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Regional Reviews: Phoenix Brian Stokes Mitchell: Simply Broadway Also see Gil's review of Oklahoma!
Stokes' rich tenor has perfect tone and clarity, and his diction in the delivery of the lyrics is superb. His concert performances are much more than just a singer singing a song, as he embodies the famous male characters from a series of classic musicals who sing these songs, transforming himself from character to character. With each new persona he changes his voice, his accent, and his delivery to portray completely different people. In doing so, the concert isn't just a live version of his CD, but a more rich and theatrical experience with the songs vibrantly coming to life. A stirring version of "Feeling Good" from The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd opened the show. Stokes mentioned that the Tony Bennett/Bill Evans jazz albums were an inspiration for his Simply Broadway recording. He loved the sense of play on the those albums and wanted to find the joy in these well-known Broadway songs. "I, Don Quixote" was a perfect song to display that, with Stokes commanding the stage in his delivery of the song, even singing some of the verses in Spanish. It received a rousing delivery. He then masterly became all of the men from Camelot in a medley of songs that included "Camelot," a funny "C'est Moi," and a heartfelt "How to Handle A Woman." He spoke about how much he didn't originally really like the musical Les Misérables, but when he got the chance to play Javert in a concert version at the Hollywood Bowl, he said he finally "got" the show and how it celebrates the sadness and the joy of the world. His commanding performance of Javert's "Stars" brought the house down. Fiddler on the Roof's "If I Were a Rich Man" received a performance with both comic touches and serious moments. Stokes' take on "Soliloquy" from Carousel was a driving performance full of emotion, nuance and realism. Two days after this concert Stokes would perform at the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS "Broadway Backwards" benefit concert in New York where men sing songs written for women and vice versa. His version of the Gershwin's "The Man I Love" in Scottsdale was stunning: He stated that he was happy to sing it for us as not only did it give him a chance to practice it but he also thought it was one of the prettiest love songs ever written. Two other Gershwin songs from Porgy and Bess, "A Woman Is a Sometime Thing," and "It Ain't Necessarily So," received well-delivered performances. A beautiful, jazzy piano solo from Firth led into a slow and meaningful version of "What Kind Of Fool Am I?" The back to back delivery of Sondheim's "Sorry-Grateful" from Company and "Some Enchanted Evening" from South Pacific formed a stunning duo of songs about relationships. He ended the concert with "The Impossible Dream," from Man of La Mancha, which has become somewhat of a signature song for Stokes—I think I've heard him perform it at every concert of his I've seen over the past ten years. His performance of the song at SCPA showed one again that the notes he achieves and holds in his performance of this song are breathtaking, and also how the acoustics in the Virginia Piper Auditorium are crystal clear. He came back for two encores, first up was "Some Other Time" from On the Town, which Stokes mentioned was also recorded by Tony Bennett and Bill Evans. His decision to include the song on his recoding was a "tip of the hat" to the two of them. This included expert piano playing by Firth. And his final selection was the only non-Broadway song in the set, "Wonderful World," which was a perfect way to end the evening with its simple, yet poignant lyrics. With humorous stories and superb delivery of the material, Brian Stokes Mitchell's Simply Broadway was an exceptional evening of story and song. Brian Stokes Mitchell performed at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday March 7th, 2015. Information for upcoming concerts at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts can be found at www.scottsdaleperformingarts.org.
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