Last night, in honor of Leonard Bernstein's 100th birthday, the Utah Symphony performed a concert featuring the music of Bernstein with guest conductor Teddy Abrams and Broadway star Morgan James. Bernstein's music is so evocative and exuberant and James has such a powerful voice that she seemed capable of blowing the roof off Abravanel Hall so, as you can imagine, this concert was absolutely wonderful. The orchestra began with the Overture to West Side Story and then James gave a lovely performance of "Tonight" from the same show. She continued with several selections from On the Town including "I Can Cook Too," "Some Other Time," and "Ain't Got No Tears Left" while the orchestra played "Times Square 1944" which was a lot of fun. Then she sang "A Simple Song" from Bernstein's Mass which I really loved. After the intermission, the orchestra played the Overture to Bernstein's operetta Candide (the orchestra will play this in its entirety in November). James, then, sang several songs from Peter Pan, a piece I was unfamiliar with, including "Dream with Me" and "My House" which were lovely. The concert concluded with a rousing rendition of "Glitter and Be Gay" from Candide which brought the audience to its feet! For the encore, she performed an incredible version of "Somewhere" from West Side Story. I enjoyed this performance so much! My favorite moment was when James sang "Some Other Time" because it was so plaintive and nostalgic. If you are a fan of Leonard Bernstein I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) to this concert which will be performed again tonight!
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