Theater Review / Headliners dazzled in Fringe production of Bernstein on Broadway

Theater Review / Headliners dazzled in Fringe production of Bernstein on Broadway

By Joanna Brady

It’s too bad Leonard Bernstein isn’t around to celebrate his 100th birthday this year. He would have been more than happy with the phenomenal efforts his admirers in Key West—a town he loved—have made this season to celebrate his fabulous musical career.

In his lamented absence, Key West audiences have enjoyed several celebrations honoring ‘the great one’. Even the Sunday Impromptu Concerts included their performers’ favorite Bernstein numbers in presentations. And coming soon is a performance of Remembering Lenny.

As a special treat, I recently attended the show Bernstein on Broadway in the Fringe production at the Studios of Key West. The revue was a delightful confection, conceived and developed by two of Key West’s best-known and beloved local musicians, Bobby Nesbitt and Vincent Zito, and was on for a very short run, March 15-16, playing to enthusiastic audiences.

The amply gifted Bernstein was one of the very few genius composer/conductors/authors/educators who achieved as much success on the ‘Great White Way’ as in directing the great classical orchestras around the world. And while his symphonic achievements have been well-chronicled, it is his lighter, entertaining side that compelled Nesbitt and Zito to collaborate on this birthday tribute to a great musical icon.

As you might expect from a Nesbitt-Zito production, Bernstein on Broadway is polished and professional, with a diverse range of voices well suited to the incredible variety of Bernstein’s popular works.

Nobody entertains quite like Bobby Nesbitt, and he did so extremely well in his role of presenter and singer, getting laughs from anecdotes relating to the securing of permission to use the songs. Nesbitt knew Bernstein personally from when he and the composer played four-handed piano on Bernstein’s frequent visits to Key West forty or so years ago, and he took pleasure in recalling comedic references to the past.  

The talented impresario, Vincent Zito, along with singer/musican Jono Mainelle, was kept busy at the piano accompaniment throughout. Nesbitt, Susie Speidel, Richard White, and Susan Powell—together with Mainelli in the final pieces—were excellent, their voices showcasing the songs, blending well, and complementing each other—all of it enhanced by amusing show-bizzy gestures, and mimicking dance steps.

The show sparkled with élan and excitement. A real coup for Nesbitt, Zito, and everyone involved. The stellar cast celebrated Bernstein’s brilliant career with songs from West Side Story, On the Town, The Mad Woman of Central Park West, Peter Pan, Side by Side, and Wonderful Town. Included too were great tunes from less successful plays like Candide. In fact, the song which elicited the most laughter from the audience was “My Darling Paquette” from Candide, sung by Richard White, a song that never even made it into Broadway performances. Another memorable song less familiar is “Take care of this house,”—a poignant number from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue—whose relevance in the light of today’s political scene cannot be ignored. The song was sung at the end, followed only by Bernstein’s signature song, “Tonight, tonight,” from West Side Story.

Leonard Bernstein would have loved the Fringe production of the Nesbit-Zito show celebrating his life. I know I did! Kudos to director, Cameron Murray, Bob Rowand on lighting and Art Singly on sound. The revue was sponsored by the Preferred Properties Realtor team, Corey Held and Jeffrey Grosky of Preferred Properties, Island House, and Old Island Restoration Foundation.

Fringe Theatre is a non-profit theater whose mission is to educate and entertain our community and those who visit us. For more information about the troupe, go to http://www.fringetheater.

To reserve tickets for future shows, contact [email protected] Tel. 305 731-0581.

(Joanna Brady is a Key West writer, author of the Key West historical novel, The Woman at the Light, published by St. Martin’s Press)

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