A Grand Night for Singing Illuminates the Rodgers and Hammerstein Songbook at Kenan Center
- Anthony Chase
- Oct 3
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 4
REVIEW by ANTHONY CHASE
The production of A Grand Night for Singing at The Kenan Center in Lockport delivers exactly what its title promises: a sophisticated and celebratory evening that transforms the Rodgers and Hammerstein songbook into a magical night of Golden Age Broadway music. This revue, conceived by Walter Bobbie in 1992, allows each great song to be unleashed with a sense of occasion, creating an evening where familiar melodies find unexpected contexts and forgotten gems reveal their startling wit and beauty.
The Kenan Center has been reasserting itself as a major player in the Western New York theater scene, and this production accelerates that trajectory. Under Kevin Leary's clever direction and choreography, the show flows seamlessly from one musical moment to the next, showcasing five performers who bring both individual artistry and ensemble cohesion to a remarkable roster of great songs.
Beginning with the dawning of romance and infatuation, continuing through comic misunderstandings to the deeper emotional territories of marriage and parenthood, the show travels an emotional journey crafted by Oscar Hammerstein’s words. Rather than simply presenting a concert of greatest hits, this production smartly recontextualizes beloved songs to create fresh narrative threads. "Maria" from The Sound of Music, originally sung by nuns about their troublesome novice, becomes a young man’s exasperated lament about his high-strung girlfriend. “Many a New Day” from Oklahoma becomes a spirited portrayal of a sisterly support group, and “Shall We Dance?” transforms from the King of Siam's sexually charged dance lesson into a hapless party-goer's awkward romantic gambit, augmenting the polka with humorous touches of tango and cha-cha-cha.
The first instance of this is when Aaron Gabriel Saldana, serenading Brittney Leigh Morton with “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” inadvertently sparks a comic chain reaction: Sydney Conrad and Heather Holden, thrown into jealous fury, launch into the comedic “Stepsister’s Lament” from Cinderella. These playful reimaginings work because the performers commit fully to the new contexts while honoring the songs' inherent emotional truths – and of course, because the songs are simply fabulous.
The five-person cast brings complementary strengths that serve the material beautifully.
Anthony Alcocer, a highly regarded Buffalo actor, best known for legit roles and whose previous musical outings have been more rock-inflected, reveals himself as a Golden Age leading man. With a pleasing, resonant baritone and natural comic timing, he tackles a number like "Honey Bun" – originally a sailor drag number for Mary Martin in “South Pacific” -- to create a comic tour de force, clowning and dancing in a way that reminded me of Ray Bolger – the original MGM Wizard of Oz scarecrow – if Ray Bolger had been sexy. He sets a joyful and exuberant tone for the start of Act II with his rendition of "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" which originally opened Oklahoma as a wistful ballad. Similarly, Alcocer's "This Nearly Was Mine" from "South Pacific" becomes a powerful moment of romantic loss rather than middle-aged regret, demonstrating how skilled performers can find universal truths in specific character songs.
Sydney Conrad embodies the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein alto, delivering songs with the old-fashioned musical theater clarity the material demands, and warmth that ground the show’s softer moments in songs like "I Know It Can Happen Again" (from Allegro). She also proves to be the perfect comic partner, artfully setting up the humor in numbers like “Shall We Dance?” and alongside Brittney Leigh Morton in “Stepsisters’ Lament.” It’s startling to see the soulful “It Might as Well be Spring,” cited by Stephen Sondheim and others as one of the most perfect showtunes ever written, tossed off as an up-tempo caprice, but this makes way for the more surprising unfamiliar material to shine.
Brittney Leigh Morton, a graceful and confident Salamanca native and alumna of the prestigious Baldwin-Wallace musical theater program, brings clarity and intention to every number, excelling in both tender ballads and comic showstoppers. She’s a delight as she channels Ado Annie with "I Cain't Say No" from Oklahoma! showcasing her talent for finding fresh angles in familiar material. Her sardonic "The Gentleman is a Dope" from the largely forgotten Allegro is a comic knockout. Her rendering of "It's Me" from Me and Juliet is perfection.
Heather Holden’s boisterous and outgoing style injects infectious energy. This is a wonderful asset in the ensemble numbers. I do get the impression that she might be used to less intimate venues. Her romp through "I’m In Love With A Wonderful Guy" from South Pacific is exuberant. By contrast, her dignified interpretation of "Something Wonderful" from The King and I, lends resonance to the song. Freed from its original context, Holden’s poised delivery suggests the song’s universal insight: she could be singing about any man whose flaws are redeemed, now and then, by something wonderful.
The puppy-dog yearning of Aaron Gabriel Saldana adds wit alongside heartfelt poignancy, as he consistently gets the short end of the romantic stick in this revue’s evolving relationships. This is most evident in the melancholic “Love, Look Away” and, of course, in the comical "That's The Way It Happens" (from Me and Juliet) – focused around an invitation for French fried potatoes and T-bone steak in which Anthony walks off with the girl.
Music director Patrick Towey deserves praise for making this quintet sound larger and more polished than their individual voices might suggest. This is a strong vocal ensemble, with palpable chemistry between the performers. The group, however, does not include a pure legit soprano in the mold of Julie Andrews or Shirley Jones, or a full-throated baritone of the Gordon MacRae or John Raitt variety – the sorts of voices that defined Rodgers and Hammerstein. Nonetheless, the show sounds terrific, even evoking big band style vocal interplay and sophistication in their renditions of numbers like “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair” and “Kansas City.”
The same for the four-piece band which manages to generate a sound that's both intimate and full. The orchestrations cleverly hand much of the musical fun to the woodwinds, giving a playful evening to instrumentalist Rachel Birkman. Towey's own piano work anchors the ensemble, expertly supported by Colin Sperrazza on percussion and Melissa Bender on bass.
The production's design choices support the musical content. Stylish platform levels have been painted with a Milky Way of stars by Anna Krempholtz, creating an elegant ambience that suggests both theatrical magic and intimate cabaret. Kay Johnson's costumes maintain this sense of style and sophistication, and Chris George's lighting design creates the necessary mood shifts between songs. Nick Stroczkowski's unobtrusive sound design ensures every lyric lands clearly.
The production draws generously from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s entire canon, including lesser-known works like Allegro, Me and Juliet, and Pipe Dream, weaving them thematically rather than chronologically. Cinderella, R&H’s only musical originally written for television, features prominently; its songs, which were considered obscure when this revue debuted in 1992, are now more familiar after the 1997 television remake and a 2013 Broadway production starring Laura Osnes.
"A Grand Night for Singing" succeeds because it treats the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalog not as museum pieces but as living, breathing songs capable of new meanings and fresh interpretations. The names Rodgers and Hammerstein were once synonymous with the Broadway musical itself. The Kenan Center's production combines a talented and youthful cast and respect for the venerable material with genuine theatrical invention, creating an evening that honors the past while feeling thoroughly contemporary.
Thurs–Sat at 7:30 PM, Sun at 2:30 p.m., at the Taylor Theatre, 433 Locust St., Lockport NY, through October 12, 2025.
