Renowned singer, musician and recording artist, Michael Feinstein, has become a pretty familiar face around these parts ever since he came on board as artistic director of Carmel’s Center for the Performing Arts over a year ago.
His regular appearances have proved to be a huge plus for local audiences but so has his ability to attract many of his friends, who just happen to be world class entertainers. Such was the case Wednesday evening when he was joined by Broadway super star Bernadette Peters in a concert at the Palladium.
Feinstein performed during the first act and Peters in the second, and both were backed by the impressive Carmel Symphony Orchestra which was led by music directors Sam Kriger and Melvin Laird (respectively for each entertainer).
As usual, Feinstein pulled out all the stops, exhibiting superior showmanship and an exemplary work ethic that was clearly evident in the way he gave the audience his all.
His program consisted of mostly songs from the Great American Songbook which he seeks to preserve through his Feinstein Initiative headquartered at the Palladium. Included were After You and I Concentrate on You by Cole Porter and Embraceable You by George Gershwin. Accompanying himself on piano for all three songs, Feinstein conveyed romantic longing and yearning like only he can, singing in a pleasing baritone voice that is rich and warm.
Feinstein also performed Broadway tunes such as Luck Be a Lady from Guys and Dolls. Showing off his talent for doing impressions, he also sang Hello Dolly! (the title song from the musical of the same name) as Louis Armstrong, a Jerry Herman tune that became one of Satchmo’s signature songs.
Giving Feinstein’s set a big, bold and brassy Las Vegas feel was a tribute to Frank Sinatra during which he performed, with the orchestra, many of the songs that made Ol’ Blue Eyes famous. Come Fly with Me, The Summer Wind, Angel Eyes, Night and Day, That’s Life and many others were included in a medley.
After the intermission, Tony Award-winning singer and actress Peters, dressed in a form-fitting sequined lavender gown, made her entrance for Act 2, looking alluring, glamorous and much younger than her 63 years.
With her trademark long rust-colored curls framing her cherubic face, Peters held court as she captivated an audience that seemed mesmerized by her charisma and rare talent.
Sprinkling her act with funny patter that reflected an easy-going personality and someone who does not take herself too seriously, Peters sang a set which included mostly Broadway songs.
Highlights of her emotionally charged performance included many ballads sung in a slow and measured tempo. Among them were her renditions of Some Enchanted Evening from South Pacific, Fever, made famous by Peggy Lee, and a delicately haunting version of the American folk song, Shenandoah.
Peters, who is highly regarded as the top interpreter of composer Stephen Sondheim’s works, also sang No One Is Alone from Into the Woods flawlessly. The same can be said for her striking delivery of Losing My Mind from Follies, a revival of which she recently starred in on Broadway.
Kramer’s Song, which she sang as her encore, is a lullaby Peters wrote and composed in honor of her mixed breed dog who she adopted from a shelter. Sweet and charming, it spoke of the bond between the two of them. Peters has written two children’s books, Broadway Barks and Stella is a Star, to benefit Broadway Barks, an annual animal adopt-a-thon event co-founded with Mary Tyler Moore.
The only disappointment of the evening was that Feinstein and Peters chose not to perform together during the program. However, that unfilled expectation did not in any way detract from an evening that was as intoxicating as it was entertaining.
For tickets and information about upcoming performances at the Center for the Performing Arts, call (317) 843-3800 or visit www.thecenterfortheperformingarts.org.
