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Stage Notes: Broadway star to perform cabaret at Akron fundraiser
Nov 10, 2009 (The Akron Beacon Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Actress/singer Rachel York will bring a dose of Broadway glamour to Akron on Sunday with her cabaret For the Love of It, which she'll perform at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. at the Akron-Summit County Main Library Auditorium.
The elegant redhead with the vivacious stage presence and rich, thrilling voice starred as Lilli/Kate in Cleveland in the national tour of Kiss Me Kate in 2002, which she also performed on Broadway. She has starred on Broadway with Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria and on tour with Andrews in the Sondheim revue Putting It Together. York, an Orlando, Fla., native who made her professional stage debut at 17, had her breakthrough Broadway role in 1989 in City of Angels.
Recently, York is best known for capturing the iconic Lucille Ball in the TV movie Lucy. Youngsters may know her as the Madonna-esque diva Isis on Hannah Montana.
She's been doing her cabaret for a couple of years, and it's coming to Akron by way of her piano accompanist, Akron native Scott Stein. Stein's father, Steve, is a cantor at Beth El Congregation in Akron, which is how the connection for the Akron show was made. Proceeds benefit the congregation and Akron Children's Hospital.
York is taking a break from the North American tour of The 101 Dalmatians Musical to make this appearance. The comedienne stars as the infamous dog-napper Cruella De Vil.
She recently called from Savannah, Ga., where a short film she helped produce, Lessons in Self-Defense, starring Alfred Molina, was competing in the Savannah Film Festival.
"It's a real actor's piece," York said of the story, which is about a father-daughter relationship.
York's goal has always been to be a chameleon, playing ingenue, leading lady and character parts. Her career has included stage, TV, film and recording work.
In 101 Dalmatians, which began touring a month ago, York and the rest of the human cast have adapted to acting and dancing on 18-inch stilts. That's because the musical is being staged from the dogs' perspective. Fifteen real rescue Dalmatians make up the doggy portion of the cast.
"It is ironic that I love the character of Cruella De Vil and I'm playing her, because she really stands for everything I don't like," animal lover York said.
In her cabaret, York will perform jazz, Burt Bacharach, pop standards from her solo album Let's Fall in Love, and classic and contemporary musical theater songs. She chose 11 tunes based on their "incredible melody and a lot of depth within the lyrics."
"I look at each song as an acting piece," York said. "I'm an impressionist, so I do some of my impressions. I tell some stories from my career."
Impressions may range from Cher to Marilyn Monroe, she said.
Tickets to the cabaret cost $25 for the matinee or $100 for the evening show, which includes a dessert reception with York. Call 330-543-8340 or 330-864-2105 for reservations.
York will spend the next day leading a master class for the Visual and Performing Arts students at Firestone High School.
Cleveland Orchestra
The Tuesday Musical Association will carry on its 90-year tradition of presenting the Cleveland Orchestra, with a performance led by guest conductor David Robertson of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and pianist Yefim Bronfman at 3 p.m. Sunday at E.J. Thomas Hall at the University of Akron.
It is the only exception this year to Tuesday Musical having its performances on Tuesdays. The program will include Brahms' Tragic Overture and Piano Concerto No. 2 as well as John Adams' Doctor Atomic Symphony. (The orchestra is performing the same program Thursday-Saturday at Severance Hall.)
Hailed by the press as a brilliant musician and master programmer, Robertson works extensively in both orchestral and operatic repertoire. Robertson and the St. Louis Symphony created the first-ever recording of Doctor Atomic Symphony, an instrumental work based on the 2005 opera Doctor Atomic by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Adams.
The piece draws from the opera's overture; its tense, dissonant "panic" music in Act II; a militant section in Act I; and an orchestra setting of the Better My Heart aria. The opera's story is inspired by J. Robert Oppenheimer's creation of the first atomic bomb near Los Alamos, N.M., in the 1940s.
Pianist Bronfman, born in Tashkent in the former Soviet Union, is a Grammy Award-winning musician known for his commanding technique and exceptional lyricism. He performed the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 in London with the Philharmonia under Christoph von Dohnanyi, former music director for the Cleveland Orchestra.
Tuesday Musical tickets cost $22-$35. Call 330-972-7570 or 330-945-9400.
Akron Symphony
For more opera options, audiences will enjoy an evening of great moments from Verdi and Puccini operas with the Akron Symphony at 8 p.m. Saturday at E.J. Thomas Hall. The performance will feature orchestra, chorus and soloists Angela Gwinn (soprano), Daniel Doty (tenor) and Brian Keith Johnson (baritone).
The performance, Verdi e Puccini, is a follow-up to the symphony's acclaimed production of La Traviata in 2007.
"The visceral impact of Italian opera comes from its intense passion. It is music designed to break the human heart wide open," said Christopher Wilkins, music director of the Akron Symphony.
Highlights will include Puccini arias O mio babbino caro, Un bel di and Nessun dorma; as well as Verdi choruses Va pensiero from Nabucco and the Anvil Chorus from Il Trovatore. The orchestra also will perform the celebrated Verdi overtures to Nabucco and La forza del destino.
Tickets cost $20-$40. Call 330-535-8131 or see http://www.ticketmaster.com.
Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.
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