WE LOVE YA, BROADWAY BABY
Enchantress Melissa Errico mesmerized in her new cabaret, The Life & Loves of a Broadway Baby. presented by CV Rep. Errico sets her life to the Broadway songs that she was raised on, has sung, and owned. Melissa says jokingly that her show resembles a “bollito misto,” which is an Italian stew made from all the best leftover bits from the previous week’s meals. She put in the best eclectic mix of songs including both a sensational set of beloved standards and a series of witty and sometimes wicked stories about family, life, and career from cabaret to Broadway from Johnny Mercer to Stephen Sondheim and from Rodgers and Hart to Lerner and Lowe among many others.
Gloriously accompanied by the extraordinary Ted Firth, Errico was a master class in cabaret with incredible technical ability combined with masterful interpretation. She, once again, illustrated her prowess as a premiere Sondheim interpreter with a deep understanding of his lyrical and musical nuances. Errico relayed the story of her Aunt Rose, who was plucked from behind a deli counter in New York City to begin a long career, in which she was a Ziegfeld Follies girl and in the original cast of Showboat before giving us a roaring “Broadway Baby.” She shared that Sondheim was a mentor, protector and incredibly generous man and composer stating that perhaps his most generous composition was “Not While I’m Around,” from Sweeney Todd, which she followed with soaring insight. Other Sondheim highlights included a beautiful mash-up of “Who Wants to Live in New York” (from Merrily We Roll Along) and “Another Hundred People” (Company), a glorious “Send in the Clowns” (A Little Night Music), and a fresh jazz interpretation of “Everybody Says Don’t” (Anyone Can Whistle).
Following the story of her father’s impact on her career, she gave a mind-blowing performance of Michel Legrand’s “The Windmills of Your Mind.” Her father was a surgeon and a concert pianist who initially went to Yale on a music scholarship where he met her mother. He had a deep passion for the music of Legrand, which he often played at home. That music became a key part of her family’s emotional and cultural life. This came full circle for Errico when she was cast in her Tony-nominated performance as Isabelle in Legrand’s first Broadway musical Amour.
This is not Errico’s first time performing in the Coachella Valley or at CV Rep and if you missed this show than for your sake I certainly hope it is far from her last.
The Life & Loves of a Broadway Baby
Melissa Errico
Coachella Valley Repertory
CVRep Playhouse, 68510 E. Palm Canyon Drive in Cathedral City
played June 5 & 6, 2024
for future shows, call 760.296.2966 or visit CVR
for more info, visit Melissa Errico
