Jersey Boys Blog

Jersey Boys Blog is delighted to present Special Correspondent Howard Tucker’s review of the Leading Men II benefit concert, which took place on Monday, February 5 at Birdland!

Background
On a freezing February 5, my friend Jessica Calderon and I enjoyed a wonderfully warm evening at Birdland in NYC to hear the magnificent tenor Daniel Reichard, the multi-talented host John Tartaglia, and the following performers:

• Telly Leung:”It’s the Applause” from “How I Paid for College”
• Tom Andersen: “Playing Right Field” by Willy Welch
• Jim Caruso: “Tone Deaf”
• Matt Cavenaugh: “I Take It Back” (written for but cut from “Urban Cowboy”)
• David Gurland: “Waiting for Life” from “Once on this Island”
• Adam Jacobs: “Maria” from “West Side Story”
• Ben Strothmann: “Milwaukee” from “Bay City Rhythm”
• Tim DiPasqua: “You” (an original composition by Tim)
• Norm Lewis: “I’d Rather be Sailing” from “A New Brain”
• Perry Ojeda: “Lucky to be Me” from “On the Town”
• Hugh Panaro: “Right Before by Eyes” from “Lestadt”
• Seth Rudesky: Deconstructing “The Sound of Music” (original)
• Jason Michael Snow: “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat” from “Guys and Dolls”
• Jersey Boys’ Daniel Reichard did a modern takeoff on “Torch Song” from “When Pigs Fly” with his original lyrics to the familiar music.

John Tartaglia’s Introduction and Meeting Daniel Reichard in 1996
Of course, all of the Jersey Boys’ fans know John Tartaglia as the presenter of the 2006 Featured Actor in a Musical Tony to our terrific Christian Hoff, along with the velvet-voiced Christine Ebersole. I think all of us remember John holding his popular Avenue Q puppet Rod for the now well-known, mixed-reviewed: “Republican Puppet Joke” at the Tonys.

Christine: “He’s a puppet.”
John: “He’s also a Republican.”
Christine: “I’ve never met a Republican puppet before” (audience laughter)
Rod (puppet): “It’s exciting for both of us!!” (“Get on with the presentation,” we all thought!)

I actually thought that the Republican puppet joke would be the highlight of the Tonys, but only seconds later, our own Christian’s surprise upset winning the Featured Actor Tony made us quickly push the “joke” into second place.

I saw John as Rod and Princeton in the message oriented, yet hilarious, Avenue Q and Jessica saw him as Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast (in which he is presently starring). We saw John’s great stand-up act as well, where he gave Jim Croce a run for his money with “I Got a Name” and the hilarious “My Third Cousin’s Sister’s Wedding”. Our only disappointment was that, except for the Beauty candles, John did not perform! However, as with all the stars, he mingled and chatted with the crowd, posed for photos and signed autographs.

John told about his first meeting Daniel 11 years ago when both auditioned for the same role, and neither got it. Well, we can see both guys did fine, with Daniel now Bob Gaudio in Jersey Boys and John producing and starring in the Disney Channel’s new live action musical puppet series “Johnny and the Sprites”. John plays—who else—Johnny, a singer/songwriter who moves out to the country after inheriting a family homes, and discovers an enchanted tunnel in the backyard leading to the enchanted world of the Sprites. Break a leg, John!!

Daniel Reichard’s Performance
Daniel showed himself to have a hidden talent as a lyricist and comedian, as he added a modern flavor to “Torch Song” from “When Pigs Fly”. His words reflected current world events with a hilarious twist. He wouldn’t respond when I asked whether Ric Elice contributed any of the humor!! As ever, Daniel’s stunning pipes filled the room to tremendous applause.

Performance Highlights and Personal Reflections
There were so, so many great performances, but Adam Jacobs took us back to the early 1960’s with his marvelous “Maria, I just met a girl named Maria…..” and brought back many early childhood memories for Jessica and me.

I related to Ben Strothmann’s “Milwaukee” since I have a lot of family there, have visited numerous times, and knew all of the references, some flattering and some not. Haven’t decided whether to share the lyrics with my cousins still living there.

I was never the best athlete growing up either, Tom Andersen, so your “Playing Right Field”, while comical, also had a serious twist which I appreciated.

I saw Matt Cavenaugh as the remarkable Joe Kennedy (yes—that Joe Kennedy, the oldest brother of John, Robert, and Ted) in Grey Gardens, but Jessica was even more thrilled since she admires his “pecs” daily on “As the World Turns”. I had to admit I haven’t seen ATWT since the late 1950’s, when Lisa (Eileen Fulton) first came into the life of Bob Hughes (Don Hastings). Jessica informed me that I’d catch up on the story line in two or three days!

Perry Ojeda’s “Lucky to be Me” had special meaning since it was written by Adolph Green, Leonard Bernstein, and the late, great Betty Comden, who just passed away at 89. And of course, Adolph Green was the husband of Phyllis Newman, a favorite of John Lloyd Young and a wonderful champion in the fight against breast cancer.

Seth Rudetsky actually played the original soundtrack from “The Sound of Music” and analyzed portions and performances of several of the famous hits. With apologies to Julie Andrews (whose PBS narration of the Broadway history took precedence last Sunday over the Super Bowl and “Grease: You’re the One that I Want” for many of us), some of the music and lyrics sound indeed a bit “dated” forty plus years later.

Finally, one of my personal favorites is the wonderfully voiced Norm Lewis (who actually remembered me from the Broadway Cares flea market in September), and he didn’t disappoint with “I’d Rather Be Sailing”.

A Public Apology to Jim Caruso
First, my excuse is that Birdland was a bit crowded and I only knew about half of the performers by sight prior to Monday. So, near the end of the evening, as the mingling of the performers and audience was coming to a close, I overhead one “audience member” announce to another that February 5 was his birthday. Since it was mine too, I told the “guest,” then, we shook hands, and discussed the performances. He agreed that they were great, particularly Daniel’s and said he enjoyed the show, too.

I asked him if any performers were still on the floor, as I wanted to get a few more pictures, and he said that all had “split.” My friend Jessica, unusually quiet during the interchange, then took me aside and said, “You know, HE was one of the performers,” and Jessica’s favorite (next to Daniel, of course), with his hilarious “Tone Deaf”.

Embarrassed, but recovering quickly, I didn’t miss a beat as I returned to Jim, acting as if I knew it all along. “Hey Jim, sorry I forgot to ask you for a pic. And since we share a birthday, it’ll even mean more.” Jim complied, but his expression indicated “he was on to me”! Here’s my public apology, Jim—I’ll never forget your face again!

After sharing the Jim Caruso story with several others, I learned that Jim holds Jim Caruso’s Cast Party Monday nights at Birdland. But don’t just read about it – stop by and be a part of the scene!

Jim Caruso’s Cast Party is a joyous celebration of the showbiz scene, featuring live musical performances by New York’s most dazzling Broadway and cabaret personalities. Like any successful soiree, though, the chat won’t take a back seat to the music! You’ll be privy to dishy conversations with your favorite stars about anything and everything they might have on their brilliant minds.

Producer Wayman Wong
Wayman, it was a marvelous production, and enjoyed by all of us. The staff was accommodating, there were no lines outside in the freezing cold, and the service was wonderful. And your announcement that Birdland is donating 100% to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS was met with gratitude by both the stars and the public. Thank you, Wayman.

As always, Jersey Boys Blog would like to thank Howard Tucker for his wonderful coverage of Leading Men II concert.