk, honk, and quack are both funny and oddly musical when perpetrated by the author. His pleasure in performing is infectious.
A few brief, thoughtful questions follow a la “Inside the Actor’s Studio, but far less pretentious.” (Baldwin) This is a beautifully written and directed show. The through line is clear, stories are revealing, dialogue is warm. There are other solos and duets, ending with a two-part Sunrise Sunset (from Fiddler on the Roof). “You’re welcome to sing along, if you know the words,” invites Baldwin. I would guess there wasn’t a person at Feinstein’s who couldn’t have joined that chorus, yet not a voice is heard except those of Kate Baldwin and Sheldon Harnick. No one wants to miss a single minute. There are some happy tears. The crowd roars.
Scott Cady ‘s arrangements are lush, buoyant, and pitch perfect. The use of wind instruments is inspired. Cady’s piano is like second skin to the numbers.
Andrew Sterman “playing every woodwind there is” (Baldwin) seems to breathe musicality, equally adept at every genre.
John Beale is very fine.
There are students, actors and fans who would sell their sisters to have the rare opportunity to experience this one-of-a-kind evening. Go.
Top photo by Joseph Marzullo
She Loves Him—Kate Baldwin with Special Guest, Sheldon Harnick
Kate Baldwin & Sheldon Harnick, Vocals
Scott Cady, Piano/Musical Director
Andrew Sterman, Woodwinds
John Beale, Bass
Feinstein’s at Loew’s Regency
540 Park Avenue at 61st St.
212-339-4095
www.feinsteinsattheregency.com
Through March 12
